jax2a
Rookie Solder Flinger
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Post by jax2a on Oct 24, 2016 9:13:55 GMT -5
Hi all, I didn't see an "Introductions" section so I guess I'll jump right to it... My name is Jack and I'm building my first electric and maybe I bit off more than I can chew. Everything is done except I can't get the wiring to exactly what I was envisioning so I went searching for a forum to help me figure out where I went wrong. The goal was to mimic/simplify a Jaguar set up. I'm using a single humbucker with a selector switch that allows me to use either half, both halves in parallel or both in series. That all works except for when you have all three switches to the series mode and move the middle switch to the opposite. That should break the signal chain and produce no sound but it still has a weak tinny sound. Also, the on/off switch and lead/rhythm switches aren't working right either. I thought that if i broke the ground where I did with the on/off switch all sound would cease but that's not the case. In fact the on/off switch is actually producing the lead/rhythm effect I was after with the lead/rhythm switch but the actual lead rhythm switch seems to be doing nothing at all. All cavities are fully shielded and the grounds are soldered to the shielding in their respective cavities. The grounds in the volume/tone/jack cavity and the on/off lead/lag switch cavities are soldered to the mounting plate shielding. The weird thing is I still get the same conditions with the selector switch plate and the on/off lead/rhythm switch plates removed and isolated from the guitar body/shielding. Since the grounds for the on/off lead/rhythm switch plates are completely isolated this way I don't know how it could still be making sound??? Does the shielding wire in the pickup ground the signal too? Any help would be appreciated, below is a drawing of how I currently have it wired. Thanks, Jack
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Post by newey on Oct 25, 2016 7:18:07 GMT -5
All of this sounds like a grounding issue, coupled with a mis-wiring of the lead/rhythm switch. Also:
No, because that coil then connects to output via the other end of the switch.
As to the led/rhythm switch, it does nothing because, in either switch position, the center wire to ground is engaged. No signal will go through the capacitor when it also has a direct wire to ground. You need to move that ground to the opposite end of the switch from the cap, so that, with the switch one way, the signal goes to ground, with it the other it goes to the cap, then to ground.
More basically, I question the wisdom of doing this switching on the ground side of the pickup at all. By switching the ground line instead of the hot, you leave the pickup "hanging from hot" when it's off, which can generate noise.
As for getting a slight signal with it "off", that's a bit of a mystery, but I suspect your shielding is an issue somewhere along the line here. We've never really discussed shielding of a Jaguar style guitar. Bear several things in mind: First, your switches, in their own cavities, are unlikely to cause any noise, and it's probably unnecessary to shield them. Second, unless those shields are tied to the negative lug of the output jack in some fashion, they aren't shielding anything anyway, as all shielding must be tied to the system ground to be effective. Third, using shielding to ground signal wires is generally frowned upon around here, as one gets questionable grounds that way.
Find a single point to collect all grounds. This can be the back of a pot or a screw and washer into the side of the cavity. All grounds, signal and shield both, will be collected there, and from there, a short wire goes to the output jack barrel (aka "sleeve") lug. I would not bother to ground the switch bodies themselves.
But, first things first, I suggest re-drawing the diagram, let us vet it before you begin wiring.
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jax2a
Rookie Solder Flinger
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Post by jax2a on Oct 25, 2016 12:47:02 GMT -5
Hi newey, thank you for your response!
I suspected this, thanks for confirming. I had seen it wired that way in a schematic I found on line and was skeptical of it.
Again, thanks as I was beginning to question my choice on this as well. Being a old car/motorcycle guy I wired it like I would for them. It isn't uncommon to wire an accessory like a light to turn on/off by completing & removing it's ground.
Agree
Good information. On the plus side all the shielding has been connected back to the output jack. I did research using the shielding for the signal but the results were mixed... So I wired it using the shielding as it was simpler, this may have been a mistake.
Will do, thank you for the input and assistance!
Jack
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