Author Topic: Wiring questions for strat-style alembic pickups (Read 509 times)

kingbiscuit · « **on:** February 06, 2010, 01:00:41 AM »

hi 'lembic folks,

i am trying to put some alembic pup's, strat style into a guitar i have that looks cool but has crappy pup's. i have some questions and thought this would be the place to ask them.

what i have: 3 alembic strat style pups wired to the selector switch which is in turn wired to 2 knobs which im assuming are for tone and volume. additionally, also already prewired, is the jack for a 9v bolt battery (active pups i know), and a gizmo with some resistors and other electronic stuff which i know little to nothing about. i see there are 2 loose short wires, one black the other red and white, connected to a brick red rectangular piece which in turn is attached to the gizmo with the resistors. i am hoping that the gizmo is the preamp. but i dont know where the other 2 wires go. i need help from the Alembic collective on this one.

also, do i need to reattach grounds to this setup, and also is it ok to cut the wires on the battery lead so i can move it to the old space for the plug and make changing the battery easier?

i will be looking forward to your responses and will post pics of this git once it works again, which im sure it will with all your help.

peace

kingbiscuit

elwoodblue · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2010, 01:18:24 AM »

Pictures of what you have now may help.

You can extend the battery leads, I'm guessing you are putting it under the strat jack plate. A couple of folks have inverted that plate to make space for the battery and to allow space for the cable end when it is plugged into the jack.

You've come to the right place : )

dannobasso · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2010, 04:56:23 AM »

I bought a new HSS set with all the guts NOS from Tac basses never installed but no instructions. The pups are not wired. I'm thinking of putting them in an American Deluxe strat at some point. No clue about the selector stuff.So I will watch with interest.

But if anyone wants them $650 free shipping.

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2010, 11:52:12 AM »

yeah, i figured the picture was inevitable. lookee here... is this complete? do i need to ground this to to the wire connected to the vibrato? i would like to run the battery wire into the cavity for the 1/4 jack but would have to cut the wires on it to do it. i know this is frowned on here, so im being careful...

here is a link to flickr for the pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31581954@N04/4334835211/

if you copy/paste this whole line, not just the underlined portion, to your address bar it will work...

any advice, directions, or comments are most welcome

elwoodblue · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2010, 12:47:30 PM »

Yes it does look complete...I haven't seen that configuration with the double pot, but I know Alembics use them so I'm guessing that's stock too.

Ideally you would desolder and replace the battery leads with longer wires so there are no splices.
If you splice it shrink tubing would be the best way to reinsulate the splice joints.

The ground should be attached to any shielding (and to the trem claw as usually is done on a strat )on the guitar.

I took the liberty to post your picture here to make things simpler for folks who have more/better
advice. I'm not an expert (yet) : )

Danno, I think the selector is before the preamp and tone controls...I see the pickup leads going into the selector switch then going to the circuit.

(Message edited by elwoodblue on February 06, 2010)

elwoodblue · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2010, 12:53:56 PM »

...and here is a link to a thread that has some pictures (towards the bottom of the page) of the inverted jack plate to make more room for the battery.

Link

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2010, 03:36:59 PM »

thanks elwood for your input. since there are only 2 knobs i was gonna put the jack for the patch in the 3rd hole and just use the existing jack cavity for the battery, it looks like it would fit in there, i would just have to make the hole in the pickguard a little bigger to accomodate it.

elwoodblue · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2010, 03:46:20 PM »

Good call,
...looking forward to pics of the finished project.

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2010, 03:50:15 PM »

how about the 2 loose wires, black and red/white in the pic. what are they for?

where do the grounds attach to the wiring harness? my guess is those 2 loose wires, black and red/white in the pic, coming off the preamp, but im a neanderthal when it comes to this stuff. i have enough trouble just playing the damn things nevermind their esoteric electronic anatomy...

lastly, for now anyhow, any special kind of solder i should use for this?

elwoodblue · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2010, 04:11:31 PM »

I didn't notice the loose wires right off the bat
(I forgot about you mentioning them after seeing the picture)...Are they coming off the pot?
Can you post another pic from above?
That might take a little more detective work and input from Mica.
I think the ground from the vibrato and any other grounds on the guitar would attach to the green wire coming off the jack.Is that attached to the chassis of the switch ? It's hard to see where it terminates in the picture.

I use Radio shack 60/40 rosin core (catalog # 64-009) solder. It's the tiny diameter stuff.

I'll look at one of my activator sets to see if that will help with the loose wires...no guarantee.

lbpesq · « **Reply #10 on:** February 07, 2010, 09:14:40 AM »

You might consider getting a Q switch from Alembic for the third hole on the Strat. It's relatively inexpensive, as Alembic electronic stuff goes, and Mica can easily show you how to wire it in. Both Jazzyvee and I have done this. I think it's well worth the relatively minimal expense.

Bill, the guitar one

jazzyvee · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2010, 11:01:31 AM »

Bill is correct, q-switch is well worth the effort and I went for the 3 position switch. Incidentally the mine is a maple necked strat and sounds incredible with the alembic guts.

Here is a link to the thread showing both Bill and my strats.

http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/33040.html?1162717395
I'm currently having that guitar refurbished and resprayed by John Diggins and he is moving the battery from under the jack socket to a small routed slot under the spring cavity at the back of the guitar which I think is much easier to get to without disrupting anything than the pick guard or even my current place.

I'd love to see the pics once you have done it.

Jazzyvee

(Message edited by jazzyvee on February 07, 2010)

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2010, 11:39:18 AM »

oddly enough, i actually live in santa rosa, so i should probably just swing by alembic and let them have a look at it. i'll tell everybody you guys said hi.

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #13 on:** February 11, 2010, 12:39:08 PM »

i took the rig to michael dolan's here in santa rosa ca, he used to work at alembic and now runs his own shop. michael pointed out that the 2 loose wires were originally attached to the knob with the blue back in the pic. i think i am going to let him fix it since he has a solder sucker and i dont, he he.

i called alembic but nobody answered the phone. i would imagine they could fix it too. i have a further that i want the new wiring done on (new wiring where volume doesnt increase when you turn on additional pups). any of you guys have this done? is it worth it?

kingbiscuit · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2010, 12:58:49 AM »

i went to alembic's place here in santa rosa to have my further's wiring upgraded to the newer package which eliminates the volume increase you would get from adding a pickup to the mix. i met mica and her mom who were both very nice. it was mind blowing to see so many alembics in one place. i talked with mica about these pickups and she told me that the double pot is not one of theirs. i decided that instead of blundering my way through this install that instead i would have the alembic wizards do it instead. i got a great deal on the pickups so i am totally ok with spending a few bucks to have it done correctly. mica did tell me it would take a while and that even though i am a local i would have to wait my turn to be fair to all the other alembians out there in this big old world. so if somebody is waiting for their alembic dont worry, im not cutting in line. i got an axe or two to noodle on in the meantime so ill be ok. ill post some pics when all is said and done. thanks for all the helpful hints and advice and keep playin them 'lembics!