LP bridge PU sounds weak

[Searcher]

Hi guys. I wonder if someone can suggest a solution for this. I have a new Les Paul (Gary Moore BFG) and when I got it the bridge position was really thin and weak sounding. I thought that maybe it was just a lousy humbucker, but I've just dropped a warpig into the bridge and it still sounds bad. In fact, the neck pickup is just a P-90 and it's way louder than the warpig, even with the P-90 flush with the body and the pig up near the strings.

So it's not the pickup itself, but I'm guessing that the wiring is out of whack somewhere.  I suck with wiring though and don't know where to look first.  Any ideas?

Oh, I'm also totally new to guitars with two volume knobs, so I have a stupid question: in the middle position, is it normal that both volume controls can cut the sound completely?

Cheers.

[Miracle Man]

You could try wiring the bridge pickup straight to the output jack first. That way you'll be sure the problem is in the electronics (if it sounds good that way of course).  :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

Yes - in the middle position it is normal for either volume control to kill the sound

I wonder if something is shorting out - partially reducing the output of the bridge p/u
Either that or a dodgy switch perhaps

[MrBump]

You might want to have a look at the Seymour Duncan site at the Les Paul wiring diagrams.  They helped me wire up my Mules.

... actually, if I remember correctly, Philly Q also helped me wire them up after I bolloxed it up first time around...

But the diagram should help with initial troubleshooting.

Mark.

[swissguy]

Hi there

Not really the main subject, but anyway, my two cents...
Even if it is the norm for each volume control to kill the sound in the middle, it can be wired NOT to do so... which is the way I prefer it, allows for more subtle blends imo, but the "normal" way has definitely it's advantages... in distortion mode without noise gate, you really might want to kill the sound in the middle with just one spin...
Cant help you with the thin sound, I'm able to do basic wirings and soldering, but when it does not work as it should after that, I'm f****d  :lol:

[Twinfan]

Thin sound could be ground wires shorting somewhere, or poor soldering joint somewhere, or a faulty volume pot?

[Philly Q]

Is the Warpig 2-conductor or 4-conductor?

If it's 2, the braided shield could be shorting somewhere, as already mentioned.  If it's 4, you may have the colours mixed up - how's it wired now?

[Searcher]

Thanks for the help!

The warpig is a 2-conductor pickup, but I'm pretty sure it's not the pickup itself, since the burstbucker that came in the guitar had the same problem and it'd be a sad coincidence for both pickups to be dodgy.  Definitely possible, but I'm hoping that's not the case. 

I wired it exactly as it was when I opened it up, so if the wiring is wrong it was wrong in the first place.  But since it sucked in the first place, that's also possible.  I'll trace the leads to see if there might be a short and if I don't see anything obvious I'll have a go at sending the pickup straight to the jack and see if that changes anything.  If that doesn't help I guess I'll start looking for a bad connection or pot.

Thanks again, guys.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Hi there

Not really the main subject, but anyway, my two cents...
Even if it is the norm for each volume control to kill the sound in the middle, it can be wired NOT to do so... which is the way I prefer it, allows for more subtle blends imo, but the "normal" way has definitely it's advantages... in distortion mode without noise gate, you really might want to kill the sound in the middle with just one spin...
Cant help you with the thin sound, I'm able to do basic wirings and soldering, but when it does not work as it should after that, I'm f****d  :lol:

Yes rewiring to make it independant - not unlike on a jazz bass can be done
You reverse the tags on the vol pots that the input and output wires connect to , leaving the third tag soldered to earth

I still stand by the dodgy pot , dodgy switch or short circuit theory

Put a finger in the back of the guitar whilst playing and wiggle the wires to see if it gets any better
If it jumps into life you have an intermittent short in there somewhere...

[Searcher]

I haven't had a chance to do anything more than glance at it yet, but the braided pickup wires from both pickups are touching together in the channel through the body.  Would that cause any issues?  Wouldn't that more or less cause a connection between the two volume pots?  Feel free to point and laugh at my electronics ignorance.

[Philly Q]

That's just ground wire touching ground wire, it shouldn't do any harm.

[Frank]

I'm just guessing here but is the 4-conductor humbucker hooked up correctly? If a warpig sounds weak at all then I'd be checking that the coils weren't out of phase or accidentally wired as split coils. Certainly if it's quieter than a P90 then I'd be wondering if it was wired in properly.

It's worth remembering that not all manufacturers use the same pickup wire colour codes - if you copied the original wiring colours with a new humbucker from a different manufacturer then it's possible that one coil is shorted out or out of phase. Refer to the BKP wiring diagram!

[Searcher]

Thanks again.  :)

I was just about to start to mess with the wiring and then I thought it might be smart to take a photo of it before I did anything, just in case something is obviously out of place.  If anything is easily noticed in a photo it would beat trial and error! 

Here is the main wiring:



And here is a pic of the kill switch area, too, if that helps:

[Searcher]

Oh, and there are two volumes and one tone pot on this guitar, which is probably obvious.

[sjwebb90]

May have nothing to do with the problem but on the kill switch the "bare wire" coming off the top contact looks very close to the centre contact of the switch (red wire). Is it shorting out?