Ground Or Stupidity?

[Mr Harry]

ok i need your help and experience please.

i am building my first guitar, learning as i go along, and doing it on a shoestring budget.

and ive run into a problem with my wiring.

ive picked up (no pun intended) a generic humbucker or 2 on the cheap, and i have no idea what or where ect.

i guessed they were passive, and attempted to hook one up to see what happened.

i couldnt find any basic information at all about guitar electronics, all the tutorials I've found are based on a basic knowledge of electronnics, which i dont have. so I guessed.

as I dont have any other components than the output jack (temporarily borrowed from a dead squire) I did this.

wiring diagrammembers.aol.com/celadoreuk/wiring.jpg

simple huh?

it seems to work fine, nice loud sounds and no hum or buzz, untill i put it through heavy distortion. when i get awful screeching noises when i mute strings, and it occasionally continues as a high pitched feed back, but it sounds to me more like a fault noise.

so my question is have I done something wrong? is it grounded incorrectly?

two important notes: 1. I have no cavities yet, the wires are just sellotaped to the body so far(although properly protected, there not touching where they shouldnt be)

2. the pickup is very close(2-3ml) to the strings. I have heard that this might be too close and distort the natural clean tone. although it doesnt sound it when clean, could this be what is driving the distortion to scream?

oh and does it make any difference if i swap the red and blue wires?

thanks, sorry if i have rambled...

[crafty]

Try the main projectguitar.com page:

Wiring Reference

The above link will take you to whatever schematic you need to hook up your system. The high-pitched squeal you're getting is probably from a combination of a cheaply made pickup and the fact that it's way too close to the strings. Also, with no tone or volume controls, the pickup is running wide open and it's going to sound loud and harsh when plugged straight into the amp, even more so with overdrive.

Did any kind of wiring diagram come with the pickup?

Edited April 12, 2005 by crafty

[Mr Harry]

Try the main projectguitar.com page:

Wiring Reference

The above link will take you to whatever schematic you need to hook up your system. The high-pitched squeal you're getting is probably from a combination of a cheaply made pickup and the fact that it's way too close to the strings. Also, with no tone or volume controls, the pickup is running wide open and it's going to sound loud and harsh when plugged straight into the amp, even more so with overdrive.

Did any kind of wiring diagram come with the pickup?

←

no, no diagram or anything. they came as though they had just been ripped out of a guitar(obvious clue was bits of solder on the end of the wires)

one of them says "samshin" on the underside, which is probably japanese for "bought by a fool" if anyone knows, I would really appreciate identification.

thanks for the link, though im not ready for any kind of schematic yet.

I will do a bit more routing and lower them then, and get some pots.

thanks.

[lovekraft]

i get awful screeching noises when i mute strings, and it occasionally continues as a high pitched feed back

That pickup is microphonic - a search on "potting' should tell you how to handle it!