custom wiring fiasco. HEELP!

[jemjulio]

Hi,
Im a newbie from Spain and could really do with some assistance on a wee problem I have.
I'll get to the point. I ordered a custom board from warmoth so that a guy here could wire it up for me with 2 kinmans (mid and neck) and a Dimarzio Paf Pro I had lying around, along with 2 push-push and a 3 position mini toggle switch. ( Please be patient as Im completely tech-dumb...)
My idea was to use the push-push to change pick ups, thus avoiding controlling that tricky 5 way switch. I seem to have enough on my plate with paying attention to strings and fingers...
So all Im getting is a volume, a tone and the switch.
I wanted to be able to switch from the HB to the neck with one hit of a button. So I gave the guy freedom to do whatever, as long as I had the HB sound, the neck, and the sweet mid/neck pos. 2 sound we all love.

This is what I got:

Switch: position down:
Volume pot changes from neck to HB. Tone engages/disengages mid pick up

Switch: middle position:
Same as above but HB is split

Switch: up position.
The Neck and the split HB are always engaged, and the tone engages the middle pickup.

Now, all this is cool. BUT, the neck/ mid sound is not the sweet pos. 2. Its fatter than the neck on its own, which tells me its not right.
After speaking with the guy, he suggested to invert the cables from the mid pickup.
Now it sounds TOO THIN/ TINNY/ out of phase or whatever ya call it.
So before I put the wires back where they were, does someone know how I can achieve what I was looking for?
As info I can say that when the Kinmans where in my G&L they sounded exactly as they should.
Also when using one of those magnetic polarity testers, both mid and neck show south.

I hope I have explained this ok.
Any assistance will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks again

Julio

[jhng]

Hi there, welcome on board.

That's an interesting setup. It may well be that the Neck and Middle pickups are connected in series rather than in parallel which would account for have a thicker more middly sound.

If you just want the three sounds you mentioned you could do it even more simply.

Have one push/push to switch from Bridge HB to ["Neck alone" or Neck and Middle"].
Have the other to switch between "Neck alone" and "Neck and Middle".

But first tell the wiring chappie to make sure that the Neck and Middle combo is in parallel not series.

Hastings

[jemjulio]

Thanks buddy!

Ideally I'd rather leave things as they are as some of the stranger combinations ( neck+ split HB, or neck+Split HB+ Mid) are rather interesting. Note how the middle position on its own is not possible, which doesnt bother me the slightest.
If there is a minor mod I could do to achieve the goal, that would be ideal.

Would a pic of the guts help?


Thanks all again

Julio

[jemjulio]

Wild guess....
Could it be that they are not connected together? You know...one button activates neck and the other the mid, so they are kind of "independant"?
I might of said something completely silly there...

While Im here, where on the web can I find tutorials on learning basic guitar electronics?


Peace
Julio

[sumgai]

jj,

......
While Im here, where on the web can I find tutorials on learning basic guitar electronics?


Peace
Julio

Hey, to the forums. And for what it's worth, your tech skills may be lacking, but your English skills are putting some of us to shame! Congratulations to your teachers!

You can find lots of websites that will give you some of the parts of what's going on inside of your electric guitar. I don't think any one site really has all the information in one place, sorry to say. But, there is one outstanding site that has to be the best place to start, and that would be our founding father, the original GuitarNuts! ;D There's a link at the top of this page, but I'll repeat it here for you: The Original GuitarNuts site, where this community was born!

You'll find 98% of everything you need on that site. And when something doesn't make sense, just come back here and ask!


As to your more immediate problem, it would be nice if you could post a wiring diagram of what your technician did to your guitar. I can picture it in my mind, but guessing is not as good as the real thing. Can you get your tech to make a copy for you?


sumgai


NOTE to unk, Chris, et was anderes.....
Who's gonna start a sticky thread for showing links like jj is asking for? I know I've got a list of more advanced stuff to share, but doing it piecemeal seems so..... wasteful. What's do be done about this, eh?

[jemjulio]

Thanks for the compliment. Completely undeserved though. I was born in London from Spanish parents

I just took the guard off.... Maaaaan, Thats way too challenging....
I've contacted my man, see if he remembers ( I cant imagine for a minute, he will) So.... mmmmm....dunno now.
I might have to take it back to him ( the whole guitar this time....Yeah, yeah I know...my bad)


Any ideas still welcome

Julio