PRS CE 22 wiring problems

[FuelGTRX]

I was rewiring my PRS CE 22 from the stock 5-way rotary switch to the McCarty style 3-way switch (but without the push-pull coil tap). I got it wired right but it doesn't sound right. I put in a Trembucker JB and '59 in it and the JB sounds strange. It sounds like the tone knob is rolled back slightly. The low string especially sound bad, dull and muddy. What could be causing this?

Also, there's a cap on the volume pot between the input and output of the potentiometer, what does this do and could it be causing this sound?

[mrid]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have to flip one of the pickup's magnets for the PRS wiring scheme.

[FuelGTRX]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have to flip one of the pickup's magnets for the PRS wiring scheme.

I have no idea. All I wanted to do was wire the guitar up like a les paul with only one volume and one tone.

Could this be caused by the trem? I have the guitar setup with .10-.52 (light top/heavey bottom) in half step tuning (Eb,Ab,Dd,Gb,Bb,Db) and the trem is flaoting.

[Stratsky]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have to flip one of the pickup's magnets for the PRS wiring scheme.

Like the man said, you need to flip the magnet in the bridge pickup.

[FuelGTRX]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Like the man said, you need to flip the magnet in the bridge pickup.

Would the phase be affected even if I'm not using the 5-way rotary switch?

Don't I just have to switch the black and green wires instead of flipping the magnet?

Stratsky, how is the tone pot wired stock with the 5-way rotary switch? When I was trying to rewire, I forgot to write down how the guitar was laid out stock.

[HolyDirt]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Would the phase be affected even if I'm not using the 5-way rotary switch?

Don't I just have to switch the black and green wires instead of flipping the magnet?

Stratsky, how is the tone pot wired stock with the 5-way rotary switch? When I was trying to rewire, I forgot to write down how the guitar was laid out stock.

I also have a ce22, but i converted mine to a 3 way toggle because i despise those 5 wayt rotaries. First off all, you do need to flip one of the magnets in either the neck or bridge pickup, but this would not cause the crappy tone... by best bet would be that the jb is too far away from the strings... JB's usually sound good really close to the stings (1/8"-1/16")

[That90'sGuy]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

If your green and black pickups were off, it would sound thin and weird ("out of phase"). Trust me, I just went through that finding out what sounds better in my Grosh.

I'd say flipping the magnet is the way to go as others have stated.

[HolyDirt]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

If your green and black pickups were off, it would sound thin and weird ("out of phase"). Trust me, I just went through that finding out what sounds better in my Grosh.

I'd say flipping the magnet is the way to go as others have stated.

But he described one of the strings as being muddy and flubby, messed up phase wont do that. Or at least nothing like that that i've encountered...

edit: dont get me wrong, the phase is WRONG, one of the magnets needs to be flipped, but i think the pup hight is messed up also

[FuelGTRX]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

But he described one of the strings as being muddy and flubby, messed up phase wont do that. Or at least nothing like that that i've encountered...

edit: dont get me wrong, the phase is WRONG, one of the magnets needs to be flipped, but i think the pup hight is messed up also

Well, I have tried messing with the pickup and pole piece height and that doesn't seem to be fixing the problem. Plus, it's just more noticable on that string, overall, the pickup sounds like the tone knob has been rolled off a little. Also, I think the neck pup is sounding a little too bright, so it might be a phase problem. I'm going to try the magnet flip trick tomorrow.

[Robert S.]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Do not flip the magnet.

The only time you need to do that is when you are splitting both HBs and you want the PRS inner/outer coil thing. On a 2 HB guitar with a std 3 way switch and std wiring (no splits) flipping a magnet or reversing the wiring of one pickup will cause phase problems when both pickups are on.

If you are having problems with the JBs tone there are a few things that might be the case. For one the pickup height may be off but you've already tried adjusting that so thats probably not your issue.

Secondly you may have a bad solder joint that is causing high end loss so recheck/resolder all your solder joints.

Your pot may have been damaged during the uninstall/reinstall process so you might want to meter your volume and tone pots with nothing connected to them, looking for 500k to zero ohms across their sweep.

If your bridge is out of calibration or if you have a bad string (it happens even with a new set) the oscillation of the string can be off, making that string sound muddy or tubby.

Too low or too high of action can also effect your tone and strings that are too low and rattle excessively against the frets will often sound bad.

Your problem can be caused by any number of things, but it's not a phase issue when you are playing on only one pickup. Phase is only an issue when BOTH pickups are in use at the same time.

[FuelGTRX]

Re: PRS CE 22 wiring problems

Well I tried flipping the magnet and it worked. The odd sound is now gone and the pickups sound more balanced between eachother. I don't know how it worked but it did.