Official Luthiers Forum!

ARGGGGGH!

OK, now I'm at the 11th hour and I REAAALLLY would appreciate anyone's help if at all possible. Maybe one of you Wiring Gurus could enlighten me here.

I have been trying to get the wiring right on my dueling dragons build and nothing seems to work right, so be patient as I explain everything as thoroughly as possible - feel free to ask any questions that you need to ask.

Sandywood tried to lead me in the right direction by giving me the following link:
http://www.guitarelectronics.com/c=P0dDgG9Aby1pGqKRI6TOF5g8h/category/wiring_resources_guitar_wiring_diagrams.2_pickup_guitar_wiring_diagrams/ at the bottom of that page it has the "2 Humbuckers w/ 1 Volume Control, 1 Tone Control & 5-Way Rotary Switch" diagrams with 7 different options.
The Stew Mac wiring shows the following positions, which I would be fine with:
1. Neck Humb.
2. Outer coils in parallel
3. Outer coils in series
4. Inner coils in parallel
5 Bridge Humbucker
And here is their wiring diagram:


Most people DID state on their site that the diagram was missing the ground wire to the back of tone pot, which I did.
I wired everything up but one of the settings had barely any sound and fades off almost immediately - the next thing I tried was to wire the pups as PRS states (I have Dragon II pups installed) that the Treble(bridge pup) wires are actually opposite of the Bass pups, so the HOT wire is the black and the ground is white.

And now I have 2 positions that are dropping out after following their suggestion.

This problem had arisen earlier in the week and I also had a "Defective" 5-way switch that StewMac replaced for me (The nut was loose and would not tighten AND it would not work on one of the settings, so after getting the replacement 5-way rotory switch today, I wired everything up and (at least this one will tighten) but no luck on the wiring. I checked all of my work thoroughly over and over to make sure I did not miss any wires.
Not sure if the pic below helps, but here ya's go:


Any help would be GREATLY appreciated - thanks so much!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Were you still planning on coming over tomorrow?
Bring it by....

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

Were you still planning on coming over tomorrow?
Bring it by....

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

Were you still planning on coming over tomorrow?
Bring it by....

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

Were you still planning on coming over tomorrow?
Bring it by....

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

hm. Ive never looked seen a prs diagram before now and i gotta say, that do some really weird stuff with their wiring! Ive never seen any guitar wiring quite like this, or any wiring for that matter (and Im going to school for electrical engineering!). Ive never seen a cap on a volume pot, though it does make sense as a bleeder as you adjust the pot. Ill continue to study your wiring and compare to the diagram. If there is a problem in the wiring then it is most likely in the rotary switch. I urge you to check, double check , triple check, coffee break, then quadruple check the wiring on the rotary switch. Its possible that you toasted a cap by having the soldering iron on it too long. You could have also fried a pot when grounding wires to the casing, but toasting a pot takes quite a bit more than toasting a cap. You generally dont want to have the iron on your work piece for any more time than is necessary. JUST enough time as to where the wires and whatever else your soldering to adhere well with the solder. Can you give a detailed explanation of the problem? This will make it easier to diagnose

As far as I can see, the wire that I highlighted in red could be our culprit. there should be a wire going from that position on the rotary switch to ground. I dont see it in the picture but my eyes COULD be playing tricks on me. It would be impossible to get a picture of these electronics where all wires are clearly visible. Check the guitar and let me know

Absolutely - probably sometime after dinner 6 - 7ish - I'll call you

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

It's like Deja Vu all over again!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

The Rotary switch is good - the reason I say this is that I have replaced it already and it still had the same problem - I know there is the remote possibility that they had the same problem, but I'm doubting that. The pots/caps are NOT toasted - I was very careful to not do that (I am aware of this issue, as I have done quite a few electronics installs on guitars through the past 30+ years. The reason I know they are fine is that they work fine on 4 of the settings(Until I wire the pups according to PRS' instructions, then only 3 are working).
And yes, I checked over 10 times on each attempt before posting - great question tho! I also triple checked for any stray wires/solders that may have been touching something they shouldn't have, especially any hot wires that are accidentally touching a ground (Shielding paint is all over) I eill be bringing over the Guitar Whisperer's shop tonight - se if he could find the culprit.

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

The wire you referenced is soldered to the wire that goes to the back of the Vol. pot, which is the ground... all grounds do lead to the back of that vol. pot somehow(Including the bridge's grounding strap.) appreciate ya looking at it tho - do you still think it's that wire? (just in case!)

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Bummer.
I had problems with the wiring on a build.
I just kept taking it apart, and re-doing it.
Still isn't right,
but it works.
So, what is the problem?
You getting a signal at all?
I'm sure it's something with the switch wiring.
I looked at the diagram,
but I don't know what the switch actually does, so......
I like the simplicity of a 3 way switch,
with push-pull pots to split the coils.
Good luck!!!!!!!

yeah, next build will have 3-way toggle and 2 mini toggles for coil tap

one of the settings sounds like the guitar is in another room - just barely audible - all the rest sound phenomenal

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Sounds like the pups are out of phase,
which can be nice.
Does it sound really nasal on that setting?
I wired a bucker with that as one setting,
and use it for sweet stuff.
Is that the only problem you have with it?

OK, Sooo, after having a couple local luthiers/repair guys look at it, not only did I score an actual PRS 5-way selector yesterday, but it was finally discovered last night that one of the wires in the bridge pup was actually broken - although I had purchased this new on Ebay, the GuitarWhisperer discovered that someone may have accidentally drilled through the wire about 3/4" near the pup itself... he did the surgery last night, showed me some awesome woods, incredible builds and a "cooked Birdseye maple" neck/fretboard to die for.

We plugged the guitar in around 10:33 last night and actually heard the Dueling Dragons work CORRECTLY for the first time.

My wiring btw was dead on, but I missed this nick I had seen on the wire, but never thought it could be the culprit.

This guitar sounds phenomenal.

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

I just had to see these Beasts in person, since I had an opportunity.
What a great instrument, and a great guy!
The guitar sounds beautiful, and is awesome.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

Hey thanks bro - kinda cool that YOU got to hear it as it was intended to sound for the first time - nights like that I will NEVER forget - kudos to you for helping solve the problem!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar