This is terrible!

rohan

rohan

New member
Hello again. I just got back my epiphone black beauty from the local music store. The stock pickups were not that great and I decided to put in a duncan distortion. I read a lot of good things abou this pup and I was very excited.

But when I plugged it in and listened I almost got tears in my eyes so to speak :) . I hated the sound. No bass at all, very very trebly and very scooped sound. Awfull. Now, do you think there could be something wrong with the wiring or the way it is set up? I'm so dissapointed. I waited a long time for this and I expected it to be phenominal but no. I think I'll go back tomorrow and ask them to double check. But I somehow doubt anything's wrong cause the music store always let some specialist do it. Anyway, maybe I should go for the JB. But I read there's not that much diffenence between them.

I could again use some advice from you my friends.

thank you.

cheers

set up:

Epiphone BB
Digitech RP 2000
Carlsbro 100 W solid state


--------------**UPDATE**------------------------------------------------------------

So, after a long long wait I finally have the guitar back. Last week I called them and they had just gotten it back but today I actually picked it up. Well, I can't say that I'm happy about it now either. Like I said in the above, the stock pick up actually sounded better (and we're talking Epiphone here!!!!!!). I have to say that it sounded a little better with the tone knob turned way down. But it's still very thin sounding and I get the feeling that the sustain is gone too. With the stock neck pickup the notes ring for a very long time but when I switch it to the DD it's nothing compared to the neck (and even the stock bridge pup)

But possibly can't imagine that it's wrong now again. I mean, it's been gone long enough and the guys there said that it wasn't right at all too back then. They told me that the tech had made a mistake since my guitar setup was not very common (it has three humbuckers).

Anyway, I made some pictures to let you guys see, but I'm not sure you can do use them to determine if anything is or is not wrong with it, ah well.


http://files.bighosting.net/zr43927.jpg

http://files.bighosting.net/nj43928.jpg

http://files.bighosting.net/fw43929.jpg

http://files.bighosting.net/bl43930.jpg


So I think I'll just put the stock pickup back in. I thought putting a JB in there but the DD should be (and is) a very good pickup and if that sounds awfull in there I doubt it that a JB would do that much better.
 
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Re: This is terrible!

Go with a JB, there's a big difference between the two. I love the JB in les paul style guitars, hate the distortion in it, but then again in a strat or bolt on neck guitar with maybe a different body wood I far prefer the distortion. I use both pickups in different guitars.
 
Re: This is terrible!

sounds like they wired it after the dimarzio schematic, which means it runs in paralel mode.

do yourselfa favor and wire it all together yourself. much more rewarding.
 
Re: This is terrible!

There should be plenty of bass and LOTS of mids. Sound like it might even be in SC mode. To check plug it up and tap something metallic on the polepieces of the pup that is selected with the selector. You should hear a noise through the amp every time.

This is why I don't trust techs, most don't go by SD's schematics. Open up the back and check it with the schematics on the site.

Luke
 
Re: This is terrible!

If you're hearing no bass from a Distortion, I'll bet it's wired wrong. It sounds like maybe they got the 2 coils of the DD wired out of phase to each other. This would cause the 2 coils' sound to cancel each other: kills bass, makes the pickup sound weak and thin.

Another clue would be if the pickup is noisy; while the guitar sound cancels, the noise adds together, so you'll hear a lot of hum.

Have your shop check the wiring against the instruction sheet, or check it yourself. Then give it another try.
 
Re: This is terrible!

Yes, the pickup sounds very very thin. Which it isn't supposed to do at all I think :)
I tapped on the polepieces of the pup but I did hear a noice every time.
 
Re: This is terrible!

Rohan, take off the back plate. Select the bridge position. Now - do you have a multimeter? Measure the resistance of the bridge pickup. It should be A LOT - like 18+ k or something. Compare that to reading on Seymour Duncan's site "specs" section for the Distortion.

If it's a small reading, then it's obviously wired wrong.

To wire it right - find to which sides of which coils each of the 4 wires goes.
Then make sure the electricity goes from the positive on your guitar (track the electricity as it comes in through your input jack, through the switch, into the pickup). Then wire it, so that the electricity goes one direction through one coil right into the other coil in another direction. That will put the pickup in series and humcancelling - the way it's supposed to be wired.

Good luck, tell us how it sounds.
FR
 
Re: This is terrible!

he wont have a correct reading if he doesnt unsolder one of the leads. the tone and volume controls are wired there too
 
Re: This is terrible!

All I can say is if that's the sound you're getting from a Distortion, then something is most definitely wrong. Check the wiring with the schematics on Duncan's page.
 
Re: This is terrible!

