85/15 Pickup Wiring

[SantzHex]

I just picked up a set of 85/15's on Reverb, supposedly out of a CE24. What I received appear to be 85/15's (correct appearance and stickers), however they are only two wire: a single white wire and a braided wire. I understood the 85/15's to be 4-wire, and split-able, so this is what I was expecting.

So was/is there ever a run of 85/15's that are only two-wire? Or are these not 85/15's?

If these are legit, does that mean there are CE24 models with the 85/15's that do not have the push/pull pot?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[garrett]

It should be a black wire, with the bare braided wire around it, which would be:

Black = Hot
Bare = Ground/Shield
White = Series link

Here's a similar set that went on Reverb recently: https://reverb.com/item/5695042-paul-reed-smith-85-15-pickups-2017-prs

This appears to be the usual setup for the three-way/push pull wiring. My LT set is this way, too. The 85/15 set from my Custom with the five-way blade has black, white, red, and bare wires.

 

[SantzHex]

It should be a black wire, with the bare braided wire around it, which would be:

Black = Hot
Bare = Ground/Shield
White = Series link

Here's a similar set that went on Reverb recently: https://reverb.com/item/5695042-paul-reed-smith-85-15-pickups-2017-prs

This appears to be the usual setup for the three-way/push pull wiring. My LT set is this way, too. The 85/15 set from my Custom with the five-way blade has black, white, red, and bare wires.

Interesting. My intention was to put these in my P24 with the five-way blade, replacing the stock 57/08's. How would I go about doing this? Or would this even be possible without the 4-wire version?

 

[garrett]

It should be doable. You can run a jumper from the the braided wire to the switch and you'll need to tape wrap it in some spots to keep from making contact with the switch.

I think black wires would go to "hot side", white wires go where the red ones normally go, and the braided wire to "ground side".

http://prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/2017/custom22_and_24_piezo_2017.pdf

 

[SantzHex]

It should be doable. You can run a jumper from the the braided wire to the switch and you'll need to tape wrap it in some spots to keep from making contact with the switch.

I think black wires would go to "hot side", white wires go where the red ones normally go, and the braided wire to "ground side".

http://prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/2017/custom22_and_24_piezo_2017.pdf

Thanks for your help @garrett. Now if I'm understanding you correctly, I'm assuming you're already taking into account the phasing differences on the P24, correct? So if I can confirm the connections based on the schematic:

Neck White = pin D
Neck Black = pin E
Neck Braided = tone pot and jumper to pin F
Bridge White = pin B
Bridge Black = pin A
Bridge Braided = volume pot and jumper to pin C

 

[garrett]

I'm going on the assumption that the new pickups will be in phase with the piezo. With the four-wire pups, it's no big deal: just swap the black and white wires to correct phase, but I'm not sure if you can get away with that on the braided bare wire version.

If you're a patient experimenter you can give it a try with these pickups. Otherwise, you might want to wait to score a four-wire set and then sell the other.

 

[SantzHex]

Might be worth a shot. Did I get the wiring/pinout correct at least?

One other question - on the P24, the pickups being in phase with the piezo is only a concern if I use the mix setting, correct? If I'm always all magnetic or all piezo (never combined) the two being phase shouldn't matter.

 

[garrett]

Yeah I think you're right, except I think soldering bare to the back of a pot may be all you need. The only reason I can think of for grounding the pickups at the switch is for ease of wiring the four wire pickups. I changed the wiring on my Custom 22 and joined the ground wires with shield and soldered to the tone pot. The pickups split great and it's a quiet guitar, noise-wise.

You're right about the phase. If you never blend the signals, it's a non issue.

 

[SantzHex]

Update - installed the 85/15's and they work/sound great! You were right, no need to ground the pickups at the switch. Also, I don't notice any (apparent) phasing issues when blending with the piezo. Thanks @garrett for your help.