Dimarzio in an SE24

[jep1210]

So I popped a DiMarzio Air Norton into the bridge position my SE24 but when I split the coils the tone change doesn't seem as noticeable as I think it should be. I seem to have lost some of the "quack" I got with the stock PUPs. I'm just wondering if certain pickups are less responsive(?) to splitting than others or if I need to swap a couple of wires.

I basically copied the factory wiring with the green and bare wires going to ground, black and white to the tone knob and red to the PU selector. I'm wondering what would happen if I swapped the black and green wires...or do I swap the white and green wires? Or is just "it is what it is"? I really wish I could wrap my head around the theory of pickup wiring better. And yes I'm aware how its fairly easy to "just do it" but thought I'd seek a little direction first.

 

[bodia]

So I popped a DiMarzio Air Norton into the bridge position my SE24 but when I split the coils the tone change doesn't seem as noticeable as I think it should be. I seem to have lost some of the "quack" I got with the stock PUPs. I'm just wondering if certain pickups are less responsive(?) to splitting than others or if I need to swap a couple of wires.

I basically copied the factory wiring with the green and bare wires going to ground, black and white to the tone knob and red to the PU selector. I'm wondering what would happen if I swapped the black and green wires...or do I swap the white and green wires? Or is just "it is what it is"? I really wish I could wrap my head around the theory of pickup wiring better. And yes I'm aware how its fairly easy to "just do it" but thought I'd seek a little direction first.

I gonna say that I know the PRS wiring colors are different from others. I can't tell you what should go where though. Someone that knows that info will surely weigh in.

 

[jep1210]

I gonna say that I know the PRS wiring colors are different from others. I can't tell you what should go where though. Someone that knows that info will surely weigh in.

For sure, I learned that when I swapped a Seymour Duncan JB in. I wired it up just like factory, with red going to the switch and black and white together on the tone pot...did not work. Apparently SD black wires are equivalent to PRS red wires.

 

[garrett]

First, make sure your wiring is sound to confirm that it is indeed splitting.

So here's how it works: The signal flow goes Green > White > Black > Red. So if you were to swap green and black, it would be permanently split to slug coil, because Green > White won't be doing anything, and that just leaves the signal flowing from Black > Red.

Right now, if it's wired like this where you're sending White/Black to ground, it is splitting to slug coil. The Air Norton has a unique construction where the two coils are quite different. A simple change to try is have the push/pull connect black/white to hot instead of ground. This will split to the screw coil.

 

[jep1210]

The Air Norton has a unique construction where the two coils are quite different. A simple change to try is have the push/pull connect black/white to hot instead of ground. This will split to the screw coil.

I can try that, thank you....sure wish I didn't have to work today

 

[jep1210]

Whelp swapping those wires definitely made the guitar quack when split, but it also seemed to make the un-split config sort of fizzy with distortion added. I put it back to black/white to the tone and red to the PU selector, I'll just accept this particular pickup doesn't split well.

 

[garrett]

Yeah something isn't right, then. You still keep red to the switch and black/white to the push/pull. The difference is that instead of soldering the other lug on the p/p to ground, you run a wire to hot instead. It has zero effect on the non-split signal because black/white are not connected to anything (except each other) when the p/p is down.

 

[jep1210]

Ok, so here's a diagram that may help me explain, note this is just showing the wires from the two pickups, not any of the other wires involved except the wires from the volume pot. I have it wired in as pictured, and the splitting isn't very noticeable, but un-split it sounds pretty good with distortion. At the suggestion above, I swapped the black and white on the tone knob *right side* (the tone knob has the switch for splitting the coils) with the single red wire to the PU selector (Bottom rectangle with the 8 tick marks). This made the pickup sound kind of fizzy when unsplit but definitely noticeable when split.

Looking at this I'm wondering if I should move the black/white wires to that top lug on the tone knob closest to where the grounds are.

Note, not pictured is a white wire going from the middle lug on the tone knob to ground on the tone pot and some sort of capacitor from the right most lug to that same ground (where the black wire and the white/bare from the volume pot are soldered). Not sure if that's important info or not.

 

[jep1210]

Looking at this I'm wondering if I should move the black/white wires to that top lug on the tone knob closest to where the grounds are.

NOPE, It just dawned on me all that will do is change which position the knob will split it...i.e. pushed in will be split and pulled out will be full.

 

[jep1210]

For anyone interested, the overly subtle effect of splitting must have been the pickup. Weather it's the particular Air Norton I have or if its inherent in the Air Norton model I don't know. I put a DiMarzio Super 3 in, wired exactly the same, and the splitting effect is very noticeable.