Any guitar re-wiring experts out there? - Help greatly appre

[bduersch]

Today I've decided, if nothing else, that I would have gotten some value from majoring in electrical engineering.

Here are my basic questions first:

1) Does "in phase" mean that + is connected to -, as opposed to + connected to + and - connected to - ? (I'm assuming the former, correct me if I'm wrong)

2) For two coils to hum cancel properly, should the coils be positioned so that + is next to -, as opposed to + is next to + and - is next to -? (Again, I'm assuming the former, correct me if I'm wrong)

Anyway, I'm in the process of rewiring my RG1200. It started out with a PAF, Ibanez C3, and Tone Zone connected to a 5-way switch (seems similar to the Jem wiring). Something's a little different than the Jem wiring, though, since both humbuckers were installed in the same direction. Based on the wiring, I'm assuming that one of the in-between positions is the outside coil of a humbucker with the single coil, while the other in-between position is the inside coil of a humbucker with the single coil.

I bought 2 evos & a blue velvet to put into the 1200. After making the purchase, I read on Dimarzio's website that I should have bought the "reverse polarity" model. Unfortunately, I didn't. The Blue Velvet, according to the instructions, can be phase reversed. Is this the same thing as reversing the polarity? I can't physically turn the Blue Velvet around (since it has staggered pole pieces), but if I switched the white and black wires, would it be the same as the "reverse polarity" model or not?

If I end up turning the neck pickup upside down, then how can I tell if the phase of the middle pickup is correct? Would it be possible that I have to turn the bridge pickup upside down instead? Would I then have to change the wiring to get the desired effect?

Does this make any sense at all?

--Brent

[bduersch]

OK, I sat down and really thought about this, and here's what I'm thinking now. Does this make sense?

In a normal Jem, the neck pickup is installed backwards and the middle pickup is reverse-polarity. Since my middle pickup is not reverse-polarity, I need to flip my bridge pickup over instead. This should then have all coils facing the proper direction for hum cancelling. Am I right so far?

Where do the wires go now? The single coil has black/white wires, and the humbuckers have red/green/black/white wires.

I'm guessing that black & white wires for the single coil are connected to the switch & ground respectively (as described on the Dimarzio web page). I'm also guessing that red & green wires for the humbuckers need to be reverse--green to the switch and red to ground, with black and white connected together to the switch. Will this then give me the inside coils with the single coil?

Here's the diagram I've been basing my work off of:
http://www.dimarzio.com/w_d_2_2.html

Thanks!
--Brent

[boblynch]

Brent- if the middle pickup is not RWRP (reverse wound/reverse polarity) then you cannot get a humbucking effect when combined with the coils of either the neck or bridge pups. If you can't live without the humbucking 2 + 4 positions, you may have to buy a RWRP Blue Velvet. Reversing the phase of the single coil will not make the combo positions humbucking. It will cut bass response and sound pretty shrill though when in the combo positions.

[jemsite]

DiMarzio has a nice return policy. Utilize it to get the right single coil. In the JEM the humbucker is reversed simply to change the position of the active coil in relation to the bridge. That does not effect polarity, etc... glen

[bduersch]

Bob, Glen--

Thanks... the more I thought about it, the more I realized that flipping the humbucker around wouldn't make any difference. (I sat here and read my posts for the better part of an hour, going through all my logic, then I figured out where I goofed...)

I'll have to give Dimarzio a call to work the exchange. While I'm on the phone with them, I might as well order another reverse-polarity Blue Velvet since I'll need it for another guitar I'm rewiring right now.

In the mean time, I've got the guitar wired up with Evolutions & the original Ibanez C3. Doesn't sound too bad...

--Brent

[bduersch]

Thanks to everybody for your help! Although it took a while to get the Blue Velvet swapped for the reverse-polarity model, it was worth the wait. The RG1200 with the Evo's & Blue Velvet is an excellent combination! This might just become my main guitar now!

--Brent