Need a little guitar wiring help

mbe

I'm swapping the bridge humbucker in a Yamaha Pacifica 112V.

I've removed the 3 wire Yamaha pickup and want to replace it with a 4 wire pickup using the DPDT switch on the tone pot to allow series/parallel output.

I have a diagram showing all 4 wires going to the switch with + and - output. Do I connect - to earth and + to the 5 way selector switch? 

Funkfingers

The bare screening wire goes to a permanent grounding point, such as a pot chassis. 

Whichever of the four pickup conductor wires its manufacturer's instructions says should be grounded goes to the same DPDT terminal as the switch's -ve/ground output. 

It is possible that the aftermarket humbucker will turn out to be reverse wound or reverse magnetic polarity relative to the stock single coils. Correcting this will involve reconnecting all four colour coded conductors at the mode switch. 

mbe

The new pickup is a Korean Epiphone Boo Heung from a Kramer Assault so I am assuming Gibson wiring colour code.

The Yamaha single coils are unbranded single wire and braided ground. Can I assume that the middle pickup is RWRP?

Funkfingers

Years of faffing about with replacement pickups taught me to assume nothing.

If the Yamaha single coils, selected together, reject hum, the centre position pickup is RPRW with respect to both the neck position single coil and whichever coil(s) of the bridge pickup operate(s) when the bridge and centre pickups are selected.

For visual confirmation, invert the Pacifica scratchplate. I would expect the ceramic bar magnets under one single coil pickup will be painted whereas the other will not. The one with the paint is RPRW.


In all frankness, I doubt that the Boo-hueng shredtastic humbucker is going to be a great improvement over the stock unit. My sincerest recommendation for a Pacifica is the Seymour Duncan Custom 5. Second choice; Tonerider Generator or TRH-3 Octane. (Check your polepiece spacing before ordering.)

mbe

Thanks for that. The Yamaha single coils have alnico slug magnets though. Last time I looked they seemed the same but I will look again.

I already have another Pacifica with a Custom 5. The Epi pickup is unusual in that it is a low wind 9.0k ohm and it came out of the stock Kramer after replacing with a hot ceramic to make it more shredtastic. It did sound sweet in the Kramer, just not what I wanted in that guitar.

The stock G&B pickup in the Yamaha is bland so I am thinking the Epi pickup might give me a more vintage vibe.

mbe

Connected it up tonight and think the bridge humbucker is out of phase with the middle single coils. Position 2 sounds very weak. All the other positions are fine

Will have another look tomorrow night.

ICBM

Reverse the + and - outputs of the series/parallel switch.

mbe

@ICBM thanks for that. I just swapped them and it has done the trick. Wis duly awarded.

@Funkfingers thanks for your comments. I wouldn't have thought of the phase issue without that. Wis duly awarded.