help with new Seth Lovers

arjepsen

New member
Hey.
I'm having a bit of trouble with a pair of Seth Lovers I just installed in my new home-assembled warmoth guitar.
The neck pickup sounds fine, but the bridge pickup output is MUCH lower, and sounds very thin and nasal.
From what I've read, this might be how it sounds, if two humbuckers are wired out of phase - but the problem is quite clearly only from the bridge pickup. (the neck sounds fine - the middle position is pretty much the same as neck alone).

I went for 50's wiring, and after tripple checking, I do belive I got it wired right.
As per the diagram that came with the pickups, I soldered the green and bare wire together to ground, the red and white together and heatshrinked, and the black to the pot.

I presume the color coding of the wires are trustworthy??

For a test, I disconnected the black wire from the neck pickup from the volume pot, and moved the black wire from the bridge pickup to that pot insted - to check whether there was a problem with the pots. But the pots seem to be fine.
On a note- the volume and tone pots work - it's just that the sound from the bridge is much lower, and sounds thin.

Help?

Regards
Anders
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

Try soldering that pickup directly to the output jack. Black - hot, bare and green to the ground.

The next thing is pickup height. How far is it from the strings?

Generally I've had set of Seths in my SG and I've loved the sound of them witch AlNiCo 3's, but same as you, the neck was slightly overpowering the bridge, so you can basicaly have the same issue.
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

Try soldering that pickup directly to the output jack. Black - hot, bare and green to the ground.

The next thing is pickup height. How far is it from the strings?

Generally I've had set of Seths in my SG and I've loved the sound of them witch AlNiCo 3's, but same as you, the neck was slightly overpowering the bridge, so you can basicaly have the same issue.

Thanks for your suggestions.
I'll try to connect it directly.
However, it's not just slightly lower - it's a LOT lower. I'm wondering if the color coding on this particular pickup is wrong - I presume that just MIGHT explain it.
Don't think pickup height is the issue either - I've messed around with that already.
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

well, wiring the pickup straight to a jack gives the same tinny sound. I guess somethings bad with the pup :-(
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

There's nothing bad with the pup, that's how vintage output pickups sound in bridge position. There are certain things you can do to modify the pickup which can help, but if you want a full sound in bridge position you have to get a medium or high output pickup.
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

There's nothing bad with the pup, that's how vintage output pickups sound in bridge position. There are certain things you can do to modify the pickup which can help, but if you want a full sound in bridge position you have to get a medium or high output pickup.

Thanks for the answer.
Unfortunately not quite right.
It was not a matter of just being a bit lower - it was a LOT... like... REALLY a LOT lower.
You're right, in that there's nothing wrong with the pup itself.
But the color coding of the wires IS wrong! (according to what SD lists)
I was looking over the SD support parts, and found one description matching my problem.
It turned out I had to connect the white wire to the green. This fixed it!
However, then the bridge pickup was out of phase with the neck, so I ended up with red being hot, black going to ground, and white and green connected and heatshrinked.

Now I'm only wondering how this happened.... The pickups are clearly marked for neck and bridge, so someone must have messed up, when they attached the wires to the pickups......
Anyone else experience something similar from SD?
 
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Re: help with new Seth Lovers

Color coding with a Seth Lover set? They are one conductor with braided shield... where did you get your Seth Lovers from?
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

I got 4C from Sweetwater, and you can get them 4C stock on their website. Just a small up charge from standard 2C.
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

I had a set of PRails where the neck pickup was internally out of phase - fix was to switch the wires, as you've found. I don't know that it happens too often, otherwise there'd be many more posts.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

So did you fix it for good by switching the hot and ground? Are they in phase now?
 
Re: help with new Seth Lovers

Try an A4 mag, or roughcast A5, that will boost your bridge more if needed!
MJ @ the custom shop had me try that when years ago I was tiring to match a PAF I had. The A5 was good the roughcast A5's I have tried lately I like better.
Steve Buffington
 
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