althalus Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Hi, im upgrading my BC rich (has 2 bdsm humbucking pickups) to a EMG active 81/Sa/Sa setup (where the 2 SA's will be mounted next to each other similar to a humbucker). I've seen the topics here where you have connected two humbuckers PRS style to a circuit. Just wondering what i have to do with the 2 single, 1 HB setup - as there are more wires!!! Massively confused by all of this, so any help would be welcome. Regards Althalus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 http://www.emginc.com/downloads/wiringdiagrams/strat.pdf - is the link for the diagram for the EMG's the main issue is that I dont know the difference between the solder points on the 5 way slider and 5 way rotary, as they all look a bit odd. In some of these articles it has been mentioned that it can be figured out with a multimeter - could somebody explain how. Also - 2 tone 1 volume circuit. cheers. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Since you're using EMGs, which means you can't split coils or run the coils in series, it's pretty straight-forward. Which rotary switch are you planning on using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 the 'prs' one. i think its pretty generic. its about £40 ($80). from the custom 22/24. if u know which i mean. Just wondering if anybody could advise on wiring up. as im linking 3 seperate things to it (each with their own wires) instead of 2 humbuckers with two wires each.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 If you can point me at a schematic of the exact switch you'll be using, I'll be happy to draw you up a diagram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 see the following links for pictures http://i23.ebayimg.com/02/i/03/8a/15/42_2.JPG http://www.gtrheaven.com/accessories/140546_0.jpg its the one which seems to have a peice of pcb on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 even better! here is PRS's exact item schematic http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/5wayrotary95%2B.gif now. the only issue is that i actually want to hook up 2 singles to where it says 'Treble BRW' and i'm wondering how and which wires from each pickup to use as i have no clue of what the 'Hot' and 'Split' wires are. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I'm sure Lovekraft's diagram will clear everything up for you but here's a summary of EMG wiring: The red wires are always tied to the +9V (or +18V ideally). The white wires carry the "hot" signal along with the ground/shield. The only pickup that is different from this scheme (that I know of) is the EMG-89 which does let you split coils. So, for most EMG's it's pretty simple - white is "hot" and red goes to the +9/+18V. Just don't forget to connect the ground/shields also. I love the SA's BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Ok, so in the case of the diagram i put up in the previous of my posts.... I would attach the leads from my humbucker to the bass 3 wire spots as shown in the diagram. But for the pair of singles, where i have two hots - do i put one on the former 'hot' treble input and one on the 'split' input? still a bit confused. waiting for the diagram. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 i'd really like to be able to choose between 1) neck side single coil + humbucker 2) bridge side single coil + humbucker 3) all 3 4) both neck pickups 5) humbucker alone. is that possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 No, it's not going to be anywhere near that simple - you've picked close to the worst possible switch to use for what you want to do, because it's been "customized" to do what PRS wants it to (not to mention that £40 for a cheap rotary switch is highway robbery!), and your chosen pickups aren't capable of those tricks anyway! "Un-engineering" that switch is going to be a pain in the butt! Farnell has a nearly ideal switch (Lorlin CK1035) for £.96, except it has 6 positions (so you could add an "all-on" position if you wanted to) and a long shaft (plastic) that you'll have to trim to length. If that don't suit ya, here's a whole page of 2 pole 6 position rotary switches, all for under £25, including an Elna and a couple of Grayhills, the beloved switches of the audiophile and studio crowd - sure, Farnell has an £20 minimum order, but that's still half of what the PRS switch costs, and you might need some 25K pots to go with it. Why spend twice as much for a PRS switch that isn't nearly as good quality, just because Paul's minions put a logo on it, and screwed up the way it works? Since most of these high-end audio switches are made in the UK to begin with, it seems somewhat silly to buy a switch that's been sent to the US, "modified", and sent back to the UK at double the price, but that's just me. If you still want to go with the PRS switch, I'll take a look at it to see if it's capable of doing what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 hmm. ok. possible WITHOUT the 'ALL' option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I'm not getting through, am I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 hmmm... having paid for the prs one im inclined to use it (tho i only paid £20). Is there no way whatsoever of giving me some more options. what WOULD be possible with the existing setup. If not would this one work? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...orldID=&doy=3m3 in the case of this how would i get the various options to the output.. very much confused by this entire thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 The maplin one seems to be the same - without the £20 min order (phew!) as the farnellone one that you suggested. I can buy this and have a go i suppose. If you DO have any thoughts on the PRS one (apart from binning it or selling it for more than the £20 i got it for) i am listening. I can now see the difference is obvious between it and those others - and it is OBVIOUSLY tailored to a twin buck system with split/hot on two pickups. If there are any ways to connect two singles to the treble points (obviously both grounds would go too the grnd on that pickup point) with options allowing 1, both or neither --- do tell! If not.. sorry about all this. I suck when it comes to electronics but EMG's are really nice sounding and I can't have a simple gibson LP style switch for them as it only allows 2 inputs. I could have 2 of the gibson switches with 1 being single1/both/single2 and the other being humbucker/both/result of 'single' switch. But then i could use my guitar as a collander. I'd rather cut down on knobs and, especially, drilling. Any help welcomed. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 So you already have the PRS switch - sorry, I didin't realize that. I'll take a look at it and see what it can do - if we can make it work, I'll try to draw something up tomorrow. Of course, you could always put it on Ebay and use the proceeds to buy about a dozen of those switches from Maplin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2005 got the maplin one in today. I'd still like to try using the prs if thats possible. Although - the nylon shaft on the maplin on seems not to fit (in diameter) any of my knobs both gibson type and chrome domes. I'll wait for your description of what to do for the prs before i try anything. Regards Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 5, 2005 Report Share Posted March 5, 2005 Sorry, Mike, I haven't forgotten you - my stepson's kids have invaded my living space for the weekend, so not much is getting done around here, but I'll get to it as quick as I get a free minute or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2005 Just had a thought. If i take Single PU1 to the split input. then single PU2 to the normal bucker input. finally. take a wire from SPU1 to the bucker with a SPST switch (toggle) which would basically turn the SPU2 into a signal. Then I can have my all configuration, as well as single on each or humbucker. any other ideas. suggest away. im trying to integrate this PRS switch, as it does look quite kool and fit perfectly (unlike the maplin which didnt fit due to the rod being far too thick. stupid stupid stupid..) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I've figured im probably going to use a diode and a spst switch to combine both single pickup 2 and 1 (ill split the pickup 1 wire) to a channel which can be switched either 2 alone or 1+2 together. thus ill have the equivalent of a humbucker. do you think this will work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 No, the diode would only work for DC - it'll screw up your audio pretty badly, if it lets it pass through at all. I apologize for not having something finished for you yet, but I'll try to get it done tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 hmmm.. ok. so, no diode. ok. could i use the gib switch to link the two pickups together for a combined wire to the humbucker hole on the prs rotary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 No, that won't work either - the problem here is that the PRS switch is designed to work with coils run in series, and EMG actives simply can't be run that way! You'll have to completely forget the PRS setup, and hope their crippled switch will yield you enough choices to get what you want. That's what I meant when I said it was the worst possible choice. You can use a shovel as a hammer, but it's not very good for finish carpentry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althalus Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 ok.. so how on earth do i wire up this other rotary i got from maplin? the emg set up is currently wire to a fender type pickboard, with everything attached. it seems. all pickup outs go to the vol where they are soldered in a spaghettil junction of cable. of this cabling the three seperate PU wires go to the fender style slider switch, also. 2 tone pots have a single wire from pot to the switch. finally theres the wire going to the jack. so.. what do i detach, and where do i put in on the rotary? currently the slider (has 4 solder points on each side) goes from left to right Blue wire Pickup 1 Pickup 2 Pickup 3 / / / / ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ / / / / nothing tone pot tone pot blue wire (links with other side) and wire to jack socket the pots just have the single wire going to em. id like to do this with as little diassembling as possible. and switch is a 6 way non prs (maplin) rotary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 OK, sorry this took so long - I hope it's fairly self-explanatory: This setup gives you the following:BridgeBridge + MiddleMiddle (w/tone)Middle + NeckNeck (w/tone)Neck + BridgeHTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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