Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

[Markin]

Good Morning,

Last year I bought a new (shop display model) Jackson RR5 here in Spain. It is a lovely guitar and I have to say especially the neck, that has made me not like to play my Epiphone Zakk Wylde now

However, there is something strange about the guitar that I noticed a while back and thought nothing of it until I took it to my luthier the other day to adjust the truss rod etc. When the selector switch for the pickup is in the bridge position, volume at 0 on the bridge volume, and volume turned up on the neck volume button there is sound getting through to the amplifier. And vice versa when the selector is in the neck position. Consequently we discovered that the guitar at full volume on either of the pickups is giving terrible squealy feedback. Is this normal? Is the guitar wired in such a way that both pickups are working always together, or could it be a selector switch problem?

My luthier said that maybe it has been wired in series, when the norm for these type of humbuckers is to wire in parallel.

Any info you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Zerberus]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

Standard wiring for a Jackson Rhoads is master volume and 2 TONE controls.

Unfortunately, I`m not quite understanding what you`re trying to say, partly becasue at least one of what you´re calling a volume should be a tone control, meaning I have no real idea which knobs you are turning which way and therefore can`t tell exactly what`s going on.

If the pickups were wired in series, the switch would do nothing, or would work as a killswitch.

Here`s the proper wiring diagram for the guitar: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_1v_2t_3w

Standard placement on a rhoads is (sorry for the rudimentary diagram, but it should give you the idea, ignore the "-" and use the words to represent physical placement on the guitar`s face...)

---------------Neck Tone------ 3-way switch----------Master Volume
-----Bridge Tone

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

I will try and take some photos when I get home from work to try and explain. But from what I am seeing on the internet the RR5 is 2 volumes, 1 tone.

[Zerberus]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

^This is the part where I have to qualify /admit that my experience is primarily with USA Jacksons such as the RR-1. It could be that the RR-5 has a different setup, I am merely assuming that it should be the same as on a USA.

A picture of what is actually in the control cavity would definitely help in this case

*edit: According to the 2006 catalog, the RR-5 DOES have 2 volumes and a master tone.... This would be the proper diagram for that setup: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_2v_1t_3w

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

OK, confirmed by the internet that the RR5 is two volumes, one tone.

Firstly here are the photos to explain the problem better than with mere words





Then here are some photos of the wiring:-

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

So basically in the first photos what is happening is that on a distorted amp, bridge pickup selected, bridge volume at 0 and neck volume at max, I get a clean tone coming through, much lower power than with the appropriate volume maxed. And vice versa. This seems strange. Also my luthier thinks that this setup could be causing the extreme feedback I get with the guitar volume maxed. Let´s not forget both pickups are JB´s, and they have great output but we´re not talking anything insane.

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

Bump

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

Anyone?

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

Let me make sure I got this staight with the bridge pickup selected and the bridge pot on 0 and the neck pot on 10 your getting sound through the amp? What if you turn the neck volume down does it still give sound through the amp? if you tap on the pickups can you tell if the bleed through is coming from the neck or bridge pickup? It looks to me like its factory wiring still is this correct?

[Markin]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

Yes, when the bridge pickup is selected, bridge volume at 0 and neck volume turned up I am getting sound through the amp. This also happens vice versa when the neck pickup is selected, neck volume at 0 and bridge volume turned up.

No, when both volumes are at 0 there is no sound through the amp. This is true for all 3 positions on the pickup selector switch.

When the pickup selector is in any position tapping on either or both of the pickups gives a tapping noise through the amp. In real terms meaning that both pickups are activated all the time, and it doesn´t matter which pickup is selected with the selector switch.

Yes, it is the factory wiring. I have seen on the internet in my investigations other people who have experienced the exact same thing. In one forum somebody described this type of setup as a 50´s Gibson wiring setup. I haven´t got a clue.

Anyway, my luthier now has the guitar to check all wiring and if necessary change it to the the standard seymour duncan wiring guide for 2 humbuckers, two volumes, 1 tone. To tell the truth I was not too bothered about it until my luthier has suggested that this could be what is causing the guitar to give such bloody awful feedback, the fact that effectively if both pickups are on then a quadbucker is what is sending the signal to the amp. I hope he can get rid of this because the guitar is beautiful to play, but as soon as I plug it through my overdirve pedal and into my MEsa Boogie Nomad 55, I have to have the boss NS-2 pedal on the maximum settings to tame it to an almost usable level. My Epi Zakk Wylde doesn´t have this problem and I can be much more lenient on the amount of noise reduction I apply with the pedal.

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Jackson RR5 wiring problem?!?!?!?!

You could replace the pots and switch with better-quality components, because they are not shutting off completely. However, I doubt the Epiphone's guts are that much better, so it could also be a matter of properly shielding the control cavity.

Then again, isn't this a telltale sign of audio taper vs linear taper pots? Thought I read that somewhere once. Can never recall which is which, though.

One difference I'm seeing between the factory wiring and the Duncan diagram is that the pots' outer tabs are going to the switch, rather than the center lugs. This may also prevent the pot from truly being "off" at 0.