Author Topic: Guitar Question (Read 168 times)

nirvana · « **on:** July 06, 2006, 12:28:58 AM »

Going for some serious recording time tomorrow with my friend and I found a problem. I was checking to make sure it all works since it's been a while since I played, and I can't play on the 2 and 4 selections for pick ups. That is, there are 5 selections, bridge, middle, and neck, then intermediate, bridge/middle and middle/neck. The 2 intermediate only provide some white noise, no matter how loud the guitar or amp is set.

It shouldn't matter for recording since I usually have the neck or bridge pick up selected, but I was just wondering.

It's a Mexican Stratocaster with an EMG 81 on the bridge so some wiring has been done, just don't know why the neck and mid wouldn't work.

Seraphim · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2006, 12:38:37 AM »

Sounds to me like one of your pickups is 'out of phase', what that means is that one of them (most likely the middle pickup) is wired backwards...it will work by itself, but when wired with others it will cancell out with the other pickup its selected with.
Since it's 2nd & 4th position, the center position is usually the center pickup by itself, with 2 & 4 connected to neck & bridge respectively. If they are all the same type pickup, they should have the same color wiring. If not, then it maybe mixed up, but that'd be my 1st bet.
Good luck with the recording!

DiabloTX · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2006, 01:00:24 AM »

Check the contacts on the 5-way selector switch. Often they need to be cleaned.

Yeager · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2006, 01:12:25 AM »

yeah....spray the switch with some cleaner or worst case, get a replacement switch. Doesnt sound like a pickup or wiring problem.

Worst case scenario: Go see a guitar doctor

My Ricky has a three way switch and the center position seems to lack a good contact with either front or aft pickup. I need to get in there and spray the damned thing.....

nirvana · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2006, 01:23:48 AM »

You guys ever have a contact probem with the cable to the guitar? I made it so you really have to push the cable in now, but it's in until you want to yank it out. Thanks for the input though guys, i'll check it out within the next few days. Contact point problems seem likely, we didn't touch any wiring in front of the middle pickup.

Lots of dust in it, blew it out, seems to work but I haven't put it back together.

Mustaine · « **Reply #5 on:** July 06, 2006, 09:41:14 AM »

2 position uses mid and bridge pickup, 4 uses mid and neck... when i used to mod and old guitar of mine the wiring goofed me up for a while. if it wasn't done right you'd get no sound because the signal wasn't coming from both pickups.

see here:

http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/

and make sure it is right, no a straight humbucker with NO coil splitting or anything fancy can be transposed in place of a single coil, as there is only a positive and negative wire.

hope that helps