AN7/Blaze installation help!

[wannabguitarist]

I finally got all my parts in from Musicians friend and I'm thinking of using this wiring setup off the Ibanez site:

Would there be a major tone difference if I didn't use the capacitor on the volume pot? The Radioshack near my house didn't carry them in that rating. Any problems if I use the old one?

I also want to install the AN7 in the neck with the adjustable pole pieces (The black part) facing the neck because I'm OCD with things like that. I read somewhere on this site that installing the pup like this changes how some of the positions work on the 5-way unless you change how you wire the pickup. So how I would I be able to wire everything up and get it to work right?

 

[ibznorange]

You can use the old one, or not one at all
what it is, is a hi pass filter, keeps your guitar from warming up too much when you roll the volume knob

Actually, with that wiring dagram, you SHOULD have the neck with the adjustable part towards the neck

 

[wannabguitarist]

I was reading through another thread on here (Leaving out the Single Coil) and read something about ibby 5 way switches being different than regular ones. This is the switch I have, will this work? Or do I have to get another switch?

You can use the old one, or not one at all
what it is, is a hi pass filter, keeps your guitar from warming up too much when you roll the volume knob

Actually, with that wiring dagram, you SHOULD have the neck with the adjustable part towards the neck

Thanks, I'll just use the old one then

 

[ibznorange]

thats the switch you want

 

[scott from _actual time_]

Would there be a major tone difference if I didn't use the capacitor on the volume pot? The Radioshack near my house didn't carry them in that rating. Any problems if I use the old one?

no problems at all. that's a treble-bleed cap, that bleeds off some treble as you turn the volume knob down. the stock Ibanez value is small, so it doesn't make a large change if you leave it out. using your old one is the best idea.

Max is right about using your old switch--the special Ibanez two-humbucker switch is not the same as a strat 5-way.

I also want to install the AN7 in the neck with the adjustable pole pieces (The black part) facing the neck because I'm OCD with things like that. I read somewhere on this site that installing the pup like this changes how some of the positions work on the 5-way unless you change how you wire the pickup.

yes, installing the pickup that way so it looks right [i'm totally OCD there too ] changes which coils work on the 5-way. it's not the wiring that's the problem, it's the magnet polarity. the adjustable-pole coil has the same magnet polarity as the outer/rear/bridge coil of the Blaze. to hum-cancel, pickup coils need to have opposite magnet polarity. changing the wiring won't fix this; you have to change the magnet polarity.

(some people instead choose to change what coils are active in the different switch positions, using other coils to get combinations that are hum-canceling. IMO that's a lame work-around--the two inner coils together is a unique sound; if you change it to one inner + one outer, that doesn't sound as good.)

with a pair of pickups that both have one adjustable-pole coil and one slug-pole coil, the only way to get the magnet polarities right for a two-humbucker guitar is open up one of the pickups, pop the magnet out, rotate the magnet 180 degrees, and put it back in. you could do that with your AN7.

but because your Blaze bridge has both coils made with the same type of poles, you have another option, that would be easier. if you install the Blaze "backwards," rotated 180 degrees, with the wire coming out of the bass strings side of the pickup, then you will have the magnet polarities opposite to the AN installed in the OCD way with adjustable-pole coil towards the neck. so instead of popping out the AN magnet and rotating it, you could rotate your whole Blaze bridge pickup. no OCD problem because it will look the same either way. and it will sound exactly the same because the two coils in the Blaze are built the same.

if you do this, the wiring colors for hot & ground, etc., will be different from that diagram, for both the neck and the bridge pickups [because you've rotated both the neck and bridge pickups, relative to that diagram]. but with some trial and error, you can figure it out. start by swapping the ground wire with the hot wire, for both pickups. then if there is a phase problem [thin, low-output sound when both pickups are on], post again and i can help you tweak that.

 

[wannabguitarist]

Max is right about using your old switch--the special Ibanez two-humbucker switch is not the same as a strat 5-way.

Where could I order the correct switch? My RG makes lots of bad noise in every position but the bridge so I'm redoing all the electronics.

yes, installing the pickup that way so it looks right [i'm totally OCD there too ] changes which coils work on the 5-way. it's not the wiring that's the problem, it's the magnet polarity. the adjustable-pole coil has the same magnet polarity as the outer/rear/bridge coil of the Blaze. to hum-cancel, pickup coils need to have opposite magnet polarity. changing the wiring won't fix this; you have to change the magnet polarity.

(some people instead choose to change what coils are active in the different switch positions, using other coils to get combinations that are hum-canceling. IMO that's a lame work-around--the two inner coils together is a unique sound; if you change it to one inner + one outer, that doesn't sound as good.)

with a pair of pickups that both have one adjustable-pole coil and one slug-pole coil, the only way to get the magnet polarities right for a two-humbucker guitar is open up one of the pickups, pop the magnet out, rotate the magnet 180 degrees, and put it back in. you could do that with your AN7.

but because your Blaze bridge has both coils made with the same type of poles, you have another option, that would be easier. if you install the Blaze "backwards," rotated 180 degrees, with the wire coming out of the bass strings side of the pickup, then you will have the magnet polarities opposite to the AN installed in the OCD way with adjustable-pole coil towards the neck. so instead of popping out the AN magnet and rotating it, you could rotate your whole Blaze bridge pickup. no OCD problem because it will look the same either way. and it will sound exactly the same because the two coils in the Blaze are built the same.

if you do this, the wiring colors for hot & ground, etc., will be different from that diagram, for both the neck and the bridge pickups [because you've rotated both the neck and bridge pickups, relative to that diagram]. but with some trial and error, you can figure it out. start by swapping the ground wire with the hot wire, for both pickups. then if there is a phase problem [thin, low-output sound when both pickups are on], post again and i can help you tweak that.

So I should flip the Blaze around so the wires come out of the Bass side? And when I wire it I would just wire ground wire where the hot wire should go and the hot wire where the ground wire should go? Black is ground and hot is red right?

 

[scott from _actual time_]

Where could I order the correct switch? My RG makes lots of bad noise

have you tried spraying your old switch with contact cleaner, aka TV tuner clear, available from Radio Shack? get a brand that says it is safe for plastics, spray it into the switch, and work the switch back and forth. that almost always clears up mild scratchiness in a switch.

and it's much easier than ordering a replacement. if you really do need a new one, you'll have to order it through an Ibanez dealer, or maybe ibanezrules.com has them. ordering through Ibanez takes months, and ibanezrules.com can be expensive.

So I should flip the Blaze around so the wires come out of the Bass side? And when I wire it I would just wire ground wire where the hot wire should go and the hot wire where the ground wire should go? Black is ground and hot is red right?

yes, flip the Blaze around that way, and also have the AN7 with the screw poles closest to the neck.

for the wiring, we're talking about the colored ground wire, not the bare ground wire--the bare wire always goes to ground. yes, start by swapping the hot and ground.

but like i said above, this may only be a first step. if things don't sound right, you may also need to do it on the neck pickup--swap the hot and the ground, then also swap the two other neck pickup colored wires with each other. you may also need to do another change to fix phase issues (if all positions sound fine except inner coils position 4, post back here). with no diagram for this exact configuration, there will be some trial and error to get it all exactly right. but it's worth it!

as for black=ground and red=hot, i don't know--check the diagram you posted above. the colored ground is the one soldered to the volume pot; the hot wire goes to the switch. it looks like green is ground for the bridge pickup.