I've made a huge mistake

[AlBonanza]

So, as G.O.B himself often says, I've made a huge mistake.

I own a PRS custom 24-08 SE.

I liked almost everything about it but the pickups sounded a bit muddy and weak. I proceeded to swap them out (with a lot of help from previous threads on here, thank you so much).

I succeed in getting the wiring correct. The mistake comes in the performance of the new Seymour Duncan SH1N and SH-4 JB.

As humbuckers they slay. Love it. The single coil signal though is weak and brittle. It feels like the guitar is whispering and sulking at the same time. I'm so annoyed with myself.

To the point. I wonder if anyone knows of a way I can improve the single coil signal without replacing the pickups? Pots / Tone Caps etc? I'm not familiar with any of that but am comfortable wiring so any help would be seriously appreciated.

 

[Greywolf]

I would double check your wiring , I've seen that issue before .

 

[AlBonanza]

Ah nuts.

I used the below wiring colour as suggested by another user along with the 408 wiring diagram online (and pictures of what was originally in there). All the wires are connected properly 100% so no idea where I'm going wrong. Will have to do some more research I guess.

Bridge (Treble)
SD-Black = PRS-Black
SD-White = PRS-White
SD-Red = PRS-Green
SD-Green = PRS-Red
SD-Bare = PRS-Bare

Neck (Bass)
SD-Green = PRS-White
SD-Red = PRS-Black
SD-White = PRS-Red
SD-Black = PRS-Green
SD-Bare = PRS-Bare

 

[ViggoP]

If the wiring is correct, try adding a ~2 kOhm resistor in series with the neck pickup split and a ~4 kOhm resistor in series with the bridge split. Take a look at how the DGT wiring is done for example. Doing that will give a fuller sound with less volume drop when you split the pickups. You can experiment with different resistor values, I would recommend 1.5 to 2.5 k for the neck and maybe 3-5 k for the bridge. A higher value will give a fuller sound.

 

[AlBonanza]

Awesome, thank you. I'll triple check everything and then go down that route if it's not me.

 

[SinSir]

SD has wiring diagrams on their site. Try that. I never care what the old pickup wire codes were to the new. I wire it up as a new slate if you will. Much simpler than some conversion thing in the head. It's like when I learned Spanish. Instead of saying that's Red and the Spanish word for Red is Rojo. I said to myself that's Rojo.

JB slays split. I've used it for years. When my logic was a higher starting output humbucker equates to better tone split. Now, I don't care what a humbucker output is because if a split is too weak, I'll use resistors to solve that.

 

[AlBonanza]

Unfortunately I lack the knowledge to wire it up new. I'm fine with soldering but my technical info isn't great. Maybe I need to read up on it.

 

[ViperDoc]

Assuming all else is proper, the resistor to ground off the split wire will get you where you need to be. Straight split tones are usually anemic. The 1K2-2K2 resistor will lift the ground reference value to increase the split tone gain only. I find the DGT values to be fantastic, but dealer's choice.

 

[JasonE]

Assuming all else is proper, the resistor to ground off the split wire will get you where you need to be. Straight split tones are usually anemic. The 1K2-2K2 resistor will lift the ground reference value to increase the split tone gain only. I find the DGT values to be fantastic, but dealer's choice.

PRS used different values in different years. I have 8.8k resistors stock in my DGT and 594. They are paired with 2.2k resistors. So they did use higher values for a while. I like what they do in my 594. It has the best split tones of any guitar I have ever had splits on. I typically don't use splits because I really don't like the sound of them. The ones in my 594 are very usable tones. The ones in the DGT are usable too but the ones in the 594 sound better, especially after changing the pickups to 57/08s. The set I bought for it are a hotter 3 wire set. I fell like everything really came together with that guitar when I put the 57/08s in it.

 

[Greywolf]

for reference : https://support.prsguitars.com/hc/en-us/categories/4408302755739-Wiring-Drawings-and-Technical-Documents
https://www.1728.org/guitar.htm and https://guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/

 

[Victor Vector]

Its either Chocolate or Vanilla....there is no Chanilla lol. To my ears a tapped/split high output HB never sounds like a real low output single coil even when correctly wired.

 

[AlBonanza]

If the wiring is correct, try adding a ~2 kOhm resistor in series with the neck pickup split and a ~4 kOhm resistor in series with the bridge split. Take a look at how the DGT wiring is done for example. Doing that will give a fuller sound with less volume drop when you split the pickups. You can experiment with different resistor values, I would recommend 1.5 to 2.5 k for the neck and maybe 3-5 k for the bridge. A higher value will give a fuller sound.

Cheers mate. Double checked the wiring this morning and it is correct. Ordered some assorted resistors so will have a go at that later on. Much appreciated.

 

[AlBonanza]

So I settled on a 2.2k for the neck and 3.3k for the bridge. After a couple of wiring errors by myself I managed to get it right. Works like a charm. The signal is a bit warmer but matches the humbuckers a bit more. Definitely not weak. Thanks to everyone who replied, your help is truly appreciated. Will take this knowledge with me when the next wiring comes around. Cheers

 

[ViggoP]

So I settled on a 2.2k for the neck and 3.3k for the bridge. After a couple of wiring errors by myself I managed to get it right. Works like a charm. The signal is a bit warmer but matches the humbuckers a bit more. Definitely not weak. Thanks to everyone who replied, your help is truly appreciated. Will take this knowledge with me when the next wiring comes around. Cheers

Great to hear it worked out nicely!