P-Roblems with my P-Rails

[Bobisadrummer]

Re: P-Roblems with my P-Rails

Also, what would wiring the tone cap to both of the tone AND volume output lugs result in because that's what the Guitarelectronics guys are saying is a 50's wiring mod. I've seen some 50's wiring where they attach the tone cap from the tone pot ground to the volume pot output lug. I've also seen some where the tone cap is connected to the tone pot output to a ground(either grounded on the tone pot or sent to the volume pot ground) then a wire is connecting the tone pot ground lug to the volume pot output lug.

 

[jmatacola]

Re: P-Roblems with my P-Rails

So I installed a set of P-Rails w/ triple shots in my Chapman ML-3 which has 24 frets. I have them flipped so the rails are outward. I have a 4 way blade for series and parallel middle positions. My volume pot is a push/pull pot that when pulled, bypasses both the volume and the tone pot kind of like a blower switch, but it still takes into account my pickup selection, though I'm not sure if it takes into consideration the phase switch. The tone push/pull pot switches the phase of the bridge P-Rail. I also have the capacitor wired for 50's style so I don't lose high end when rolling back the volume. So my problems are I'm not getting the hum cancelling effect in certain positions/combos that I thought I should be.

I get hum cancelling, as I should with the following:
Bridge position, series or parallel via triple shot.
Neck position, series or parallel via triple shot.
Bridge+Neck position Parallel while both pickups are in humbucking mode via triple shot in phase and out of phase.
Bridge+Neck position Series while both pickups are in humbucking mode via triple shot in phase and out of phase.

I'm getting hum cancelling, which I don't think I should with the following:
p90 bridge + rail neck in phase.
rail bridge + p90 bridge in phase.
p90 bridge + p90 neck out of phase.
rail bridge + rail neck out of phase.


I'm getting hum, which I shouldn't be with:
p90 bridge + p90 neck in phase.
rail bridge + rail neck in phase.
P90 bridge + rail neck out of phase.
rail bridge + p90 neck out of phase.

Basically, I'm not getting hum cancelling effect from the middle positions when the pickups are running in match single coil mode in phase though from what I've read, I should be. I'm only getting the hum cancelling when I switch the phase of the bridge pick up. Am I wrong? It could be my wiring. I've actually commission two diagrams and I have contacted both people I got the diagrams from, one suggested I have the ground and hot wires reversed somewhere, probably the phase switch. I'd post the diagrams but I'm not sure if they'd appreciate their work being posted online The bridge pickup is also wired to the tone pot for the phase switch.

You might have a problem with the connections on the triple-shot itself. I have had 2 that were shorting out and a third that simply broke off when I tried to install it. Going for the second on this guitar I am building. Try checking the wires with a meter.

 

[jmatacola]

Re: P-Roblems with my P-Rails

Also, I notice that with the bridge PRail and Triple Shot, the switches activate whichever coil they are switched in the direction of where as the neck is kills the coil of which the switches are switched in the direction of. If I want to make it so the neck behaves the same as the bridge, do I swap the red/black and white/green wires on the pad?

It sounds like they are shorting out. These are very delicate and constructed with very small wires in the cable. I really wish that SD would make them more durable. Good luck and I hope you can get a replacement. For your sake I hope I am wrong.

 

[Bobisadrummer]

Re: P-Roblems with my P-Rails

So I finally got everything working. I ended up not going with the 50's wiring as I didn't quite like the way it interacted with the tone pot. Instead I used a Kinman style treble bleed with a 150k resistor in series with a .001uf cap.

The initial lack of hum canceling was because of how the neck and bridge P-Rails connect to the Triple Shot. When installing the bridge if you follow the default instructions and match the P-Rail wires to the colors of the Triple Shot, you get the switches activating whichever coil they're switched in the direction of. If you do the same for the neck, you'll have it so that which ever direction the switches are, cuts that coil instead, which is the intended way. I swapped the colors on the neck, white and green, and then red and black. I believe that also switched the phase because wiring it up normal after that, with the exception of swapping the neck wires, lead to the proper hum canceling position. I ended up getting a refund on the damaged triple shot/p-rail set which I then used to get a proper trembucker sized triple shot/p-rail set for my guitar. The triple shots were fine until the neck one broke at the ribbon wire. It's the way the p-rails are internally wired that caused the problem.

Another issues I ran into was having the neck pickup having a faint signal bleeding through when in the bridge position on a 4-way switch. Some folks at tdpri and Vann from Sidewinder guitars, who I had contacted via Reverb, had suggested that I jumper S2a-1 to S2b-1. That solution worked and now I have a completely silent neck pup when in the bridge position as opposed to the faint click I could hear when tapping the poles/rail with a screw driver.