weird wiring issue

[JRM]

Hi

I have been a lurker for a long time but this time I can't seem to find what I am looking for.  I recently purchased a set of black dogs for my schecter ATX 7 string and I wanted to wire it as 2 vol and 1 tone with push/pull.  After pulling my hair out for a few hours I finally got it making sounds but it still wasn't sounding right. 

It sounds like an open wah pedal on the top strings, I have disconnected everything and just hooked the bridge pickup straight to the output jack and it sounds awesome.  What would be the likely culprit causing the problem? 

[DalyTek]

Sounds like it is wired up wrong.  But without a diagram or clear pictures that show what is wired to where (as well as what you want the push/pull to do) we can't really help you with where the wiring went astray.

[JRM]

good point, sorry  :oops: I was using this diagram https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/downloads/schematics/general/humbuckers/2_hum__2_vol__1push_pull_tone_coilsplit__3_way_blade_switch.pdf

one thing that has me confused is though which tab is the correct one to solder the wire from the 3 way?  I soldered it to the same one that the cap is soldered too (per the close up), would that be why it sounds weird?

I got annoyed with it tonight and pulled it all out so I can't take a pic at the moment. 

[zamsden]

In parallel mode with that wiring, you are loading across three 500k ohm resistors rather than two, so you're 166k Ohm above ground instead of 250k.  Is the problem only when using both pickups in parallel?  If that is the problem, it should sound pretty good in single coil and be losing top end in humbucker mode.  Using two 1M volume pots would solve this problem.  Or you could try a no-load tone pot.

Reading your second update, it sounds like you wired it wrong.  If you wired the hot from the three way directly to the middle lug and had the capacitor there directly to ground as well, you'd have a permanent tone filter, almost line an open-wah...

[JRM]

thanks for the reply

I have reconnected everything to be exactly the same as the diagram, and I either get the open wah sound, with the selector wired to the middle lug or the tone won't work when I wire the selector and the jack to the same lug.

How do I wire it so I get the tone to work but not the open wah sound?

cheers
Jason

[zamsden]

It's not a no load tone pot is it?  If the pot is no-load and you wire to the wrong lug, the tone pot won't work, and when you wire to the middle, you'll get the wah tone again.

I would start by checking all grounds, making sure everything is in phase, and then try wiring both the jack and the selector to the opposite (left or right) lug on the tone pot, maybe you got that backwards?  Remember, you're looking at the pots upside down.  A volume pot will still work if wired backwards, the taper would be wrong, but a no-load tone pot wouldn't work at all.

[JRM]

I gave up on the 3 way and push pull, and decided to try the 5 way superswitch and a prs tone pot I had laying around.  I connected the output and volume from the neck and bridge to the same lug that was used in the PRS and I still get the same problem.   It was intermittently working for a short while.  I was getting some crackle then it started to work.  I disconnected everything again and resoldered and now nothing.

I have tested all the connections with a multimeter and the pot is working and it appears I have good continuity between the grounds and the switch to the volumes and from them to the tone lug where I soldered the output and volume controls.  When I test the DC resistance for the neck and bridge it is pretty much to what was on the pickup container. 

[JJretroTONEGOD]

the solder should be very shiny, they all look like cold joints to me from seeing the photo... did you tin all the wires? what type of solder are you using? lead free or lead/tin based? you should be using the lead/tin 60/40 type or even better 63/37 if you can find it.

[JRM]

Thanks for the tips, I will try tidying up the joints.  I tinned all of the wires and the solder I am using is lead/tin based.  I am pretty sure it is 60/40.

I plugged it in to the orange TH30 last night with the gain cranked and it was very quiet with no more buzz than what the orange normally has on  my other guitars, so I guess it is grounded ok for the most part?  Is the tone pot alot more fussy with connections as a general rule?

The black dogs sound great through the amp, I just can't use the tone  :lol:

I was getting these reading from the multimeter
neck around 7.4k
bridge 8.9-9.1k
bridge/neck (middle position) around 4.02
and positions 2 & 4 was around the 2's

does this seem like there is good connectivity or am I off on the wrong path with testing everything?  I am still fairly new to doing this sort of thing.  In the past I have just put new pickups into the existing volume and tone controls and never done a full change over.

[darkbluemurder]

I tinned all of the wires and the solder I am using is lead/tin based.  I am pretty sure it is 60/40.

That would be the standard solder - nothing wrong with it.

I plugged it in to the orange TH30 last night with the gain cranked and it was very quiet with no more buzz than what the orange normally has on  my other guitars, so I guess it is grounded ok for the most part?  Is the tone pot alot more fussy with connections as a general rule?

Grounding seems to be fine. Tone pots are not any fussier than volume pots but you may have a defective pot or the pot is not correctly grounded - in that case turning the pot will do nothing.

I was getting these reading from the multimeter
neck around 7.4k
bridge 8.9-9.1k
bridge/neck (middle position) around 4.02
and positions 2 & 4 was around the 2's

does this seem like there is good connectivity or am I off on the wrong path with testing everything?  I am still fairly new to doing this sort of thing.  In the past I have just put new pickups into the existing volume and tone controls and never done a full change over.

The measurements seem to be fine. They are confirmed by the fact that you stated the pickups sound great now. I would check and double check the tone pot's grounding connections.

Cheers Stephan

[JRM]

Tried cleaning the pot and then re soldering, still no change, but the pot seems to be ok as the resistance changes from 500k to 0 when turn the knob.  I hooked up another old pot from my ibanez and that one works hmmmm I am starting to think it is out to drive me mad.