Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

If all you did was copy the p-rails wiring diagram and changed the colors on the neck it be fine.

I briefly looked at the scenarios where both pots were either pushed or pulled and can verify that they will work correctly (with Duncan pickups, of course).
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
If all you did was copy the p-rails wiring diagram and changed the colors on the neck it be fine.

I briefly looked at the scenarios where both pots were either pushed or pulled and can verify that they will work correctly (with Duncan pickups, of course).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. This is probably my most complex wiring job that I've done before. I've had more complex guitars before (including a JP-wired 335!) but I had pros do those. However, this guitar is part of my spring cleaning and so I set a rule of no $$$ spent and I gotta use parts I have. Originally the plan was to keep it super simple, but when I found those push-pulls that all changed... and I'm actually pretty excited to check out the results.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
Cool!

I'd still spend $0.10 on a tone cap though. ;)
Click to expand...

Yup, I probably will. For now should I just solder that lug directly to ground or leave it disconnected?

I have a .01 value cap in a basketcase bass that I could pilfer, but 1) I don't know if that's a good value to use, and 2) that makes one more thing I gotta do whenever I clean out that bass.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

To provide an additional load with a tone control without a cap, connect one outer leg to the input or the volume and the other to ground. This is the same as connecting a resistor in parallel with the volume control. It will help if you find the guitar to be too bright; otherwise leave the tone control disconnected.

A 10nF cap can work well for a tone control if you want to keep a little more body/upper bass/maybe some more low mids over a 22nF cap as you roll it back. It puts the low-pass cutoff an octave higher, but the cutoff frequency is usually pretty low with a 22nF cap to begin with. The actual cutoff frequency depends on the output impedances of the pickups.
 
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Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Well, apparently I bollocksed it up.

As far as I can tell, everything is working and sounding correct as long as the neck North coil isn't in the circuit (which is now rotated towards the bridge due to the neck pickup rotation). If it is, I get more noise and a weak phasey sound.

Here's how it is right now:

Toggle switch in bridge position:
all sounds fine

Toggle switch in neck position:
Neck south coil (rotated towards neck) single sounds fine.
Neck North coil (rotated towards bridge) sounds weak and phasey.
Neck both coils seems to give the same weak phasey sound as North Coil only?

Toggle switch in middle position:
Weak, phasey, and noisey unless I have only the outer coils selected, which sounds very good (neck South coil and bridge South coil)

I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not =/
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

I would start by making sure series mode in each pickup is working properly (DiMarzio colors):

Bridge: red is hot, green is ground, black and white connected to one another.

Rotated neck: white is hot, black is ground, red and green are connected to one another.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
I would start by making sure series mode in each pickup is working properly (DiMarzio colors):

Bridge: red is hot, green is ground, black and white connected to one another.

Rotated neck: white is hot, black is ground, red and green are connected to one another.
Click to expand...

Ok, so really dumb question here as I'm tracing through the diagram against my wiring some more: what's the convention for diagramming push-pull pots? In the diagram the two pots are rotated 180 degrees from each other, and I'd assumed that the terminals are drawn such that the ones closest to the pot base are drawn closest to the pot base. That would mean that in the diagram, the 'elevation' of the push pull terminals are visually inverted in relation to each other. But maybe that's wrong and both pots have the terminal furthest from the base visually towards the top of the diagram?

Does that make sense?
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Ok, so I solved that problem which was, as I suspected, a bad ground connection from the neck white (SD colors).

But I've got it back together and there's definitely still something wrong.

In the middle single coil modes instead of getting the outer coils together and the inner coils together, I'm still getting the bridgeward coils together and the neckward coils together. As expected in that case, when I flick between bridge and neck positions I'll am flipping between bridgeward and neckward coils of each pickups, respectively.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

No hum or out of phase issues? Rotate a the pickup that gives you both inner/outer with the switch positions that you want and call it done?

It should be that the cables come out from the same corner after the rotation; but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Not sure if there's any mistakes in what you suggested or if I made a mistake I haven't realized, but your assistance has been a godsend for me!

