Kris84 Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Hi all very new around here, not much older at guitar wiring/setups. AS you've guessed I have an issues Purchased a gibsonSG/lespaul wonna be from a company via ebay, Was told plays great but the bridge pick up didn't work and one would be included. Wired up the new pick today and still no sound, well a low humming, cancelling out slightly when played (Ie strings are touched). Just to rule other components out I've tested both pickups backwards via the switch, and have the same problem on channel 2/ bridge side. I have directly looped both picks separately both work. All pots are working, so before I pop out and buy a new 3ways switch I would like to confirm something for me. Numbering the pots from the back end of the guitar for left to right top to bottom, number 2(top right) has an earth wire coming from it to either the bridge or saddle, this pot is the second inline on the first channel/ Neck side. Pot 4 bottom right (pot 2 on channel 2) doesn't have this, though I can understand why, with earth looping and all (which to begin with I though was the problem) But does seem to be the only difference between the two channel set ups. Am I right in thinking that the switch is the problem? Any help or advice is more then welcome. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris84 Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Any one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris84 Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 After looking around at others posts I decided to draw this up to see if it would help any. Missed the earth as described above, in my first post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris84 Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Could anyone at least confirm that the wiring is correct? I had a look at Schematics for a LP type http://alexplorer.net/guitar/basics/lpschem.html and its alittle differnt. two of the main things are the earth to the switch. Not sure weather to rewire it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MES_C Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 The diagram you posted looks alight to me. Although I didn't completely follow your question in the first post, it sounds like there could be a short to ground somewhere in the circuit. Maybe a close up of your guitar's control cavity would be helpful. good luck with your troubleshooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 you could test the bridge pickups resistance (unhook it first) with a meter or wire it straight to the jack to confirm if its functional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 could be a short if the jack is wired back to front...switch wiring is often mistaken as well (hot and ground out confused). The diagram looks right, but it is hard to tell if you have got all those connections just right. One clue may be...does the neck pickup work when selected? Also...you may want to have a good look at the switch, often these can get worn or bent or a wire lodged in it resulting in one pickup not functioning...this is often indicated if neck works in its selection and the both pickups middle position of the switch. Otherwise, a multimeter to check things would help a lot...let us know if that is an option. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris84 Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks for all the replies I have already unsoldered all hot wire to the switch, I have had both pick ups working direct to the jack individually, but not as a unit. Both pick ups work work when wired via channel one (which would be the neck pick up usally) but nothing via channel 2, I'm 99% sure its the switch. On making the original post, I was unaware of the number of ways a guitar can be wired, according to hardware available and desired sound. (which bring me to another question, but I'll make another topic so not to bog dawn this tread) Thanks to all who have replied and if anything else springs to mind please post it Kris PS Almost forgot, The jack is wired currently. After making the topic I had a roam around and found a topic on a low humming and someone else suggested that the jack could be wired backwards. I have checked and it is wired hot to point ground to shell. Though at first glance it does look wrong, as point is part of a washer that is fed form the opposite side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) Why does the yellow wire at the bottom of the diagram(from channel 2 to the switch) have an E on it? If it's going to ground...that would explain why your channel 2 is dead. And the 3-way in that other diagram isn't a leaf-type, that's why the grounding is different. You have the capacitors in Fender-style too, which will also make your diagram differ from others, but it'll work just fine that way too. If channel 2 is always off, something's going to ground that shouldn't be. Edited March 28, 2009 by Keegan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris84 Posted March 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) Why does the yellow wire at the bottom of the diagram(from channel 2 to the switch) have an E on it? If it's going to ground...that would explain why your channel 2 is dead. And the 3-way in that other diagram isn't a