Help, EVO DP158 - does it really suck this much?

Jaden · #1 03-14-2006, 05:33 PM

Help, I have an RG548 with a DP159 in the bridge, to compliment that pickup I bought a DP158 for the neck.
The bridge pickup rules !
the neck pickup sucks....! its MUCH worse than the V7 I took out of my RG

I wired it to the spec, that is
Green and Shield - Ground
White and black together to the selector switch
red - to the "hot" side - or again to the selector switch.

its great with a clean tone but as soon as I crank on any distortion or overdrive it starts to mud up really bad.

someone please tell me ive made a stooooooopid wiring error cos otherwise that pickup is going straight to evilbay and the V7 re-installed

Ant1981 · #2 03-14-2006, 05:56 PM

You're wiring is right. But you've done something wrong that's for sure, cos I have the DP158 in a Jem, naturally, also in an RG and it sounds awesome.

Maybe your pickup is too close to the strings?

Jaden · #3 03-14-2006, 06:04 PM

thanks man, I did try the pickup height between 6mm and 2mm (guesstimate) while fretted at 24. it didnt really make any difference

I only own 2 RG's so dont have a evo equipped JEMxxxx to compare the sound to.
I only know that its crap, ive checked all the electrical connections to make sure there are no shorts or anything stoopid and its all OK.

Jaden · #4 03-14-2006, 06:25 PM

Oh, and just to clarify, when installing the new DP158 I copied the wiring from the DP159.
Cutting the old pickups out and using the tails to make an in-line connection.
wire for wire the two pickups are wired the same.

brothersnowgone · #5 03-14-2006, 07:03 PM

Could be you just got a bad pup? I don't know, I have no experience with wiring (or hearing) Dimarzio's. Also using the old wires from the original pup could be your problem(don't know, never done that). Maybe you just don't like how it sounds, if you could do a sound clip it may help others to determine whether you have a botched pick-up. Good luck either way.

David McCarroll · #6 03-14-2006, 08:05 PM

maybe the EVO is just too powerful for your overdriven amp settings?

j.arledge · #7 03-14-2006, 08:30 PM

well the evo neck is a little more compressed and is less powerful then a paf pro but that still makes me think somthing isn't right . Do you get any buzz from the pickup when it is selected ?

Shredcows · #8 03-14-2006, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatisshredding

Cutting the old pickups out and using the tails to make an in-line connection.
wire for wire the two pickups are wired the same.

Methinks its something to do with this.

You joined the red wire of the DP158 to an old wire? What abt the White and Black wires of the DP158?

Can you do a tap test with the DP158 on, in series? Pup selector all the way up. Take a metal object, an allen key, and tap the polepiece of the DP158, check if both coil's pole pieces are working.

Jaden · #9 03-15-2006, 08:44 AM

thanks to all, I have tried the tap test and its OK, my soldering is pretty good so im not worried about the physical connection. there is no buzzing or hum when the pickup is selected.
Its possible that David McCarrol is right and im just giving it too much overdrive, but Dimarzio rate it a medium output pickup (whatever difference that makes). Ive tried using the kind of rock settings that I would use with the bridge pickup and that is a big no-no.
when I tidy the sound up a bit it gets a lot strattier than I expected but is pretty crisp with a nice edge to it, I think I just wasnt expecting this much muddiness.
Im not experienced at changing pickups about so it could just be my expectations were a bit off, especially after the bridge was such a killer tone.

Shredcows - the black and white wires are soldered together and go to the selector switch along with the red wire.

any other ideas would be appreciated!

nickcoumbe · #10 03-15-2006, 10:54 AM

This is interesting as most many people seem to prefer the neck evo to the bridge evo.

Maybe it's a problem with the volume pot itself. I understand that the ibanez standard issues aren't that well regarded (by my tech at any rate). Maybe there is some mileage in looking at replacing that.

It just breaks my heart to think of someone putting a v7 back in to a guitar.

Jaden · #11 03-15-2006, 11:10 AM

yea, I thought that I would use the neck more than the bridge, sigh..
if the volume pot was a problem, it would affect both the pickups (i'd assume)
in any case, I think i'll replace it with a Dimarzio.

[It just breaks my heart to think of someone putting a v7 back in to a guitar.]

dont worry, that V7 is going nowhere near my RG again

Shredcows · #12 03-15-2006, 11:24 AM

hmmm... strange strange strange! Oh well.... perhaps its a faulty pup? Did you check ths pup's readings with a multimeter?

Gex · #13 03-15-2006, 02:25 PM

Ah, V7's arent THAT bad. Not as bad as those V8s.

Jaden · #14 03-15-2006, 02:28 PM

I havent checked the coil resistance yet, my meter is at work but I will check it at the weekend.
according to Dimarzio the coil resistance should be 13.04 ohms.

Ive been checking and rechecking everything tonight, changing my amp settings and nothing works, I even plugged in an old RG450 with a no-name pickup on at the neck and it sounded loads better than the Dp158...

Jaden · #15 03-15-2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gex

Ah, V7's arent THAT bad. Not as bad as those V8s.

I have to agree, the V8 sucks ass big time, the V7 gets too muddy with overdrive but sounds pretty good when clean.
I just wanted to complete the EVO set, considering thier reputation I didnt think I could go wrong.
never mind that, Im busy ignoring my wife and family in pursuit of a decent tone out of this pickup, so far Ive found that as long as you dont turn up your bass or mid too high on the amp you can drive the hell out of it !
Im running an Ibanez MT10 Mostortion pedal as a pre-amp and its looking more promising.
cant stop the damn 158 from giving that strat twang when you pick though.