Pickup switch selector question

[adjclegg]

Hi all,

First post here. I just got a PRS SE Mark Holcomb yesterday, it's my first PRS guitar and I am absolutely in love with everything about it. It needed tweaking out of the box, some slight truss rod adjustment and the action needed lowering on the treble side, but it plays like butter now and the Alpha and Omega Duncans are just incredible for the type of music I bought this guitar to play (drop tuned metal etc).

My question might make me sound like a total idiot, however. I've owned a bunch of guitars, and the pickup selector positions feel unnatural to me, I don't know if this is just a PRS thing or if the pickups have been wired backwards, but what is clearly the bridge position is selected by bringing the switch closest towards the neck, whereas the neck position is active when I move the selector closer towards the bridge.

I'll attach a couple of pictures to try to demonstrate what I mean, but my question is this - Is this normal for PRS guitars, or is it wired backwards? It doesn't really matter too much either way, just a point of curiosity.

Bridge position: https://goo.gl/photos/Pg9QUrVqes1bNCS79
Neck position: https://goo.gl/photos/zWJ7CvJ8LBoDxcdh6

Thanks
Aaron

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Yeah, that isn't right.

 

[dkilpatrick]

Appears to be wired backwards

 

[adjclegg]

That's pretty unfortunate... I'm not very good on the electronics side of things, I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to open up the back and resolder the wires?

 

[charliefrench]

Hello and welcome. Yes, it appears to be wired incorrectly. The good news is it is a simple fix. Just two wires to swap and resolder. Easier still would be to take it back to the shop where you bought it and have them sort it, if applicable.

 

[Lee B.]

That's pretty unfortunate... I'm not very good on the electronics side of things, I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to open up the back and resolder the wires?

Or just flip it around. Pop the selector knob off, unscrew the two mounting bolts, flip it 180, rescrew it in, pop the knob back on.

 

[AP515]

Two minutes in you will see they call out the switching. Yours is flipped 180.

 

[charliefrench]

You can try flipping the whole thing 180 degrees of course but this might induce stress on the rest of the wiring. The photo below shows which two wires need to be swapped. The color of the hot leads from your pickups may differ but the result is the same.

 

[garrett]

Good advice so far. If bought new, absolutely have the dealer correct it. There probably isn't enough wire to allow a 180 degree rotation. Otherwise, it's a 30 second soldering job.

You're absolutely sure it's reversed? You can confirm which pickup is active by lightly tapping on the pole pieces with a flat head screwdriver or allen wrench.

 

[Ross Lee]

Picked up one of these today and actually have the same exact issue. I would find it odd for Mark Holcomb to have specified this configuration. QC issue?

 

[tonytester]

wow ...not another oversight.

 

[Ross Lee]

Unfortunate. I was able to just rotate the switch 180 degrees as previously suggested so as far as "out-of-the-box" problems go, I'd say this one is minor-- Just baffling and annoying. Loving the guitar otherwise.

 

[ViperDoc]

Someone spiking the kimchi?

 

[garrett]

Must've been a new person on the wiring line.

 

[tonytester]

soon we'll buy a car , and have to put the steering wheel on in the other direction to go some where.