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Post by einstein on Jun 12, 2007 15:39:20 GMT -5
Hello and thank god for places like this.... I bought a quadbucker of unknown origin and I am new to the whole 3-5 wire pickup install... I know the basics and can replace pickups and have done a few mods but Im clueless when it comes to extra wires. This pickup: I was told this, black and bare are ground...red and white soldered together and insulated...blue is hot.. The problem is Blue has zero resistance to the body of the pickup making me assume it is ground. The red and black read at 11.83Ohms and the white and blue read out at 11.92ohms, but when I combine them I either get 6.9Ohms or the same 11.90ish. I was going to install this into the bridge position of a gibson SG with only 1tone 1vol and one 3way. I am willing to buy and change out any knobs to add an additional switched knob or whatevers needed to somewhat utilize the quadbucking properties. I would also like suggestions on any other mods I should/could do. What is an umbucker? MAINLY, what setup will give me the most options. I will even drill a hole to add a switch if need be, my only concern is the sound. The neck is a standard 2 wire humbucker. 5 wires: red black(front hum)11k, blue and white(rear hum)11k, bare wire?(extra ground silencer?) Blue has 0 resistance to pickup body meaning I think they meet. Is this pickup broken? Any and all responses no matter how little are appreciated. Have a good one, and rock on.
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Post by JohnH on Jun 12, 2007 16:01:10 GMT -5
einstein - welcome to GN2. Ideally your quad bucker will get wired just like any normal fourconductor humbucker, ie two coils and you have a wire from each end of each coil. The colour codes are not familiar however, so if you can do some more tests we can sort them out.
Your resistance measurements are probably x1000, so 11.8k etc.
Could you please confirm, that blue is the only one connected to the base, ie blue to base is 0, but no others are zero to the base?
Please as a check, measure each pair, blue white, blue black, blue red, white black, white red, black red., all without joining the wires
Theres maybe some unusual connections happening here, and this will flush them out.
One you have that, well know how to wire it up as a normal humbucker, except that we wont know if the coils will be in phase. Thats another test.
Lots of options are possible! - as with any 2Hb guitar - see our schematics page
John
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Post by einstein on Jun 12, 2007 17:47:41 GMT -5
Ok sweet a response... 1. blue only one connected to base 2. red-black is 11.9k, blue white is 11.83k bare wire is confusing 3. no extra connections seemed to happen with any other pairs 4. ok when i checked phase it was pos to neg in continous sweeps, when pos was red and neg-black as well as blue-pos white-neg so my assumption is in phase series is red/blue connected and my leads white-pos and black-neg as connection (23.9k! wooot). but bare wire is confusing me still, I suppose this extra info may help. And thanks a million for your reply...
I think I just want to be able to switch this sucker from like 24k to something strange like rear one phase inverted other normal. Or whatever anyone thinks is a good idea. I am totally new to re-wiring guitars, I only switch pickups occasionally.. It is being paired with very smooth/clear neck humbucker pickup out of a gibson les paul. So any suggestions or wiring ideas are welcome. may just try them all since once its in its staying there, and it doesnt take much to pull the back off to switch things a little. Thanks again im looking forward to your responses since this thing is just itching for new pups... 1 vol 1 tone, 1 3way switch, 1 8k neck humbucker, 1 24k quadbucker for bridge with extra wire. Should I buy a vol pot with a pull switch? or switch out the switch or just the connections? Red and blue appear to be pos for each and black and white appear to be neg for each but the blue is connected to base and there is an extra bare wire.
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Post by einstein on Jun 12, 2007 18:14:43 GMT -5
Ok I might be losing my mind but the blue is no longer grounded to base and the obvious bare one is. Whe I could have sworn it was not just before. I still need help, Ill be popping this thing into my guitar in the next hour or so, and then I will wire it once I have an idea what im doing. There seems to be so limited info for me to find on 5 wire motherbucker/quadbuckers. And thanks again for the warm welcome.
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Post by JohnH on Jun 12, 2007 22:06:51 GMT -5
That sounds better. the bare wire goes to ground, eg back of a volume pot, and is not part of the signal chain. Of the other four, it is not obvious which way is right. it could be like in your first post, or in your last post, or somethig else. Definately, the full resistance in series needs to be 24k approx. I suggest you wire it up, in a way you can change it. Then see if you have a full in-phase sound, or a thin out of phase one. Also see how it sounds combined with your neck Hb.
