Pickup tech

[RVA]

So I took apart a pickup for the first time yesterday. This was necessary because it was originally in a piezo harness and according to PRS, I needed to flip both magnets and "take them to the pole pieces" in order to have this work properly for standard wiring.

The hardest part was the deconstruction/disassembly. It is a shame that there are not more "schematics" of a pickup wiring, assembly and disassembly out there. However, after some fumbling, it has been somewhat demystified. I even ordered some crepe paper tape so I can dig into other pups some day.

Anyone have any words of wisdom to share on the basics of pup tech?

 

[WavMixer]

You couldn't have just reversed the wires?

 

[RVA]

You couldn't have just reversed the wires?

I do not think so. The magnets are still the same relative to each other - they were both flipped. PRS told me that the opposite side of the magnet needed to face the pole pieces for each pickup. It is possible that different wiring would have solved this without the magnet flip, and would love to know out of curiosity if anyone knows the answer. I do know that PRS did not mention it, and this way I never have to think about it again.

 

[WavMixer]

So they sold them to you and were in the wrong orientation?

 

[Biddlin]

"Anyone have any words of wisdom to share on the basics of pup tech?"

Oy.

 

[RVA]

So they sold them to you and were in the wrong orientation?

Nope. I bought them off a guitar owner who pulled them out of a PRS P22.

 

[smitty_p]

Reversing the wiring would have made the pickup out of phase with the other one.

I assume this is a two pickup guitar.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "piezo" harness.

I know what a piezo pickup is, but don't understand it's usage with a humbucking pickup. This is a humbucker, correct?

 

[RVA]

Reversing the wiring would have made the pickup out of phase with the other one.

I assume this is a two pickup guitar.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "piezo" harness.

I know what a piezo pickup is, but don't understand it's usage with a humbucking pickup. This is a humbucker, correct?

After the magnet flip, it is now a regular 4 conductor HB, easy to understand. I was only trying to start a dialog about disassembling and working on pickup internals - that is new to me.

As for the pups I was working on, they came out of a P22. This is a stero output guitar with a piezo and 2 HBs. Per PRS:

The P22 is the company’s original piezo-equipped solidbody guitar, providing musicians the versatility of wielding both acoustic and electric guitar tones in one instrument. PRS and LR Baggs partnered more than a decade ago to design the piezo system found in PRS’s original hollowbody models. The new system retains the same circuit design as the original, maintaining tonal authenticity and real world practicality. There are two output jacks on the P22, allowing guitarists to plug into their favorite electric guitar or acoustic guitar amp or DI into a soundboard. By utilizing the separate blend control, the tone of the P22’s 58/15 pickups can also be combined with acoustic sounds through a single output.