Trouble Wiring a K7

[Abaddon]

Hi everyone. I'm having some trouble here I'm putting a set of Bare Knuckle Pickups in a K7 but i'm having trouble getting it to work properly. I've installed many pickups in many guitars but i usually don't have this much trouble. It's usually pretty straight forward and only takes me one shot. I've referenced 2 diagrams and neither have produced results...

Ibanez Website- (put in 2001, K7 to find it)
Ibanez :: Electric Guitars
Seymour Duncan-
Wiring Diagram

One diagram says to use a capacitor and one doesn't. I've tried both ways. I can only get the bridge pickup to work and the neck is silent. Either that or i get no sound at all. Also, the Ibanez site doesn't say where to put the ground wire from the selector switch (i just soldered it to the pot). Can someone please tell me what i missing? Btw i do know the right color coding for the wires so that's not the issue. I had one thought that the selector switch doesn't work properly for some reason but i tried another one and nothing changed. Should i try the standard Gibson style one like on the Duncan diagram instead?

 

[dis89]

well, dude, when you solder the ground from the pot right, but it seems that youve missed with the neck pickup ground if its silent, connect the hot wire (i dunno if the BKP has a spilt coil wire) to the third pin of the switch, and the ground to the pot or a ground on a switch. My switch is not stock, so it has another way of ground connecting

took a foto, hope thisll help. just remember that a circuit hot wire - ground wire has to be closed in result, and guitar has to hasve a common ground.

 

[Abaddon]

^^^ok i've tried everything...several times. and still nothing. let me ask you this. I assume that the pot is the ground for both of us right? If that's the case then all the ground wires should go to the pot, but do they all go to one spot on the pot or can they be spread out? Is the 3rd tab on the pot that's grounded have to be soldered by itself? This is baffling, i'm doing everything the damn diagrams say and nothing looks out of place. Btw I also have pretty much the same switcth, is there a difference between that on and a standard 3 way with just 3 basic pins sticking off it?

 

[Decipher]

Have you tried PM'n Zimbloth? He's a BK dealer and is very handy with guitar setup, maitenance, mods, etc....

He's also in Boston too.

 

[MTech]

One diagram says to use a capacitor and one doesn't. I've tried both ways. I can only get the bridge pickup to work and the neck is silent. Either that or i get no sound at all. Also, the Ibanez site doesn't say where to put the ground wire from the selector switch (i just soldered it to the pot). Can someone please tell me what i missing?

This diagram shows you were to put it.. Also if I'm not mistaken the capacitor is there for tonal purposes as I just had a tech explain this to me on my custom I just got. The Duncan ones don't put it in there and when you turn the vol down you loose some high end..I have that going on with my custom right now and I'm probably going to toss the cap in there so you don't loose the high end.
Are you using the stock switch etc. and the only thing new is the pickups? Are you sure the ground is good, I remember seeing in another thread sometimes you have to sand the finish off in a small spot on the pot to get a good ground depending on the pot.
Why don't you post a pic of your wire job and make this a whole lot easier for everybody
2004

2005

 

[Abaddon]

Have you tried PM'n Zimbloth? He's a BK dealer and is very handy with guitar setup, maitenance, mods, etc....

He's also in Boston too.

Ha, we're in the same band. I even do a lot of work for him (A++ track record with work though, this ones a fluke)

This diagram shows you were to put it.. Also if I'm not mistaken the capacitor is there for tonal purposes as I just had a tech explain this to me on my custom I just got. The Duncan ones don't put it in there and when you turn the vol down you loose some high end..I have that going on with my custom right now and I'm probably going to toss the cap in there so you don't loose the high end.
Are you using the stock switch etc. and the only thing new is the pickups? Are you sure the ground is good, I remember seeing in another thread sometimes you have to sand the finish off in a small spot on the pot to get a good ground depending on the pot.
Why don't you post a pic of your wire job and make this a whole lot easier for everybody

Hmmm. Ya that's the 2004 diagram, i was looking at the 2001, that explains that. I wish i could post a decent picture but all i have is a crappy phone camera. I'll try and borrow someones though and post soon

 

[MTech]

Hmmm. Ya that's the 2004 diagram, i was looking at the 2001, that explains that. I wish i could post a decent picture but all i have is a crappy phone camera. I'll try and borrow someones though and post soon

I actually clicked a few years and they all seem to be the same but some printed with color some without the more recent ones are just drawn out better and have a different value capacitor....every year has the same switch and a vol. I just thought this one looked easiest to read and you said you didn't see where to ground the one wire and it shows that on this one.... So if you follow the one I posted it should work as that shows you where to run everything.... If it works it works

 

[dis89]

dude, dont panic and dont pay attention so much on diagrams, its better to think on your own and try to figure out how it works

btw ABSOLUTELY NOTHING helps and youre sure ur doing everything right dont forget that theoretically even the PUPs coils can be damaged for exmpl, try measuring their resistance with a multimeter, maybe the coils are short-circuted or broken, everything happens time to time or try connecting it directly to the jack to check it.

let me ask you this. I assume that the pot is the ground for both of us right?

wrong. exact answer is :not necesary: you dont get the idea. pickups produce alternating current, the actual ground on el. guitar is used for shielding. theoretically u can route PUPs wout/soldering their coil wires to the pots body. they do that just because its the comfy way to solder. In mine k7, yeah, as you said "its the ground" (just like on ALL stock PUPs manufacturers diagrams), the term being wrong.

If that's the case then all the ground wires should go to the pot, but do they all go to one spot on the pot or can they be spread out? Is the 3rd tab on the pot that's grounded have to be soldered by itself?

