Wiring Gurus - Here's a (Potential) Challenge!

Midwestone

New member
Hello all!

I've been thinking about this for some time now and have been challenged with creating a wiring diagram. I can do wiring in automobiles, but musical instruments seem to challenge me!

Here's the idea - I'd like to replicate the wiring of an Electra Westone X189 or an Electra Phoenix X185 - they've the same wiring - in an Ibanez RG4EX1. Both of these guitars feature a H-S-H setup, but the Ibanez lacks the electronic features of the Westone. Sure, I could simply add a coil tap to the Ibanez and that alone would add a lot of new sounds/tones to it, but the uniqueness of the Westone's setup is quite marvelous and I feel it'd be interesting to have the same setup in an Ibanez. I've done some searching to see if someone has attempted something similar to this and I have found nothing.

Here's a wiring diagram of an Electra Westone X189 - and some other models sharing the same electronics - as sourced from River City Amps.

IMG_1826.jpg

Here's a picture of an Ibanez RG4EX1 along with some of its features as sourced from Ibanez Wiki.

IMG_1827.JPG

Neck pickup: INF3 (H)
Middle pickup: INFS3 (S)
Bridge pickup: INF4 (H)

Master volume / master tone / 5-way blade

I located a wiring diagram for the Ibanez - here's that.

IMG_1828.JPG


I would be drilling a third hole to add the secondary tone pot in the Ibanez and I'd also replace its 5-way blade with a 3-way blade so it's more similar to the 3-way toggle that's found on an Electra Westone X189. I would be using Alpha push-pull pots and whatever 3-way blade I can source. I'm fairly sure that they're all the same wiring-wise, so that shouldn't matter. I would be utilizing the Ibanez's stock pickups. The wiring diagram of the Electra Westone is quite good and is a great reference, but I'm unsure of how to wire a three-way blade in place of a three-way toggle. Also, the colors are helpful, but I don't know what color wires in the Electra Westone diagram correlate to what color wires found on the Ibanez pickups.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading, have a fantastic day!


References (in chronological order)

Brambram and Deejayk. RG4EX1. Fandom, Ibanez Wiki, ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/RG4EX1. Accessed 1 December 2018.

Presley, Tom. X185 Electra Phoenix (H-S-H). The Electra Guitar Page, 23 January 2008, www.rivercityamps.com/electrapage/index.php?entry=entry080123-091934. Accessed 1 December 2018.

Rg4ex1 Stock Bridge Pickup Wiring Diagram Jemsite Within Ibanez. Diagram Sample, 23 October 2018, www.boudex.com/ibanez-wiring-diagra...-pickup-wiring-diagram-jemsite-within-ibanez/. Accessed 1 December 2018.
 
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Re: Wiring Gurus - Here's a (Potential) Challenge!

If someone could offer some input in on as to how to wire a 3-way blade in place of a 3-way toggle based off of the Westone diagram I could figure out the rest. Thanks in advance! Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
 
Re: Wiring Gurus - Here's a (Potential) Challenge!

The first diagram is interesting to me !
I will soon re-wire a S S S Westone to have coil tap... But sorry I cannot help.

The Ibanez Steve Vai wiring has so many HH config. You do not like it ?
 
Re: Wiring Gurus - Here's a (Potential) Challenge!

Thanks for your response, Francois! The wiring in those Electra Westones and Westones is definitely interesting, I don't know of anything else that utilizes something similar. That in itself is why I'm interested in replicating it in an Ibanez, it's not that there's anything wrong with the stock setup. I like to tinker and modify!
 
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