Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

R

Reverend

New member
Hi all! New guy here! Glad to meet yall. I could really use some advice here. Just recently got a Jackson DKMGT in a trade. Unfortunately I didnt get to plug it in. The original pups have been removed and Mustaine Livewires put in their place. Now Ive played the Mustaines on another guitar and they blew me away so I know they are for real, the problem is only the bridge pup will work and it sounds horrible. Also the neck doesnt really work at all. If I really crank it I can get a slight sound to register from the neck pup so there is current of some kind going to it.

Yes I have gone over the appropriate wiring diagram(3 way switch,1 vol, 1 tone)and despite looking like it was soldered together by chimpanzees all the wires go where they are supposed to...I think..I also double checked all the hardware, pots are 100k, stereo jack, proper capacitor..I think..its yellow and says 250v 1k on it and from looking at the site I think thats it. Ive checked the color code bands on the wires coming from the pups themselves and unless somebody switched them as a cruel joke then the bridge is in the bridge etc....

Ive messed with the pup height ad nauseum to no avail. Only the bridge works, is noisy as hell and sounds awful.....plz help!

Oh and I do admit that the solder points are pretty half assed. A couple barely pass as "soldered". Now I can solder....Ive just never done a guitar before....
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

the soldering Might be the problem...I wired some duncan blackouts to mine and I had no sound... it was because I did a crappy job soldering everything, But I redid the soldering over again neatly and the pickup worked great. So I suggest you resolder everything, then work at it from there..
Hope this helps..
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Check that both of the Quik Connect block connectors are the correct way around.

Also, check that the guitar has a three lug Tip-Ring-Sleeve "stereo" output jack socket rather than a Tip-Sleeve "mono" jack. (It is important that the signal and battery ground wires go to the appropriate terminals.)

Problem could be something as simple as a drained PP3.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Thanks for the replies folks! The jack is the correct 3 lug stereo jack. Another thing I just noticed while trying to get rid of F***ING fret buzz that just wont die is that the pup rings are angled which is also angling the pups. Wtf? I hope the dude I traded with is enjoying his 1,500 bucks worth of gibson I traded him. I know I know wtf did I do it? Because an LP Studio no matter how upgraded(KFK Emgs)is still a freaking boat anchor with a softball bat for a neck.

Anyways Im doing more research to re wire this thing right, get some flat pup rings and make it work. How come the SD site doesnt have info like what wire gauge, what kind of solder etc? Like Ive said I can sauder Ive just never done a guitar before and am totally lost on those two points.

The BS never ends....will try to post pics later...ty
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Reverend said:
I'm doing more research to re wire this thing right, get some flat pup rings and make it work. How come the SD site doesnt have info like what wire gauge, what kind of solder etc?
The BS never ends....will try to post pics later...ty
Click to expand...

Photographs will certainly help. Flat pickup surrounds will help too, eventually.

Professional repairers use flux cored solder. My preference is CEL 60/40 18swg. On no account use the cheap acid solder stuff sold by thrift stores and Radio Shack.

I am not clear of which wires you wish to know the gauge. The wires inside pickup coils? The pickup output conductor wires? The wires between the controls? The wires between the pots and the selector switch? The wires running to the output jack?

In your position, I would be tempted to undo all of the chimpanzee soldering and remake all of the connections to your standards.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Reverend said:
Thanks for the replies folks! The jack is the correct 3 lug stereo jack. Another thing I just noticed while trying to get rid of F***ING fret buzz that just wont die is that the pup rings are angled which is also angling the pups. Wtf? I hope the dude I traded with is enjoying his 1,500 bucks worth of gibson I traded him. I know I know wtf did I do it? Because an LP Studio no matter how upgraded(KFK Emgs)is still a freaking boat anchor with a softball bat for a neck.

Anyways Im doing more research to re wire this thing right, get some flat pup rings and make it work. How come the SD site doesnt have info like what wire gauge, what kind of solder etc? Like Ive said I can sauder Ive just never done a guitar before and am totally lost on those two points.

The BS never ends....will try to post pics later...ty
Click to expand...

Angled pickup rings won't make a difference in the way you're describing. You might even find it works great with those angled rings, like I did by accident on my Epi Black Beauty.
If you checked the battery, there's something more at work than angled pup rings.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Funkfingers, the wires Im referring to are just the basic red, white, black and bare wires that connect the jack, pots, switch and battery. The only thing thats un-chimpanzeed is that at least he got the bridge pup in the bridge and the neck pup in the neck. Other than that Im not even sure he used the wiring that came with the Mustaines. To me they look of unequal gauges. Am taking the advice Im getting here and doing the wiring all over again. THANK YOU for the solder info! Thats what I needed to know. Now, as soon as I can nail down what the correct gauge for the Mustaines are(is it all the same?)Ill be putting in an order to Allparts and praying that I dont ruin those nice premium pots that came with the set. Also, why are 100k pots so hard to find? Ive looked all over the place and havnt seen a single one not even on Allparts, Stew Mac etc...

I think I may be to late in saving the premo gear that came with the Mustaines. Am going to go over things with my handy voltmeter as I think the Switchcraft 3 way may not be flowing current when switched to the neck pup.

As for the pup rings...now I gotta find out what is supposed to be on a Jackson DKMGT when in comes to pup rings. Im pretty sure they are supposed to be flat as both pups are angled away from the strings instead of even.

What a freaking journey. I just wanted a light guitar with a nice thin neck of some compound radius or another as Ive always loved Jackson necks. Will try to post pics tomorrow....thanks folks...
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Man. I hope I never trade a perfectly good Les Paul for a godforsaken Jackson with bad wiring.

Good luck with that man.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Seymour Duncan Quik Connect pickup cables are skinny and have black outer insulation. EMG ones are thicker and white. They both work the same.

Right now, my LTD Eclipse has Duncan Live Wire Classic IIs running on an EMG loom. I have an Ibanez running EMGs on Duncan cables. The 9v stuff is interchangable. Obviously, it does inspire greater confidence when things match each other.
 
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Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Here's a dumb question, but do the quick connect connectors come with the pickups? I've been thinking about buying a set but am worried about the difficulty level of installation.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

Yes, brand new examples of Quik Connect active pickups for electric guitar are supplied with the necessary cables. For instance, Duncan Live Wire Classic IIs come with three-pin QC blocks. Triple coil, mode-switching active pickups such as the EMG-89 and -81TW come with their own special five-pin connector.
 
Re: Mustaine Livewires..again...plz help!

re-do the soldering and use a new 9V battery. If still doesn't work, post a picture.
 
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