Gibson Angus Young pickup problem? HELP

[ACHIEVEIT]

Hi guys, i recently purchased a new angus young humbucker from an authorized dealer and i believe it has a problem, but i need verification.

I also got a 57 for the neck of my sg and upon wiring everything i noticed that the sound of the angus pickup was a lot brighter and lower output although i had it higher than the 57 (very close to the strings). So i measured the DC resistance between red and black/bare and measured something like 4.8k. I quickly desoldered everything and this is what i noticed:
DCR between black and green around 4.8k
DCR between red and white around 4.8k

I soldered the green and white back together and measured this:
DCR between red and black around 9.6k
I thought it was ok, so i soldered together the black and bare wires again.

This is where the problem occurred again. I measured the DCR between red and black/bare and it was 4.8k again! I desoldered everything again and noticed that the green wire and the bare wire make the beep sound in the 'arc' test. Now, this can't be right, can it?

[MrRhoads]

Solder black to a ground and then the bare wire to another ground, maybe it will work.

[dennistruckdriver]

....or take it back to have the seller check it out.

[ACHIEVEIT]

I tried numerous things and the results didn't make sense. For example, i tried leaving the bare wire free (i insulated it so that it wouldn't touch anything), played and then quickly attached the bare wire to the black (which i had already soldered on the ground on the back of the volume pot). There was no difference at all which is weird. Since if i don't connect the bare, the dcr between the red and black is 9.6k, when i touched the bare to the black (and according to my tests it means that the dcr between bare/black was now 4.8k) the output should be lower, but there was no difference at all.

Basically, i have already contacted the shop and they have 'reserved' a second angus young humbucker but i need to make sure that it is really a defect one. I have no previous experience with gibson pickups

[dennistruckdriver]

Originally Posted by ACHIEVEIT

....I have no previous experience with gibson pickups

Take it back.

[ACHIEVEIT]

Sorry for not mentioning it before, but it is a little complicated to take it back as i got it online from a music store in Germany and i live in Greece. I have already spoken with them and they are about to arrange a UPS pickup, but before i send it back i have to be absolutely sure that it is defect. I am 99.9% sure but i need confirmation

[dennistruckdriver]

Have it checked by someone competent in guitar electronics.

[ACHIEVEIT]

Well, no-one i know has experience with gibson pickups so i was kinda hoping i would find one here. I understand electronics (i study electrical engineering basically) and can perform measurements with the multimeter, so if anyone with experience in gibson pickups can suggest a certain test, i can perform it.

[dynabite]

It's hard to tell what your doing without pics. Are your measurements in or out of circuit ? When you attach the white and green together, are you connecting them to the circuit somewhere ?

[ACHIEVEIT]

Sorry for not clarifying - after hearing how weak the pup was, i took it completely out of the guitar and performed the measurements out of the guitar circuit

[dynabite]

Test all 4 conductors individually to the bare wire, if all open it should be ok, if there's a short it's an internal error.

[Exluthier]

Wait a sec, is this the new pickup? The one they put in the new angus young signatures? I thought those have Seymour Duncans? I think they use a different wire code than Gibson does.

[cryptozoo]

I've got an Angus at home and it came with a wiring diagram -- from what I can remember, it's not the 'normal' color code you'd expect it to be. You should still be able to swap a few around a figure it out, though. If you're getting a solid 9.6k reading, it should work. Wire it up like that.

[Exluthier]

Try the red and white together, the green and bare to ground and the black to hot.

[ACHIEVEIT]

Thanks for the answers,

well the two coils are one between black and green and one between white and red. Now, since there is a short between green and bare, this means that i can probably make the pickup work by either:
1) connect green/bare to ground, black/white together and red to volume
or
2) green/bare to ground, black/red together and white to volume.
Whichever prevents the coils from being out of phase actually.

However, what makes me think that this pup is defect is that the green and bare are shorted in the first place (thank you dynabite for confirming my thoughts). I have tested all cables between them and only the green is shorted to the bare. So, since i have the opportunity, i prefer to get a new one.

But the above solution should work i think

@ Exluthier: this is the one they used until recently in the sg young signature - it is the Gibson Angus Young signature humbucker. I think in the new ones they use Seymour Duncan.
Also, by wiring it like you used it would mean working with only one coil (the one between black and green wires)

@ cryptozoo: I heard that this pup has different wiring than all other gibson pups in another forum but i believe there shouldn't be a short between green and bare, right?

[saxman10]

Does this help any?
It helped wonders for me, and its all I got to offer without it being in my hands.
Classic 57 wiring question

and

http://www.gibson.com/Files/Download.../PUPwiring.pdf

[saxman10]

Also, at first it sounded like a wiring issue...b/c you were getting a split sound, (thin, bright), so according to the diagram in that link above...the white and green should be soldered together..and the black and bare wire grounded to the bottom of a pot(or to ground wire coming from bridge).
and the red wire should go to the lug on the pot. If this doesnt work...then some how something may have gotton pulled from the coil windings-to-pickup lead wire inside of the pickup.

[mariounsel]

Hey,hey,
have the same problem!!
No output.
I`m from germany.

[erwan1809]

Hi guys, sorry to speak about an old sbject, but I've got the same problem (My AY pickup is less powerfull than the classic 57, and the tone button does not work -the two wirings are differents-).

I think I have found a solution, which is to conect the green and white wire to the potentiometer's back (at the same place as the black and bare wire). However, I do not know if, by doing this, I am using the full "capacities" of the pickup.
Does anyone know the solution? Have you guys make your pickup work?

Thanks for your answers and sorry for my english mistakes (je suis Francais )

[Lawnmowerman]

Sorry to bring back an old post but i am having the same problem....

[SKATTERBRANE]

I know exactly what is happening. Since it read normal WITOUT the bare wire, one of the coils is grouning out to the backing plate. One of the connections of the 4 colored wires has a bare spot and is touching something metal, like it is pinched under the keeper bar, or magnet or touching the backing plate directly. When you put your bare wire into the circuit, it grounds out one coil, but the other coil is not.

[Lawnmowerman]

Originally Posted by SKATTERBRANE

I know exactly what is happening. Since it read normal WITOUT the bare wire, one of the coils is grouning out to the backing plate. One of the connections of the 4 colored wires has a bare spot and is touching something metal, like it is pinched under the keeper bar, or magnet or touching the backing plate directly. When you put your bare wire into the circuit, it grounds out one coil, but the other coil is not.

How do i fix it?

[SKATTERBRANE]

You have to take the pickup apart and find the wire that is compromised.

[Lawnmowerman]

Originally Posted by SKATTERBRANE

You have to take the pickup apart and find the wire that is compromised.

I took it apart last night and did not see any wires shorted.

[macphistoo]

Up, I have the exact same issue... sound thin like a low output single coil !