Here's what I'm hearing (to check which coil is active I'm tapping on the bobbin tops with a screw driver and listening):

Both push/pulls down (standard series):
1. Neck: low noise, good output, surprisingly bright and quacky
2. Middle: low noise, good output, kinda quacky/phasey
3. Bridge: low noise, good output, sounds like a bridge humbucker

Vol push/pull up (bridgeward coils):
4. Neck: single-coil hum, good output + sound
5. Middle: low noise, good output and sounds a little like Strat notch
6. Bridge: single-coil hum, good output + sound

Tone push/pull up (neckward coils):
7. Neck: single-coil hum but less than the other coil, less output too. Guessing both are due to Evo design
8. Middle: more noise than #7, seems like the same noise as #4. Similar overall to #5 but brighter and less noise cancelling I think because its using the weaker Evo coil
9. Bridge: single-coil hum, good output + sound

Both push/pulls up (parallel):
10. Neck: almost as much noise as #4, much more noise than #1. Higher output and fuller sound than #1 too, which I don't understand
11: Middle: more noise than #2. Brighter, as expected. I think it sounds less phasey than #2 but that might be that it just sounds less congested because its parallel instead of series. Is parallel more susceptible to hum because there's less load overall?
12: Bridge: low noise. Sounds correct, very bright as expected

I guess that's my tone report! What do you think? Wiring seems sound and we just need to rotate back that neck pickup?

Do you think there's any chance that DiMarzio makes their neck pickups RWRP? I know DiMarzio makes a lot o HSH pickups for Ibanez, so I could see them needing to do RWRP neck pickups for that reason :dunno:
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

It would seem the neck isn't wired right if you're getting more output in the setting that is supposed to be parallel than the one that is supposed to be in series.

If switching from one coil to the other works then the split is working. I use a magnetic screwdriver or a small magnet in order to be absolutely sure which coil is active.

Regarding magnet polarity, the pickups should repel from one another when placed face with the cables both coming out from the top (or bottom).
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Hey, I'm the noobiest noobie, esp. when it comes to tech stuff. But I want and need to know. Dumbest question first; what is RWRP? I watched a video last night (Paul Graham),who started out ok-things aren't right, probably strings too close to pups -->adjust. Got it. Raise pole pieces, got it. Make treble strings closer to pole pieces-don't know or forgot already (serious CRS). Then, I think he's insane when he says make your tele better by removing all pole pieces in neck pup. Then he goes into the parallel wiring. But why? The last was attach capacitor to neck pup and have "the best of both worlds". Now, I was paying attention, and halfway through I'm thinking "Dude, why don't you buy a strat". Apparently the idea is a single coil pickup sound from neck and humbucker from bridge??? Or, if you just want to keep your tele, why not just stick a single coil in the neck pickup? Or do something with P90s (I'm a big fan). Why all that pulling, cross-wiring, soldering, blah blah blah? By the end I lost the goal, which I don't think he stated in the first place. He played it after every mod, and to me, it sounded way better than before he touched it. Except for raising the action. WTF? Gassing for strat? Perpetually anal modder? Like I said, I am very new, so can anybody shine a light on this exercise?
 
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Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
It would seem the neck isn't wired right if you're getting more output in the setting that is supposed to be parallel than the one that is supposed to be in series.

If switching from one coil to the other works then the split is working. I use a magnetic screwdriver or a small magnet in order to be absolutely sure which coil is active.

Regarding magnet polarity, the pickups should repel from one another when placed face with the cables both coming out from the top (or bottom).
Click to expand...

AAgghh. This, exactly is what sort of, what I am asking. What, exactly, does changing the neck pickup to parallel wiring do for the sound?
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

Please start a new topic. The OP is having trouble with his wiring. This isn't a good time for tangential discussions.
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
It would seem the neck isn't wired right if you're getting more output in the setting that is supposed to be parallel than the one that is supposed to be in series.

If switching from one coil to the other works then the split is working. I use a magnetic screwdriver or a small magnet in order to be absolutely sure which coil is active.

Regarding magnet polarity, the pickups should repel from one another when placed face with the cables both coming out from the top (or bottom).
Click to expand...

So why would somebody want to make neck humbucker parallel?
 
Re: Converting a humbucker to RWRP?

gregory said:
Please start a new topic. The OP is having trouble with his wiring. This isn't a good time for tangential discussions.
Click to expand...

I didn't understand yesterday, but now I do. Sorry to distract from problem. I apologize. There is so much to learn/understand. But next time somebody says that to me I will know to go away!
Sorry again.
 
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