Just take the back plate off and see where the wires are connected. Here's how it should be:

Green and Bard - To Ground. Back of volume pot or somewhere.
Red and White - Soldered together and taped off...not connected anywhere.
Black - to the volume pot lug.

If it's anything else for standard operation, the tech did it wrong. Don't worry, we'll help you get it figured out. The one thing the distortion does not lack is bass and mids.
 
Re: This is terrible!

Thank you for the replies guys. I've actually just returned from the music store. The guy there agreed with me that it sounded off. So tomorrow the guitar goes back to the "specialist" :) .
I'm actually not good with electronics so I'm definately not messing about that for my self.

But like I said, the guy at the music store said it didn't sound right also. The thing is I probably have to wait until tuesday next week before I get it back.
The thing that kinda worries me is; when we arrived at the shop another employee played a guitar also with a duncan distortion and that sounded a lot like mine. So, either that guitar is also not wired right or...it's just the way that the distortion sounds. But I've heard so many good things about the DD so I can't imagine that it would sound like that. So I'm really hoping something is wrong with the wiring lol :)

Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated.

Thanks again.

cheers!
 
Re: This is terrible!

no. it's definately wired wrong. the distortion is anything but thin sounding
 
Re: This is terrible!

rohan said:
The thing that kinda worries me is; when we arrived at the shop another employee played a guitar also with a duncan distortion and that sounded a lot like mine.
I bet the same guy wired both of them up. Don't worry, though... when it is correct, you'll laugh at the idea of it being thin & lacking mids :)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Re: This is terrible!

It sounds like that because it's a distortion, I hate that piockup with a passion. Dude, I have an Epi Black Beauty just like you and I put a JB in it and it sounds AMAZING. Try it.
 
Re: This is terrible!

It really pays to learn how to do these things yourself. It's not nearly as complicated as you might think.

I think Craig Anderton put together a great book teaching beginners how to get under the hood of your axe and make it right. If not, somebody has one. It will save you a lot of money and waiting.
 
Re: This is terrible!

An LP with a DD will slay, literally. It's definately wired wrong ;).

And yeah, it definately is a great thing to be able to wire your own pickups. I went through a period last month or so where I was switching pickups every other night almost, as well as magnets a couple times. It woulda cost a fortune at a tech, and I'd be pissed, considering I usually ended up liking the same pickups in the bridge the most; JB's.
 
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Re: This is terrible!

The DD is, like other people have said, anything but thin sounding. I personally don't like the pickup too much in my guitars, as to my ears its a bit grainy-sounding, especially with high-gain amps. It works for some people though.

I much prefer the JB and Duncan Custom, so if you still dont like the distortion after you get it, you might want to try one of those. Also, if you're lookin for somthing with a lot more bass to it keeping with the high-output thing, try an invader.

If it still sounds thin, take off the back plate and just check the wiring (you dont have to mess with any of it). The duncan pickup should be the one with the Red, White, Black, Green, and Bare (not covered, silver) wires.

Now, as has been stated, the black wire should be connected to one of the tabs on a pot. The red and white wires should be taped together. The green and Bare wires should be soldered to the back of a pot.

However, if the black wire is where the green wire is supposed to be, and vice versa, its OK.

The real problem would be if the red wire is where the black wire is supposed to be. If the red wire is NOT taped with the white wire, then thats your problem.

Some people get the placement of the wires on seymour duncan pickups confused becuse seymour duncan and dimarzio pickups use different color schemes for their wires. The red wire on a duncan is the black wire on a dimarzio, and the black wire on a dimarzio is the red wire on a duncan. Its an easy mistake to make, really, and an even easier one to fix.
 
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Re: This is terrible!

On the duncan site it is 16.6k for the bridge.

Frantic_Rock said:
Rohan, take off the back plate. Select the bridge position. Now - do you have a multimeter? Measure the resistance of the bridge pickup. It should be A LOT - like 18+ k or something. Compare that to reading on Seymour Duncan's site "specs" section for the Distortion.

If it's a small reading, then it's obviously wired wrong.

To wire it right - find to which sides of which coils each of the 4 wires goes.
Then make sure the electricity goes from the positive on your guitar (track the electricity as it comes in through your input jack, through the switch, into the pickup). Then wire it, so that the electricity goes one direction through one coil right into the other coil in another direction. That will put the pickup in series and humcancelling - the way it's supposed to be wired.

Good luck, tell us how it sounds.
FR
Click to expand...
 
Re: This is terrible!

sorry for bump-ing this thread but the story continues :) (see first post for update)

cheers!

rohan
 
Re: This is terrible!

I have an Epi LP Standard and still have the stock pickups in it. I know it's surprising that they sound good but the pickups they make these days are far better than they used to be. I'm still debating on whether to replace them or not since I like how the guitar sounds as it is and one of the reasons I bought it.
 
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