Hi all
I have recently picked up a cheap Artist ST62 HSS something-or-other, which I quite like. The electronics are behaving in an odd way, however.
When I first plugging it in, I thought the humbucker was wired out-of-phase, as it was quieter and thinner sounding than the singlecoils. No problem, easy fix! Before any repairs, I left the guitar alone for a couple of days. Next time I plugged it in, the humbucker sounded great but then the singlecoils were quiet and thin. This reversal has happened a couple of times this week. I cannot physically make it swap between the humbucker and singlecoils
sounding out of phase while plugged in, no matter what I do to try and diagnose the issue.
I do not want this out-of-phase sound, I want full, with more balance. Dodgy switch perhaps?
TIA.
Comments
One way to get a humbucker sounding odd is to wire it up wrongly. e.g. Installing a DiMarzio humbucker according to a Seymour Duncan schematic diagram. (Same conductor insulation colours, different order!)
Remotely diagnosing anything else will require photographs of your guitar's wiring.
You could spend ages (or longer) trying to diagnose the problem. It might be quicker to start from scratch with a fresh install. Decent switches / pots aren’t expensive …
If you bought it 2nd-hand or directly from them as B-Stock where dodgy electrics were mentioned, then you won't be able to return it for that fault. In that case the first place I would start is by carefully inspecting or just replacing the blade switch, but have a look at all the other solder connections while you are at it. It has standard HSS Strat wiring and the humbucker doesn't have coil splitting, so two of the four wires will be joined together. Take a few close-up photos of the wiring after you have removed the scratchplate so we can look for any obvious issues.