Bluesboy tribute wiring/pickups

[bigben]

I read here how on the USA Bluesboy, the bridge pickups "wires" are switched to properly mate with the Seth Lover humbucker. May be oversimplifying that. So, on the Bluesboy TRIBUTE, same deal with the Paul Gagon G&L humbucker?

I ask because I'm thinking about putting a Tonerider Rebel 90 in the neck and would want hum cancelling in the middle

[Craig]

I read here how on the USA Bluesboy, the bridge pickups "wires" are switched to properly mate with the Seth Lover humbucker. May be oversimplifying that. So, on the Bluesboy TRIBUTE, same deal with the Paul Gagon G&L humbucker?

I ask because I'm thinking about putting a Tonerider Rebel 90 in the neck and would want hum cancelling in the middle

See this post: http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic ... 099#p85099

Hope this helps.

[bigben]

Thanks, but does anyone know? As is, so I don't need to take the strings off and unscrew the whole bridge just to look at a wire?

I guess the question is, did G&L modify a bunch of MFD pickups to work with the Seth Lover, or vice Versa? And since they make both the tribute pickups, wouldn't they just make them how they needed to be?

Thanks again

[Craig]

Thanks, but does anyone know? As is, so I don't need to take the strings off and unscrew the whole bridge just to look at a wire?

I guess the question is, did G&L modify a bunch of MFD pickups to work with the Seth Lover, or vice Versa? And since they make both the tribute pickups, wouldn't they just make them how they needed to be?

Thanks again

I just got confirmation from the factory that both the USA and Tribute ASAT Classic Bluesboy models use the same modified bridge pickup.
And, yes G&L builds these (and all other MFD pickups) at the factory and ships them to the Indonesia factory for use in the Tribute models.

Hope this helps.

[bigben]

Thank you.

So what exactly is needed to reverse this? And if I got a humbucker sized P90, like a Tonerider Rebel 90 or the like, would it matter/still need to be done?

[NickHorne]

The answer depends on the pickup that you choose.
1: It's essential that the magnetic polarity of the two single-coil pickups are opposite to one another. Without that, you can't do hum-cancelling without getting phase-reverse at the same time.
2: Whether you need to move any connections depends on which way round your new pickup is wound. If it has 3-conductor wiring (2 ends of the coil plus a separate ground) then you can just reverse the coil wires if you get phase-reversal. But if it has only 2 wires, you would need to move something (unless it's a really simple Fender type with no metalwork). A good solderer (with a big iron) could fit a separate ground connection to the MFD bridge pickup (which is what I've done with mine) and then all options are open. But don't be tempted to do this unless you're experienced and confident and understand what you're doing. And never use an "instant-heat" (gun) - type iron anywhere near a guitar. You can really mess up the magnets with one of these. I thought this was urban myth until I tried it on a spare magnet, and was amazed at the loss of charge caused by the magnetic field from the solder gun. Also, don't cook away endlessly with a small iron that's not up to the job; this will just cook pickup parts without soldering / desoldering properly.

[bigben]

So if the said pickup was RWRP would it work? What is the Bluesboy mfd

[NickHorne]

I'm pretty sure that the Bluesboy (and Asat Classic generally) back pickup is a "South-up" magnetic polarity. A quick check could be made with a toy / school compass; I would expect the "North"-pointing (Arrow) end to point toward the top of the pickup, indicating that the field it is looking at is magnetic south (same as the geographic North).
Confusing? Me too to begin with. But if the north end of the compass needle points at the top of the pickup, the pickup has its South poles facing up, and is said to be South-Up.

Major winders such as Duncan, Fralin, Bare Knuckle etc should be able to advise re drop-in suitability for the Bluesboy.
But otherwise, we can still find out whether we need to mod anything, and how to do it.

Your new single-coil MUST be of opposite magnetic polarity to the existing MFD, or you will never get hum-cancelling without phase-reversal.

Once that's been got right, it just remains to try the set-up to see if you do get phase-reversal. If you don't, you're home and dry. If you do, then one of the pickups needs to be reconnected the opposite way round, but only the audio wires, not the ground.
If it's a Strat type, you can just reverse the connections at the switch end.
For other pickups, if it has 3 connections (2 audio plus a ground wire) then keep the ground connected to ground and reverse the other 2.

If it just has 2 wires, one of which is ground, you'll need to make the reversal at the MFD instead. This will involve three steps.
1: Disconnect the short, bare link that runs from the backplate to one of the audio connections. I just cut this, with small side-cutters (not scissors, which could jerk as they cut, and damage the pickup) fairly near to the eyelet where the audio wire is connected. Not important or desirable to be extremely close (might be a little risky), just a couple of millimetres away is fine, as that's too short to wave around and connect anywhere it shouldn't.
2: Then unsolder the remains of the link from the backplate. This needs a large iron with some horsepower to it; just pumping in heat with a small iron will damage the pickup whilst failing to unsolder the wire! And it will be even worse at trying to solder on a new one. I have a 100Watt iron with a big tip just for jobs like this (also great for soldering ground wires to the backs of pots - does that in 2 seconds or so, much safer for the pot). The big iron is not running at a higher temperature than a small one, it's just that the temperature doesn't droop so drastically when it's asked to heat up a large piece of metal. Cook the joint up quick whilst holding / pulling the far end of the link in some small pliers, and off it comes quickly with no harm done.
3: Strip the end of a fresh length of wire, long enough to reach the control plate plus some spare. Tin it with some solder, and then heat up the solder on the backplate again, bring the tinned end of wire to it, and everything should melt nice and shiny in a very short time. Keep it still while it cools and you're done.

