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Post by Pinetree on Oct 13, 2020 19:13:23 GMT -5
I have a customer who wants his Humbuckers wired Parallel (as opposed to the standard Series wiring).
It's an ESP guitar, and I'll have to go through the 4-conductor cable and determine which is which, because I can find the color codes for almost every pickup made except LTD (ESP). Their customer service has been very helpful with everything EXCEPT the color codes.
So it's a slightly more difficult proposition than just looking up a DiMarzio or Duncan schematic, plus, everything I have found has either a Series/Parallel split or push/pull or a DPDT switch.
This guy just wants 2 pickups wired Parallel, a 3-way toggle switch, and a single volume.
Near as I can figure, this should be North Start to South Finish as the hot, and South Start to North Finish as the ground.
But any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 416
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Post by DrKev on Oct 14, 2020 4:46:16 GMT -5
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Post by Pinetree on Oct 14, 2020 14:35:07 GMT -5
That's the exact same link I found.
A complete schematic would be great.
This one is making my brain hurt for some reason... might be time to hang up the ol' Hakko.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 416
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Post by DrKev on Oct 14, 2020 15:49:04 GMT -5
The only thing I could find suggests "G&B" branded pickups are stock in many LTDs, the colors are...
North+ = Red, North- = Green
South+ = White, South - Black
So, for parallel Red+Black -> hot, Green + White -> ground
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Oct 15, 2020 9:45:04 GMT -5
Yup.
If it was me, I'd get some alligator clips and a jack (I have a few things pre-wired for such occasions) and try a few color code variations to double check on phase. Unless you've pulled the baseplate off to figure out which is start and which is finish, the most you can usually do with a DMM is figure out the two ends of the coil.
I like parallel better than split for switches on hotter pickups. It just sounds better to me, and it is noiseless. Having a pickup permanently wired that way is an odd choice, though.
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Post by Pinetree on Oct 15, 2020 12:24:52 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm planning on checking the polarities since I have to take everything apart anyways.
I must be getting cranky in my old age, but the customer wants what he wants, so that's what he's getting.
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Post by Pinetree on Oct 15, 2020 15:51:48 GMT -5
Okay.
I got out the voltmeter, and I got:
Green - North+
Red - North-
White - South+
Black - South-
Edit - It's done, but I think it sounds like garbage. Gonna rip it apart again and try Dr. Kev's scheme.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Oct 17, 2020 13:34:29 GMT -5
He can always bring it back to you after he realizes he doesn't like it. Unless something involves permanent modifications, I generally don't put all that much effort into talking people out of things if they're super set on it. They probably spent hours upon hours psyching themselves up for the perfect sound in their heads and the only thing that will convince them is trying it out. Of course, if someone wants something completely stupid I'll say "no", but wiring is easy enough to reverse. He just has to pay again if he wants it reversed, especially since it wasn't your idea to do it that way to begin with!
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Post by Pinetree on Oct 17, 2020 14:49:07 GMT -5
As a rule, I don't rip on my customers, but the little guy in the back of my head is like "come on man, nobody does this".
It's off my bench and out of my hands now, so we'll see.
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Post by Leftee on Oct 17, 2020 14:50:59 GMT -5
It would be interesting to see what the rest of his setup is and how he runs it.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Oct 17, 2020 23:58:50 GMT -5
Some humbuckers sound pretty good when wired in parallel. Most sound not so good. Humbuckers are designed to be run in series--but some people like the sound of parallel operation. ESP/LTD has used several different pickup suppliers over the years, so color codes depend on when the guitar was made and which model it is. Here's my mostest currentest list. It's an image--not editable text. If you have different info (colors/specs change over time), please let me know. You can save this list by right clicking on it and selecting Save Image As. Save it to your desktop, etc.:  |
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Post by Pinetree on Oct 18, 2020 0:11:10 GMT -5
Thanks Geno.
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