leaf-type, that's why the grounding is different. You have the capacitors in Fender-style too, which will also make your diagram differ from others, but it'll work just fine that way too. If channel 2 is always off, something's going to ground that shouldn't be. I can confirm that the yellow wire in question is live/hot. I'm almost positive that its the switch because. . . The switch has 2 channels, switch sits in 3 positions, top-chan#1 middle-chan#1+#2 bottom-chan#2. bridge pup is chan #2 (default) and chan #1 is neck (default) If I unsolder the hot wire's from the switch I can play both pups individually via channel #1 via the switch, but neither pup will play via channel #2. Both will play when wired direct to the jack. Going back your comment about its a fender style wiring, would that make a difference in sound? I have no problem re-wiring and I would very much enjoy doing it. But, I'm not one for doing things for the sake of it. I am very new to guitar wiring though I can handle electronics fairly well, when working from schematics. For what I've read it can make a difference to the sound of the style played, as I have a strat type already I was hoping for something to play metal/rock types. What would you guy recommend? Edited March 28, 2009 by Kris84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Why does the yellow wire at the bottom of the diagram(from channel 2 to the switch) have an E on it? If it's going to ground...that would explain why your channel 2 is dead. And the 3-way in that other diagram isn't a leaf-type, that's why the grounding is different. You have the capacitors in Fender-style too, which will also make your diagram differ from others, but it'll work just fine that way too. If channel 2 is always off, something's going to ground that shouldn't be. I can confirm that the yellow wire in question is live/hot. I'm almost positive that its the switch because. . . The switch has 2 channels, switch sits in 3 positions, top-chan#1 middle-chan#1+#2 bottom-chan#2. bridge pup is chan #2 (default) and chan #1 is neck (default) If I unsolder the hot wire's from the switch I can play both pups individually via channel #1 via the switch, but neither pup will play via channel #2. Both will play when wired direct to the jack. Going back your comment about its a fender style wiring, would that make a difference in sound? I have no problem re-wiring and I would very much enjoy doing it. But, I'm not one for doing things for the sake of it. I am very new to guitar wiring though I can handle electronics fairly well, when working from schematics. For what I've read it can make a difference to the sound of the style played, as I have a strat type already I was hoping for something to play metal/rock types. What would you guy recommend? You can check the switch pretty simply with the multimeter, hold one side on the ground, and the other on the channel 2 lug, then flip the switch back and forth. If you get connectivity in all 3 positions, it's the switch. It sounds like it is, though. Try a new one. The difference between gibson/fender wiring is purely a style thing I think, as in it makes no difference, it's probably just due to which way was more intuitive for the engineer(or whoever) designed the circuit in the first place. I just said that because I've only seen the capacitor hooked up like that in a Fender, that is with it between lug 2 on the tone and ground, with lug 3 hanging out and lug 1 going to hot. In a Gibson, the cap goes from lug 3 on the volume to lug 2 on the tone, and then lug 1 on the tone is grounded. I don't think that there's a tonal difference, I just prefer the Gibson wiring on a stacked potentiometer(since the volume and tone are close together, and it saves space on the back of the pot), and the Fender wiring when you have normal pots because stretching a capacitor across the control cavity is kind of silly and just gives you a higher chance of having the leads ground out on something. It might have something to do with the fact that Gibson started out using those big paper-in-oil axial capacitors(with one lead on one end and the other on the other end), which would make it hard to solder from the lug to the back of the pot. I think Fender changed the way they wired it when they started using ceramic caps, because they're easier to solder to the back than between pots(because the leads are on the same side). Now both manufacturers use ceramic caps though, so it's kind of silly for Gibson to keep wiring it the old way, except to make it easier for people who want to put PIO caps in. Do it whichever way makes more sense in your case. The value/type of capacitor matters more than the way the pot is wired in ever could. Once you get it working, you might try some different values just for grins to see what you like. The type doesn't matter so much, but there is some difference. I was skeptical, but I've tried a few different types of caps and I like the ceramic or PIO the best. I replaced the ceramic in my LP with an orange drop and it sucked. It sounded muddy when turned down instead of just more bassy. It could just be the tolerances though, they're pretty wide for most tone caps for guitars. Sorry for my lengthy posts, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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