Pickup wiring issue on my 2000 PRS standard.

[Oli D]

Hi all, I believe my 2000 PRS standard which I bought used many year ago has a pickup wiring issue. There was a hum and some welding work (not very nice job) was done in the knobs cavity. So I brought the guitar to a local luthier. The hum is now gone but I have the impression the guitar output level is very low compared to what I recall, it now sounds more like single coils rather than humbuckers, or like if both pickups are now out of phase. And the welding is even worst than what it was. I have lost confidence in that luthier.

I wonder if someone looking at the pic below can tell if there is something obviously wrong or not?

Here is a pic of the knobs cavity: https://goo.gl/photos/4FU3rtx5LLfNDWqL9

Thanks in advance,
Olivier

 

[AP515]

It does look like there are some problems. I think the biggest problem is that they put in the 3 way toggle switch without the push/pull tone pot. This means you have to tape off the single coils. Looks to me like they soldered the single coils to ground which kills them so you don't get the humbucker sounds. I suspect the guitar came with the rotary and someone just put in a 3 way without getting the wiring harness right. You can go back to the rotary, or you can put in the push/pull and get it all back the way it is supposed to be wired.

 

[Oli D]

Thank you that confirms what I suspected, incorrect wiring. Actually, I am not too much interested at splitting the pickups. I guess there must be a way to connect these cables for these pickups to work like simple humbuckers, with a three way toggle switch and no split. But I have zero skills in guitar pick ups, I think cables color code vary from one brand to an other, I have no idea on which one is the "hot" or the "ground", the split, etc. I am a total newbie on this subject. I am looking for detailed instructions for this PRS pickups, any idea where I can find that?

 

[AP515]

It's not hard and if you screw it up completely, it is reversible so it doesn't hurt to try. Start by de-soldering the two red wires and taping the exposed ends with black tape. Then see if it works like a regular 2 humbucker 3 way switch.

 

[gush]

I'm no expert but that is wrong for sure.
Prs website has wire diagrams that show how to run wiring for all the different setups.

Don't give up on the split sounds they are cool. Putting a rotary switch in is actually pretty easy to do.

Good luck.

 

[garrett]

It's not hard and if you screw it up completely, it is reversible so it doesn't hurt to try. Start by de-soldering the two red wires and taping the exposed ends with black tape. Then see if it works like a regular 2 humbucker 3 way switch.

Agreed. It's been wired to permanently split the coils. If you don't know how to solder, you can just use wire clippers to disconnect those two red wires from the back of the pot.

 

[Boogie]

Start from scratch, that's a total train wreck in there.

> desolder everything and suck out all excess solder from those pots. Buy a solder sucker.
> remove everything from the compartment, pots and switches
> cut off all wire ends, clean...re-strip, and properly tin all contact points.
> follow the factory wiring diagram exactly.

You should be back to normal after the jiob. Good luck!

 

[AP515]

Start from scratch, that's a total train wreck in there.
> desolder everything and suck out all excess solder from those pots. Buy a solder sucker.
> remove everything from the compartment, pots and switches
> cut off all wire ends, clean...re-strip, and properly tin all contact points.
> follow the factory wiring diagram exactly.

You should be back to normal after the jiob. Good luck!

Nope, can't do it without buying the rotary or a Push/Pull tone pot. He also said he didn't have soldering experience. That is why I suggested to first disconnect the two red wires and tape them. If that works then he can do nothing more or he can work to get the split sounds back. First is to get the Humbuckers working.

I do agree it is pretty messy in there.

 

[Boogie]

Nope, can't do it without buying the rotary or a Push/Pull tone pot. He also said he didn't have soldering experience.

That's a foregone conclusion. Nothing will work properly without all of the original parts. Get them. But *nothing* may work if the entire harness isn't scrubbed and started from scratch. The frayed braided wire on those pups, alone, could yield unpredictable results. Too many variables in the equation...chop it down to 1. In this situation, cleanliness is next to godliness.

 

[LJD]

Great opportunity to buy a starter soldering kit and learn to do it yourself with a few youtube videos. It's very satisfying.

 

[garrett]

Great opportunity to buy a starter soldering kit and learn to do it yourself with a few youtube videos. It's very satisfying.

For sure!

You really couldn't do much worse than what's already there! It is a small investment and you'll have a new skill. You can use the existing parts for practice, and then wire up fresh parts once you get the hang of it.

My tip is to mark the control locations on a small cardboard box to use as a template. Mount the controls in holes in the box. This will give you plenty of room to maneuver around and then you can just drop it right into the guitar when it's ready. A lot easier than playing Operation with the controls inside the guitar cavity.

Speaking of dropping in, if you're truly averse to soldering, there are drop-in kits that help minimize the amount of soldering required.

 

[Oli D]

Hi all,

Thanks a lot I really appreciate all your input, the wiring diagram, the cardboard tip, etc. I think I can manage the soldering job, I will have to buy the solder sucker. I now just need to find a clam weekend to work on this, I do not want to rush.

I will update you and post a new pic when I will have this done.