Pickup wiring help

Dawdy · Post by **Dawdy** » Thu May 28, 2009 11:01 pm

my Ibanez RG350DX project continues...

i got a Dimarzio Tone Zone cheap off of Ebay
So, i wired this thing up in the bridge position, and it just doesnt sounds right. It doesnt quite sound as loud as the middle or neck pickups. Also, when set the switch to the bridge position, the guitar hums alot. its one of the hums thats loud when you face the amp, but goes away when you turn away. But this hum doesnt fully go away. The stock Ibanez pickup was absolutely quiet.

Im sure i have a shitty connection somewhere. I'm gonna have to rip it apart after work tomorrow. Stupid pickguard.

Anybody familiar with Dimarzio wiring? i have the bare and green wires grounded to the volume pot. I've got the red wire going to the switch (where the old pickup was soldered). I've got the white and black wires soldered together, and soldered where the old pickups white wire was (the dimarzio has an extra wire, and it says to solder the white and black together).

Sky Black · Post by **Sky Black** » Fri May 29, 2009 12:58 pm

Black and white should be soldered together but not to anything else. Cover that connection with tape and tuck it away so it doesn't touch anything.

If that doesn't fix it, it could be out of phase. Sometimes that happens when you replace just one pickup, though you should notice it when using multiple pickups at the same time, not the new one by itself. To try it anyway, reverse the phase of the DiMarzio by switching green and red- make green hot, and red to the ground.

JesseJames · Post by **JesseJames** » Fri May 29, 2009 3:33 pm

Wow, that kinda makes me respect sky a little more.

Aeon · Post by **Aeon** » Fri May 29, 2009 8:05 pm

http://www.dimarzio.com/media/diagrams/4Conductor.pdf

Dawdy · Post by **Dawdy** » Fri May 29, 2009 9:25 pm

figured out my problem. i shouldnt have assumed that dimarzio and ibanez pickups used the same colour scheme. i switched the red wire and the black/white wire on the 5-way switch and now everything is right

croninburg · Post by **croninburg** » Sat May 30, 2009 6:58 am

I think Dimebag wired one of his pickups out of phase.

Dawdy · Post by **Dawdy** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:22 pm

i would just like to add.....HOLY SHIT, Dimarzio Tone Zone is fucking AWESOME

Wrona · Post by **Wrona** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 1:08 am

The last three pickups i bought before i sold my equipment and guitars were tone zones.

croninburg · Post by **croninburg** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 12:50 pm

TK wrote:The last three pickups i bought before i sold my equipment and guitars were tone zones.

So you have given up on the guitar?

Wrona · Post by **Wrona** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:24 am

No i haven't. I've quit drinking and i've been fiddling with my girlfriends guitar a bit. I'm planning on buying another guitar soon, but this time im going to get some books and study theory instead of going half assed about music. I can play, but i really don't know what i am playing.

Just borrowed an electric keyboard from my sister today and im going to learn how to read music and dabble in the piano realm untill i get back to guitar.

croninburg · Post by **croninburg** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:50 pm

The piano is the best instrument for learning theory. Guitar is ridiculously counterintuitive in my opinion.

Wrona · Post by **Wrona** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 10:08 pm

Most theory books are made to study along with a piano right?

Hunter/Killer · Post by **Hunter/Killer** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:07 pm

i never did fuck with pickups. i've always taken it to the guitar store to get done.
but i did rip a middle pickup out of an old ibanez i have. the guy seen what i done with it and he just laughed.

warhead dime · Post by **warhead dime** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:46 pm

TK wrote:Most theory books are made to study along with a piano right?

Well the piano is basically designed to western theory, so I think playing the piano would help you to understand theory. It's in C major, which has no sharps or flats, and its really simple to switch to all the different modes of that scale. The guitar is easier in the sense that you can do the same exact scale patterns anywhere on the neck, but with the piano, due to the black keys, you can't just play the same patterns you have to adjust.