First Charvel here, want to swap out the bridge humbucker. can anyone advice me?

[severed_survival]

Hi, I bought this Charvel the other day http://imageshack.us/f/109/p7040478.jpg/. After doing a bit of research I am pretty sure it's a 275 Deluxe. Well, so far I am pleased with the neck and playability of the guitar - very nice. Soundwise it took a while to grow on me (a little too thin sounding, lacking in output), but nonetheless I have bought a new humbucker to replace at the bridge. The thing is, I am pretty inexperienced with pick-up swaps. I have done one in the past on a Les Paul which was pretty straightforward, but after opening up the back of this guitar, the mess of wires looks a bit daunting. I was wondering if anyone could help me out? or point me to somewhere where I can find the corrent wiring diagram (haven't been able to find a specific one for this guitar)

Here is a photo of the cavity on the back: http://imageshack.us/f/515/p7040480.jpg/. It's a lot more "messy" than my Les Paul. Also, everytime I touch the volume knob it makes a humming noise which makes me think that perhaps it isn't wired correctly (??)

Any help/tips would me greatly appreciated! Last resort I will take it to a pro, but I'd rather do it myself as I need the money right now.

[DonP]

You are correct, that is a 275.

Before you start swapping pickups, you should realize that the J90C you have in there is a very popular high output pickup, but your wiring looks to be messed with to kill the output (maybe to make it sound cleaner?).

Look at this thread.

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/611-Jackson-Pickup-Color-Code

The black hot wire from you pickup should be going to the switch. Instead, it looks to be grounded with the green wire.

The red and white wired should be connected and taped off. They both appear to be connected to the switch.

This wiring is called Parallel and lowers the output of the pick even more than split (using just one of two coils).

I recommend wiring it up correctly before doing any swapping.

Also, that's a special pickup ring / pickup. It always looks funny if you put a normal pickup in the ring because you will have a huge gap around the pickup.

If you really find you need to swap, go check out www.fretonthenet.com for a custom made pickup ring to work with your replacement pickup.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Yup what Don said. Put the black where the red\white wires are and tape off the red\white so it doesnt short out to anything. And it should sound way better.
Gil

[severed_survival]

Thanks guys. I thought something had been changed, since I always thought the Jackson pups would've been higher gain. I'll try and sort it out...although I'm not sure if I should try the J90C or just put in the Dimarzio Super Distortion I got. As pickups go, what kind of sound does the J90C have? (when it's properly wired). Does it have a more active/EMG sound? or the classic high output sound (like Seymour Duncans)? My main concern is having a fuller/high gain sound, but I'm not a huge fan of the scooped mids/metal sound.

p.s. I use a Laney GH50L head, which I am a big fan of, but like most Laney amps I have played a very bright sounding, perhaps overly bright, hence why I am concerned about the lack of bottom end.