Ibanez RG rewiring help needed

[thenerd]

HI, I bought a Ibanez RG1570 yesterday which comes with a H-S-H configuration and a 5 way switch, and i wanted to remove these pick-ups and install two dimarzios (no single coil) and use the extra positions on the 5 way switch for spliting the dimarzios (Evolution on the bridge and Paf Pro on the neck). im having a really hard time understanding how this 5 way switch works. Could someone tell me if this is possible and how i would go about wiring it, im tired of testing and starting to consider spending 30 bucks on having someone do it for me........UHG

thanks in advance

Eric

[GEdwardJones]

Go to DiMarzio.com. They have a wiring schematic up for something similar to what you're looking for (it's the qiring scheme for most 2 humbucker IBZs)

[Scott Rosenberger]

Get the Schaller Type E Megaswitch from Stewmac It has a great diagram for what you're after

[scott from _actual time_]

check out the wiring diagrams on DiMarzio and Ibanez's sites to see the stock wiring and figure out how the switch works [it's a standard Strat-type 5-way for 3 pickups, and the Ibanez wiring automatically coil cuts the humbuckers in the 2 and 4 positions].

since that switch is designed for 3 pickups, not 2, there's only one two-humbucker coil cutting scheme you can wire up with that switch. if you don't solder in the middle pickup at all, you'd get this:

1 - neck humbucker

2 - neck HB coil cut

3 - nothing, no sound

4 - bridge HB coil cut

5 - bridge humbucker

if you want something different, you'd need a new switch. the Megaswitch E as suggested by Scott Rosenberger above is a great choice, it would give you the same ones as above but instead of a kill switch in position 3, you'd get the outer coils for a notched Tele-style clean tone. the Megaswitch model P is designed specifically for two humbuckers and would give you the same coil cut combinations as the PRS rotary switch. Stew Mac sells the Megaswitches and has diagrams of their switching schemes.

if you wanted something really crazy, you could get a 24 pole switch which can do anything, but those are very complex to wire if you don't have a lot of wiring experience.

[lovekraft]

See if this diagram isn't exactly what you're looking for. You will have to replace the switch witha 4-pole switch, but it's not really complicated. HTH

[thenerd]

check out the wiring diagrams on DiMarzio and Ibanez's sites to see the stock wiring and figure out how the switch works [it's a standard Strat-type 5-way for 3 pickups, and the Ibanez wiring automatically coil cuts the humbuckers in the 2 and 4 positions].

since that switch is designed for 3 pickups, not 2, there's only one two-humbucker coil cutting scheme you can wire up with that switch. if you don't solder in the middle pickup at all, you'd get this:

1 - neck humbucker

2 - neck HB coil cut

3 - nothing, no sound

4 - bridge HB coil cut

5 - bridge humbucker

if you want something different, you'd need a new switch. the Megaswitch E as suggested by Scott Rosenberger above is a great choice, it would give you the same ones as above but instead of a kill switch in position 3, you'd get the outer coils for a notched Tele-style clean tone. the Megaswitch model P is designed specifically for two humbuckers and would give you the same coil cut combinations as the PRS rotary switch. Stew Mac sells the Megaswitches and has diagrams of their switching schemes.

if you wanted something really crazy, you could get a 24 pole switch which can do anything, but those are very complex to wire if you don't have a lot of wiring experience.

how exactly would i wire it, i dont really understand this 5 step switch. thanks :-)

[scott from _actual time_]

if you don't solder in the middle pickup at all, you'd get this:

1 - neck humbucker

2 - neck HB coil cut

3 - nothing, no sound

4 - bridge HB coil cut

5 - bridge humbucker

how exactly would i wire it, i dont really understand this 5 step switch. thanks :-)

it's hard to help any more than i already have when you haven't said exactly what kind of switch you have and you don't appear to have downloaded any wiring diagrams.

there is no wiring diagram for the 1570 on the Ibanez USA site. since you haven't described your switch, i can't know for certain, but Ibanez has always used one of two different switches in their h/s/h guitars: a YM50 switch with 8 poles that works exactly the same as a Strat 5-way, and a VLX91 that has 24 poles in four banks of six.

either way, if you want those coil combinations i listed above, all you have to do is connect the wiring for the humbuckers exactly the same and leave out the middle single coil. if you took apart the stock wiring without making a sketch, you should go to the ibanez USA site and find a wiring diagram for another h/s/h ibanez that uses the same kind of switch you have. if you pick a JEM or Prestige model, it might even use DiMarzio wire colors.

if you want to know how your switch works, map out the connections with a voltmeter. you could also search the web for a diagram. the Strat-type 5-way like the YM50 is probably the most common guitar switch in the world, i garuntee you'd find a diagram for that type. different companies make different looking 24 pole switches that all work in a similar way -- you may not find a diagram for the VLX91, but you can probably find something similar. then you can figure out for yourself how your switch works.