Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

sooperunkn

sooperunkn

New member
I'm going absolutely crazy here :yell: :yell: :yell: Both the bridge (really bad) and the neck (not as bad) squeal uncontrollably. My Les Paul is loaded with a C5 bridge and Jazz neck, both with gold covers. The guitar is wired in the Jimmy Page configuration (coil taps on each via mini toggles, series/parallel via push/pull tone pots).

Has anyone out there had microphonic feedback problems using the Jimmy Page wiring?

Here's some background if you're interested...

I got the work done last summer/fall and when I first got the guitar back I had really bad microphonic feedback at moderate gain/volume levels using various amps as well. So then I installed and waxed Gold Duncan covers but I still had the squeals. I didn't take it back to the shop because I didn't like the guy's work and I started to hear bad things too.

So I learned to live with the problem for a while... I re-EQd my amp to avoid the squeals and decided to put the work off until I got my axe refretted... which leads us to now. When I dropped the guitar off I explicitly explained the problem with the squealing and he said he'd fix it and test it under high gain/volume. Well.... the sh!t still squeals like a PIG!!!! And I'm more frustrated than ever. This is the 2nd guy who couldn't fix the problem. He said he cranked his 100 watt SS Crate and held the guitar in front of the amp and no squeals. I played through both my buddies 50 watt Rivera and my Boogie DR and it squeals like there's no tomorrow. I asked the guy what he did and he said he just re-waxed the PUPs and Covers.

How else can I diagnose this problem? I don't do wiring myself, which sucks because this is getting expensive and time consuming. If I had spare 4-lead pups around I would swap them in and see. Or maybe spare pots?

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:yell: :yell: :yell: :yell: :yell: :yell: :yell:
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

Perhaps obvious question, do you get it when you put a different guitar through your exact same rig, cables and all?
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

proxy said:
Perhaps obvious question, do you get it when you put a different guitar through your exact same rig, cables and all?
Click to expand...

No... it's definitely my axe. I've used my Jazzmaster with Antiquities (no wax) and my buddies Wolfgang with a stock bridge and sustainer in the neck!!
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

I guess this is an even more important question. Do you really like the JP wiring scheme?

Figure he didn't use anything close to that scheme prior to 1978....

In fact, didn't that wiring scheme pretty much get invented for the 1995 JP signatures?
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

search for some wiring diagrams, open up your guitar, and compare the diagrams to your actual wiring. Something isn't right........I've never heard of squealing with wiring problems, only hiss or silence. That's weird.
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

Every once and a while, I've found microphonics to be caused by faulty pots. Kinda rare, but in my experiences, when I swapped the pots out everythig was fine... Try to find other problems before this though.
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

Thanks for the tips guys...

I doubted that it was the wiring but I had to ask... I guess there's still a possibility it's the pups themselves but I think the chances of both being bad are very slim. With that being said, it sounds like the only thing left are the potentiometers!!!

I'll pull out my soldering iron and multimeter and give it a shot. Is there a way (via a multimeter) to test if a potentiometer is faulty? They all seem to work... but is there another sign that may tell me something may be wrong with them, rather than just swapping them out with trial & error?

Thanks again for the tips
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

Make sure everything that's supposed to be grounded is grounded. Check that all the switching options are noise free, and aren't humming when switched. If everything switches the way it should, maybe a pro should diagnose it......someone better than your tech.
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

Is there some chance that your pups are all wired in series?, Do you get the microphonics in all switch positions? Have you tapped on your pickups with a metal object, to make sure that the wiring is turning off the right pup at the right time?
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

yeah, i'd be stunned if it was the wiring or the pots ...

my money is on improper / incomplete potting

good luck
t4d
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

I'm piggybacking off this thread with another problem with the JP wiring (perhaps it's related to the original post issue). I don't get any "squeals" but I run into some different phenomena related to volume control.

First off, my volume pots no longer have the smooth volume range they used to have before the rewiring. It's as though the volume doesn't decrease significantly from 10 down to 2 or 3, but then cuts out very quickly below that. The volume pots seem usable only in the range from 0 to 3.

Secondly, I can never get the volume of the bridge pickup to true zero; there's bleed-through with the neck pickup on. Let's say I've got the neck pickup's volume pot on 10 and the bridge pickup's volume pot on 0. If I toggle to just the bridge pickup I can still slightly hear the guitar. What's worse, if I take my hands off the strings I get a really nasty buzzing sound.

So I've got two problems: no practical volume control and no total volume cut. Has anyone else experienced this?

- Keith
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

KGMESSIER said:
I'm piggybacking off this thread with another problem with the JP wiring (perhaps it's related to the original post issue). I don't get any "squeals" but I run into some different phenomena related to volume control.

First off, my volume pots no longer have the smooth volume range they used to have before the rewiring. It's as though the volume doesn't decrease significantly from 10 down to 2 or 3, but then cuts out very quickly below that. The volume pots seem usable only in the range from 0 to 3.

Secondly, I can never get the volume of the bridge pickup to true zero; there's bleed-through with the neck pickup on. Let's say I've got the neck pickup's volume pot on 10 and the bridge pickup's volume pot on 0. If I toggle to just the bridge pickup I can still slightly hear the guitar. What's worse, if I take my hands off the strings I get a really nasty buzzing sound.

So I've got two problems: no practical volume control and no total volume cut. Has anyone else experienced this?

- Keith
Click to expand...

Let me guess... the guy who worked on your guitar is named Chris and works out of a small shop in Marlborough, MA!!! I've got similar symptoms. My volume pot problem doesn't sound as extreme as yours, but I definitely get the same bleed through you described.

Have you ever played your axe through a high-gain tube amp? I only get the microphonic feedback under high gain.
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

KGMESSIER said:
DING DING DING!!!

You and I need to talk.
Click to expand...

I sent you an email brother! I remember when I was picking up my axe talking to some dude with a sweet Paul that was dropping it off for the same JP mod... was that you by chance?????

There has to be some forum member out there that has the CORRECT Jimmy Page wiring scheme and is happy with it????

It would be really cool if we could compare pictures of the control cavity or what wiring diagrams were used.
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

I even remember when I brought this to Chris' attention he mentioned he'd done the same wiring for another guy (sooperunkn, I now realize) and was surprised that he hadn't called complaining about the problem.

Chris gave him a call and lo and behold he did have similar wiring problems. Thank god for small worlds and cool forums.

- Keith
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

sooperunkn said:
I sent you an email brother! I remember when I was picking up my axe talking to some dude with a sweet Paul that was dropping it off for the same JP mod... was that you by chance?????

There has to be some forum member out there that has the CORRECT Jimmy Page wiring scheme and is happy with it????

It would be really cool if we could compare pictures of the control cavity or what wiring diagrams were used.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was me. I totally remember the day you and I were in the store talking about it. I got your email and replied. We absolutely have to find a solution to this. There's strength in numbers.

- Keith
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

that wiring mod has been discussed and correctly mapped out over in the pickup section......do a search for it, i know theres a correct blueprint somewhere in here
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

You're right, Flank. There's a thread rinse_master started in The Pickup Lounge. It's titled "Jimmy Page Wiring" and started on 06.14.2005 (just about a month ago). There are a few diagram links in that thread. Pretty sweet.

- Keith
 
Re: Microphonics due to complex (Jimmy Page) wiring?

I haven't had any squealing problems in the 3 guitars Ive wired for myself with the JP wiring.

I got my schematics from the Gibson website.

There are all sorts of variations of the JP wiring on the internet and not all of them work properly, some dont work at all.

Sounds like the installer didn't know what he was doing.
 
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