Need pick up wiring advise


axenquestions
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axenquestions
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08/03/2006 5:56 pm
:eek: A friend just gave me a set of humbuckers for a japaneese LP. Gold topped, looks just like LP pickups except the post that show are off set three on top left and three on the bottom right. The problem is I can't find out the manufacturer. These pickups have no identifiers. I am sure they are an off brand but how do you wire them in when they didn't come with a schematic?
# 1
aschleman
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aschleman
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08/03/2006 6:06 pm
Alll you really need to know is whether they're 1 or 2 wire buckers... And it's simple to tell... If they have 2 wires, they're obviously 2 wire buckers... The black wire is the ground... the red (white on vintage applications) is the hot wire... Look for any schematic dealing with 2 wire buckers... 1 wire buckers have a ground sheilding around the hot wire... sooo they're a bit trickier... you need to solder the sheilding to ground. The interior wire is soldered to the hot leads... here's a schematic for a 1 wire bucker... it just so happens to be a Seymour Duncan... http://www.sonfatherguitars.com/Schematics/HumBucker.GIF

The 2 wire is basically the same but instead of having to solder the sheilding you simply have a seperate wire... a little bit less confusing...

Also... this thread goes in the tech forum...

Someone call the Guitar Tricks Thread Moving Service!! They alsways have speedy service!
# 2
McDuffie
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McDuffie
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08/06/2006 7:23 pm
Originally Posted by: aschlemanAlll you really need to know is whether they're 1 or 2 wire buckers... And it's simple to tell... If they have 2 wires, they're obviously 2 wire buckers... The black wire is the ground... the red (white on vintage applications) is the hot wire... Look for any schematic dealing with 2 wire buckers... 1 wire buckers have a ground sheilding around the hot wire... sooo they're a bit trickier... you need to solder the sheilding to ground. The interior wire is soldered to the hot leads... here's a schematic for a 1 wire bucker... it just so happens to be a Seymour Duncan... http://www.sonfatherguitars.com/Schematics/HumBucker.GIF

The 2 wire is basically the same but instead of having to solder the sheilding you simply have a seperate wire... a little bit less confusing...

Also... this thread goes in the tech forum...

Someone call the Guitar Tricks Thread Moving Service!! They alsways have speedy service!


The pickups he is describing sound like the ones from the Telecaster thinlines back in the early seventies. Not saying that's what it is, just that that's what it sounds like.

and aschleman what if it's a 4 wire humbucker? :D
# 3
aschleman
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aschleman
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08/07/2006 11:11 am
Originally Posted by: McDuffieThe pickups he is describing sound like the ones from the Telecaster thinlines back in the early seventies. Not saying that's what it is, just that that's what it sounds like.

and aschleman what if it's a 4 wire humbucker? :D



I assumed we were talking about a basic wire job. Normally 4-wire humbuckers are only used in applications that you would like to split the humbucker... So I listed the most common configurations. I'm pretty sure if the bucker he has is out of a Japanese made LP that it's either a 1 or a 2 wire bucker.

BUT... since you asked... In the case of a 4 wire bucker... it's just the same as a 2 wire bucker except you hav 2 hot wires and 2 groudns. One for each individual single coil that makes up the bucker. To wire this in a normal applicaiton you would simply use the same diagram as a 2 wire... Connecting both hots to the hot point... and both grounds to the ground point. If you desire a split coil application... do some research and consult a tech.
# 4
McDuffie
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McDuffie
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08/07/2006 3:45 pm
Originally Posted by: aschlemanI assumed we were talking about a basic wire job. Normally 4-wire humbuckers are only used in applications that you would like to split the humbucker.


Unfortunately, that's true. People mostly use four wire humbuckers for coil splitting when there is so much more than can be done with them.

I have a guitar that has two single coils and a 4 wire humbucker. The single coils are controlled by on/off/on switches and the humbucker is controlled by a 6 throw, 4 pole rotary switch.

I haven't counted, but this configuration gives me probably 30-40 or maybe more distinct different tones.

And yes, I did the wiring myself.

The only complaint I have is that the humbucker is a Seymour Duncan.
# 5
aschleman
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aschleman
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08/07/2006 4:29 pm
Yeah, I see what you're saying... But that gets into some more technical terminology and I didn't think it would have been very beneficial to the person that started the thread since they seem like they just are touching on the basics of wiring.

There are tons of stuff you can do with 4 wire buckers... like you said. I myself just recently did a wire job for a friend that wanted a super hot rodded LP... I installed 2- 4 wire bareknuckle warpig humbuckers... He likes his tone nice and trebly... He's a lead guitarist for a local band... So I split the bridge bucker and wired it to a push/pull pot... the pot also controls the bridge bucker volume along with a pot for the volume control... I wired the neck bucker straight through with it's own tone controls and volume as well... I eliminated the 3 way switch and added an on/off/on for the Bridge bucker. I also added a killswitch... I'm not a huge fan of the set-up but for him and the music that he plays it's perfect... It gets great metal solo to blues to vintage tones... Not my cup of tea though... The Warpigs are hardcore output buckers too... so they're pretty mean.

Like you said though... there is a tone of different things you can do with 4 wire buckers... But, it all usually starts with splitting the coils.
# 6

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