Of course they can spread out. You see, you have to get the point that the pot itself is a simple resistor mounted in series with the pickups, it has the "in" pin, "out", and the third socalled "ground", which HAS to be solderer on the pot somewhere near the place where u solder switch socalled "ground"

now i hope THISll help u to understand what are u doing when soldering

This is baffling, i'm doing everything the damn diagrams say and nothing looks out of place. Btw I also have pretty much the same switcth, is there a difference between that on and a standard 3 way with just 3 basic pins sticking off it?

yeah, the socalled "ground" pin is on other place (black wire on my foto). Its a chepo china switch, had to replace the stock crap. Actually, all Ibz stock electronics are total crap =)


ADVICE
try to remove everything, than start with connecting jack and a pot, the connect the damned neck PUP, check if it works, that connect the bridge and dont be in a hurry

if the explantion diagram still wont help u to get how the schematics work and find a mistake with help of this understanding, post fotos and Ill tell you what and were to solder in details

>>capacitor is there for tonal purposes

damn right, connected to resistor (pot I mean) in parallel it forms a lowpass
Low-pass filter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the capacitor itself has 2 be high quality, but, ill repeat, stock electronics on ibanezes even for 1.5 grand and more ore TOTAL crap, the cheap ceramic condenser not being the exclusion

 

[Abaddon]

ADVICE
try to remove everything, than start with connecting jack and a pot, the connect the damned neck PUP, check if it works, that connect the bridge and dont be in a hurry

Tested...and they both work fine. I even tried another selector switch i had laying around of the same style and still couldn't get it to work. So that just leads me to believe it's a wiring issue. Anyways, here are a couple crystal clear pics of the cavity. Hope it helps

 

[MTech]

The ridiculously sloppy solder job might have something to do with it...
The back of that pot looks like something out of Terminator 2 in the Steel Factory

 

[zimbloth]

The ridiculously sloppy solder job might have something to do with it...
The back of that pot looks like something out of Terminator 2 in the Steel Factory

Mike, I think you can help my buddy out here without being so harsh I'd be surprised if it was just the soldering, he does this kind of stuff all the time with perfect results. This guitar is haunted.

 

[MTech]

Just trying to give him some humor to ease the frustration while addressing what could seriously be the issue

He's going directly off the schematic..tried a different switch...tested them individually and they both work... what about different pot??
Could you post the color codes for the BareKnuckle/DiMarzio or are they the same cause the only thing I see different is the green wires go to the pot in the schematic and I don't see that in this picture...

 

[HammerAndSickle]

The soldering could be the problem. If they touch that creates shorts.

How about this: you say the bridge works but not the neck, right? try the neck pickup in the bridge position and see if that works. Then look at the wiring and replicate it in the other position.

 

[Abaddon]

Actually i've tried 3 different pots. 2 of which were brand new. I've tested both pickups in a :Single humbucker, 1 Volume: setup and they both work. That soldering job your looking at is the result of the 15th attempt at trying this (It's never THAT messy, ha). I swear I'm doing it the same way i've done 100 other Pups i've worked on with no problems...by the schematic. It's never failed me before. I'm not overly electronic savvy, which is why i'm here asking, just giving you the facts.

The soldering could be the problem. If they touch that creates shorts.

do they all go to one spot on the pot or can they be spread out?

Of course they can spread out.

Trust me it started off nice and neat. But does having a whole pot full of solder mess the wiring up? Doesn't it all become one piece of metal by the time it is all connected to the pot anyway?. Can only certain wires touch each other?

 

[MTech]

you shouldn't have them touching each other.

I showed the pics of the schematic along with your pictures to my tech buddy and he said "I'd suggest checking the switch and the pickup"
I asked a couple guys with stock ones to post some gut shots to see if we're missing something here.

 

[rgk7]

I had been asked to post this picture. I replaced the pickups but wired the new ones(dimarzios) the same way like it was when i bought it.
Green and silver are ground, black and white together and red is hot.

 

[Abaddon]

Hmmm. ok well i'll give it another shot with a new pot, with nothing touching eachother. Hopefully it works, i'll let you guys know how it comes out.

 

[MTech]

I just noticed something... in Abaddons pics it looks like you bent the tabs in so they touch and spread the wires out plus soldered all over but look at the pic above as well as dis89's the tabs are straight it's soldered to the one and just has a piece crossing over to connect all neat.... possibly that has something to do with it but the real way to tell would be get on there with a meter and check everything out.
Also post what wires are which, I know you said you know which one is which in relation to the duncans/dimarzios but we don't and that'd be a big help.

 

[Abaddon]

I just noticed something... in Abaddons pics it looks like you bent the tabs in so they touch and spread the wires out plus soldered all over but look at the pic above as well as dis89's the tabs are straight it's soldered to the one and just has a piece crossing over to connect all neat.... possibly that has something to do with it but the real way to tell would be get on there with a meter and check everything out.
Also post what wires are which, I know you said you know which one is which in relation to the duncans/dimarzios but we don't and that'd be a big help.

You mean on the selector switch? Hmmm, well it came like that. I've also tried another selector switch that looks like the other 2 shown in this thread, but didn't work. As for the wire code... Green & white go together, Black & bare are Ground and red is Hot. It's actually the same code as Peavey pups. I couldn't buy a new pot today because my car is in the shop but i will ASAP.

 

[dis89]

Tested...and they both work fine.

Im sure youve already fixed the problem vut I saw the topic on occasion and the pic you posted. sorry for taking 3 monthes to take a look but I can say that if you change black wire from neck pup with black wire coming form switch to pot everything will work just fine