To really check out phasing, you need an analogue multimeter (ie with a needle) - do you have such a thing? You set it to the most sensitive dc volts setting, select what should be an in phase combo. Place a screwdriver tip carefully on each active coil in turn, and lift it up. The needle should always jump the same way.
It may work with a digi meter, giving a quick + or a - reading, but I have not tried it.
For your expanded options - how about an on-on-on toggle that would select series, single or parallel wiring for the Qbucker?
John
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 12, 2007 23:51:02 GMT -5
There was a thread about a year ago, where I worked with one of our members on a circuit for a WD Motherbucker. But it was a 9 or 10 wire unit. Two sets of 4wire + ground. What company makes the unit you have?
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Post by einstein on Jun 13, 2007 21:53:04 GMT -5
Ok I got it wired in and it sounded horrible, then I re-did the direction I sent the signal, White and Red connected, Black and Bare connected, Using black/bare as ground and blue as hot. Im going to need a wiring diagram for me to be able to add the coil tap. Im buying a pot or two to replace the vol knob Ill be wanting to pull it to reverse phase. Or any other simple solutions would help. All ideas welcome. Here are the basics. one 2wire neck humbucker, one 5wire quadbucker, 2 pots one 3way toggle... I will do whatever you suggest, after looking at the super strat and all its options I was really hoping for some good info on getting the most out of my quadbucker. I have a picture of the back insides but Im having trouble getting it on here. Thanks again for all your help.
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Post by einstein on Jun 14, 2007 14:25:50 GMT -5
Supposedly its a TOG Hot Blade Pickup (quad) Black Alnico V, and thanks for your reply unk.
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 15, 2007 0:10:59 GMT -5
hi Einstein,
I did some research. It seem TOG is TrickedOutGuitar, an e-bay company. There doesn't seem to be much information on their products. Even worse than GuitarFetish as far as info. You will probably have to get a multimeter and do the screwdriver pull-off test to determine polarity of the signal on each pair of coils, as well as which leads go to which pair of coils, then go from there.
good luck,
Unk
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Post by einstein on Jun 19, 2007 1:21:34 GMT -5
Well after double and triple wiring it different ways and every likely probability (including the one I was told by the TOG to use), I have come to decide it is just a pathetic pickup tinny thin sounding pickup with less than half the output of the plain ole humbucker I replaced. Is there any way to make it hotter? I is at least somewhat clean, should I put it in the neck position or something and try that? Any help is appreciated. Thanks again.
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 19, 2007 1:41:32 GMT -5
1 - Putting it in the neck position will make it sound thicker/louder. 2 - Insuring that all coils are in-phase will make it sound thicker/louder. 3 - Wiring is so all coils are in series will make it sound thicker/louder. 4 - Adjusting it so it is close to the strings will make it sound thicker/louder.
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Post by michaelcbell on Jun 19, 2007 6:27:44 GMT -5
I agree with unk. The issue is finding the phase of each. the 'screwdriver' test is the best I've seen and has been mentioned a number of times in this thread: guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=wiring&action=display&thread=1158868462&page=3#1179973539Of course, you need to figure out which wires go together first, which seems to be red/black and blue/white, with your bare wire as shield. If you're looking for a full sound, wire the sucker in series and see what happens. There are only two options if used by itself, which are: red hot, black/white connected, and blue ground; or black hot, red/white connected and blue ground. Try both and see which one is stronger. Once that's done, then combine it with the neck pup, switching the red or black (whichever one is your hot) and the blue ground and see which option is louder. If you're still not satisfied, return the pup.
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Post by einstein on Jun 20, 2007 9:17:42 GMT -5
Well I did the phase test and unfortunately it still has weak output, Im afraid it must be the pup itself. I didnt notice any increase from series wiring, and a strange thing happened when I did. If I tilted the pickup one way it got more dead and the other way more loud, meaning it seemed to be only working on one side. Anyways I wish I could return it but it doesnt seem that way, Ill just have to spring for a real pickup, maybe a dimebucker or bill lawrence. Thanks for your help everyone.
oh and unk I had it in phase and series and a little too close to the strings, I suppose Ill try the neck position on a lesser guitar of mine and leave it at that. Thanks again im sure ill see you soon....
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zamzara
Apprentice Shielder
Posts: 49
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Post by zamzara on Jun 20, 2007 19:02:42 GMT -5
Given the confusion over which wire is which, I wouldn't give up just yet. Have you tried reversing the phase to see if it helps? If you plug in a cable to the guitar, what is the resistance across the jack with the quadbucker selected?
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