You'll want to keep the pickup upside-down and flat while doing all this, or solder will run around.

If you're at all unsure about soldering then do call a pro!

You now have a separate earth connection for your MFD, and coincidentally also the bridge to which it's bolted, plus the strings.
You can now just reverse the audio wires from the MFD, at the SWITCH end, without having to do anything risky with them at the pickup end. Ground the control-plate end of your new wire to a convenient point such as the back of a pot (big iron again is great for this).

!! Before you start handling the MFD much, look for the two tiny wires that run along the fibreboard to the two eyelets. Thinner than the fine flyaway hair from a shampoo ad! Don't touch 'em, never mind anything more forceful.
There's no need to take a soldering iron to the eyelets at all. Leave them in peace!

Hope this is helpful.

[bigben]

Another question. I have since decided to keep a fullsize humbucker in the neck. I got a Seymour Duncan Jazz. I want to put it in today.

So, I understand what you said below. But am confused on something. A humbucker has two coils, one going "north" one going "south." Theres some hum when using the middle position now with the MFD, as I expect ANY single coil to have. North+South humbucker and a South single coil. So why is it necessary to switch wires on the MFD single coil bridge when mating with a humbucker? What is "special" about the Seth Lover or Gagon neck humbucker/MFD bridge single coil combination? Common sense tells me, as did Rob DiStefano(Cavalier pickup guru), that when mating a single coil with a humbucker, polarity doesn't matter, because the middle position isn't going to be hum cancelling regardless(unless you split coils.)

BOTTOM LINE: leaving the bridge MFD "As Is," why can't I just solder in the SD Jazz neck?????

I'm pretty sure that the Bluesboy (and Asat Classic generally) back pickup is a "South-up" magnetic polarity. A quick check could be made with a toy / school compass; I would expect the "North"-pointing (Arrow) end to point toward the top of the pickup, indicating that the field it is looking at is magnetic south (same as the geographic North).
Confusing? Me too to begin with. But if the north end of the compass needle points at the top of the pickup, the pickup has its South poles facing up, and is said to be South-Up.

Major winders such as Duncan, Fralin, Bare Knuckle etc should be able to advise re drop-in suitability for the Bluesboy.
But otherwise, we can still find out whether we need to mod anything, and how to do it.

Your new single-coil MUST be of opposite magnetic polarity to the existing MFD, or you will never get hum-cancelling without phase-reversal.

Once that's been got right, it just remains to try the set-up to see if you do get phase-reversal. If you don't, you're home and dry. If you do, then one of the pickups needs to be reconnected the opposite way round, but only the audio wires, not the ground.
If it's a Strat type, you can just reverse the connections at the switch end.
For other pickups, if it has 3 connections (2 audio plus a ground wire) then keep the ground connected to ground and reverse the other 2.

If it just has 2 wires, one of which is ground, you'll need to make the reversal at the MFD instead. This will involve three steps.
1: Disconnect the short, bare link that runs from the backplate to one of the audio connections. I just cut this, with small side-cutters (not scissors, which could jerk as they cut, and damage the pickup) fairly near to the eyelet where the audio wire is connected. Not important or desirable to be extremely close (might be a little risky), just a couple of millimetres away is fine, as that's too short to wave around and connect anywhere it shouldn't.
2: Then unsolder the remains of the link from the backplate. This needs a large iron with some horsepower to it; just pumping in heat with a small iron will damage the pickup whilst failing to unsolder the wire! And it will be even worse at trying to solder on a new one. I have a 100Watt iron with a big tip just for jobs like this (also great for soldering ground wires to the backs of pots - does that in 2 seconds or so, much safer for the pot). The big iron is not running at a higher temperature than a small one, it's just that the temperature doesn't droop so drastically when it's asked to heat up a large piece of metal. Cook the joint up quick whilst holding / pulling the far end of the link in some small pliers, and off it comes quickly with no harm done.
3: Strip the end of a fresh length of wire, long enough to reach the control plate plus some spare. Tin it with some solder, and then heat up the solder on the backplate again, bring the tinned end of wire to it, and everything should melt nice and shiny in a very short time. Keep it still while it cools and you're done.

You'll want to keep the pickup upside-down and flat while doing all this, or solder will run around.

If you're at all unsure about soldering then do call a pro!

You now have a separate earth connection for your MFD, and coincidentally also the bridge to which it's bolted, plus the strings.
You can now just reverse the audio wires from the MFD, at the SWITCH end, without having to do anything risky with them at the pickup end. Ground the control-plate end of your new wire to a convenient point such as the back of a pot (big iron again is great for this).

!! Before you start handling the MFD much, look for the two tiny wires that run along the fibreboard to the two eyelets. Thinner than the fine flyaway hair from a shampoo ad! Don't touch 'em, never mind anything more forceful.
There's no need to take a soldering iron to the eyelets at all. Leave them in peace!

Hope this is helpful.

[NickHorne]

Hi
I got your email before I saw the thread. I hope the answer there helps.
I don't see why you can't just wire in your new bucker either, unless it's made electrically opposite to the original one (seems unlikely).