4-conductor meter reading issues.

dani

dani

Active member
hey legends,

i’d installed a jazz neck as per sd wiring diagram of black hot, red and white soldered and isolated, green and bare to ground but the jazz neck is permanently split to the screw coil instead of being in full humbucking mode.

metered reading of the hot and ground is about right at 7.10k. however, hot and red/white has no reading at all instead of half of the total resistance as with my other sd humbuckers. ditto for red/white and ground.

now here’s where it gets interesting. using a c5 as reference, i should get a reading from the black and white wire (north coil) as well as red and green (south coil), but there’s no reading at all with the jazz neck when i did the afore said.

however, i get a reading of 7.10k when i metered up the red and white wire. also, with the red and white wire disconnected, i’m able to get a reading of 7.10k with the hot and ground. both of which it shouldn’t be as with the c5.

can anyone help to decipher this?

thanks!
dani
 
Last edited:
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

update: only black + green or red + white shows 7.10k. no other permutation of wires shows any reading.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

In rare ocasions SD messes up the internal wiring. Tap on polepieces while you measure one coil. You will see a rise. So you can See the actual wiring e.g. screw coil between Red and White.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

this must be one of those rare occasions.

mucked around with the wiring and managed to get it working as it should by isolating red and green together, white and bare to ground, black remain as hot.

now my jazz neck measures a whopping 13.98k! :dunno:
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

Either you're doing something terribly wrong or you don't have a Jazz neck pup. The wire colors are wrong and the output/resistance is wrong. There is no way you'll get 13.98k (7.1k per coil) from a Jazz no matter how you have the wires connected.

What makes you think that you have a Jazz neck pup?
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

it came in a sd jazz model jewel case, pickup has sd silk screened logo, sd baseplate and a sticker stating sh2n. albeit buying off ebay used, i have no reason thinking it’s otherwise except for the dc resistance and the wire colour/internal wiring. fwiw, it balances well with a full shred in the bridge and sounded like how a jazz should. that’s why i’m perplexed.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

Doesn't matter what box it came in, etc. It's NOT a Jazz. Not with a DCR of 14k! And not with those wire colors.

I rarely buy off ebay anymore...too many crooks. You got cheated! Contact the seller, and also file a complaint about him to ebay. It probably won't help you because a crook is a crook, but it may save someone else.

You live and learn.
 
Last edited:
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

This is messed up...those readings don't make sense. Can you post some pics of the pickup, and the readings you are getting? We'd love to sort this out.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

here's some pics. had to raise the jazz neck to balance with the 12.99k full shred bridge. it felt and sounded similar to another jazz neck I have in a superstrat.

4ZcuI70.jpg

SpaSNV6.jpg

i3qiB92.jpg

OXUMjZN.jpg
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

I am not much of a genius myself and can't see properly on my phone what's happening in your cavity, but have you tried measuring thing on the pickup only, completely de-soldered and removed from the circuit? I might be off the mark, but with things all wired up, there could be something funky going on in the circuit which could mess up your readings making you think that something is wrong with the pickup...
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

i measured prior to soldering and it was 13.98k. the pickup looked right and sounded right compared to another jazz neck except for the wire colours and dcr reading.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

dani said:
i measured prior to soldering and it was 13.98k. the pickup looked right and sounded right compared to another jazz neck except for the wire colours and dcr reading.
Click to expand...

You say it "sounded right compared to another jazz", but in your first post you said that it didn't sound right...that it sounded like it was "permanently split to the screw coil instead of being in full humbucking mode".

In any case, you said you measured it at 13.98k before it was installed in the guitar. If the DCR reading was in the ballpark of a Jazz, I would say that the previous owner rewired it to Gibson colors which is no big deal and can be changed back if wanted. But there is no way you are going to even get close to 13.98k (7.10k from each coil) from a Jazz. Again I say, even though it looks like a Jazz...it isn't.

Perhaps an Asian copy/fake?
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

when i first wired it as per sd wiring diagram, it was permanently split to the screw coil. it’s only after wiring white and bare to ground and green and red together and taped away then it was working in humbucking mode and sounded right as compared to another jazz neck i have.

let’s say it’s a fake, how should i present a watertight case to ebay where everything points to a legit seymour duncan pickup except the dcr and wire colour?
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

Can you post a pic of it de-soldered from everything, with red & white soldered together, and one probe on the black, and one on the green?
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

did that. it read 7.10k. will do that later today. it’s 12.30am here.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

dani said:
let’s say it’s a fake, how should i present a watertight case to ebay where everything points to a legit seymour duncan pickup except the dcr and wire colour?
Click to expand...

Isn't that enough?!!

Just include a photo of the meter attached to the pup (unsoldered and out of the guitar) showing the 13.98k reading. That is proof enough that it is NOT an SD Jazz. The wire colors is just frosting on the cake.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

In your picture, the slug poles appear to be ground and polished flat. A quick look at my guitars with Duncans, the poles have circular marks left over from the lathe/screw machine.

It’s just one more thing that makes me think it’s counterfeit.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...THAT IS A FAKE!

This is exactly what my threads regarding the new counterfeits were discussing and attempting to show!

Some tell-tale signs that this is a FAKE:

  • Wrong slug poles
  • Wrong screw poles
  • Rounded corners on the mounting tabs
  • Flange where mounting screws thread through (possibly even a non-standard screw size)
  • Incorrect wiring/DCR

...the list goes on.

You can't trust that a pickup bought outside of an authorized dealer is real, even if it comes in a proper box because, as I showed previously, they are counterfeiting the packaging also!

The JB, Jazz, '59, etc. are all known to be affected at this point, and those are just the ones I have proof of myself.

Sorry, mang, your "Jazz" is as fake as they come. Pretty impressive, though, isn't it?
 
Last edited:
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

Fakes are becoming a very big problem. Authorized dealers, unless you are buying from someone you really trust (a friend). People are always looking for a deal, though, and (not saying it is this case), even saving $20 might be worth the chance for some people.
 
Re: 4-conductor meter reading issues.

that's a damn good fake. had to say I'm impressed. contacted the seller and he agreed to a refund. eBay was also notified. lesson learnt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top