Need help wiring an EMG stereo jack!

[Nazgul]

My config is EMG85 in the bridge + volume pot and I dont know which wire goes to which tab on the stereo jack. Jack has 4 little tabs with "solder-here-holes" and I have three wires (one from battery and two from pot).
I soldered the wires on the pot like on the diagram, but the picture of the stereo jack is really indefinite and I can't really make anything out. I tried few possibilities and the best I got out was that I got the sound, but the pot wasn't working (as if it was bypassed).
If someone can take his jack out of the guitar, I'd like to see the picture of jack and see which wire goes to which tab.

[RobRR]

Ill have a pic for you in a few minutes...

[RobRR]

Here you go, this is a stock, out of the box EMG jack assembly that I just happenned to have laying on my desk. Theres only 3 tabs on the jack, as with every other stereo jack. Ive never seen one with 4 tabs...?

[Nazgul]

Well, mine does have 4 tabs. And it's different too. Yours does look like the one on the EMG diagram.

I think mine is not the original. But that shouldn't matter. Thanks for the picture! I think it will help.

White one goes to the middle tab on the pot, right? It's kinda hard to see on the picture...does the white wire lead to the terminal that's closest to it?

[MountainDog]

The EMG supplied jacks have 3 prongs like the wiring diagrams. Where did you get your Stereo jack? Can you give us a picture of that jack?

Your three wires should go like this:
Wire from middle of Volume control (shown as white in EMG diagram) goes to the switch lug that connects to the tip of the 1/4" plug
Wire from ground of pot (shown as black in diagram) goes to the switch lug that connects the base or lowest part of the 1/4" plug
Black wire from battery goes (also shown black in diagram) goes to the switch lug that connects to slightly above the middle of the 1/4" plug. This acts as the switch to turn on the battery when you plug it in.

So what you have to do is look at your switch and figure out which tabs equal the 3 tabs you need. I'm thinking the 4th tab might be an extra ground tab.

http://www.emginc.com/downloads/wiringdiagrams/9_Basic_Wiring_Diagrams.pdf

[Nazgul]

Thanks MountainDog! I have enough info now. Jack will work, because it worked before...I removed it then and went to passive pickups and now I'm going back to actives. I got the jack with the EMG85 that I bought used.

I'll get the pics up if you want to see the jack. Give me few minutes.

[RobRR]

Ok, heres what you want to do. Youre only using 3 of 4 lugs.

You will need to look at the solder tabs and trace it to the contact pin its connected to.

The black wire from the battery clip will connect to the solder tab which is part of the LOW contact pin.

The white wire will connect to the HIGH contact pin.

The black wire will be your ground, and will connect to the pin that is part of the body of the jack.

[Nazgul]

OK. I'll try it tomorrow.

Here are the pics of my jack:

[RobRR]

In the second picture, the solder tab that is the biggest up front in the pic is the one you wont be using... the one with the thin black wire on it now.

[Nazgul]

OK, I wired it like that but it's not working. I have one another jack at home. This one has three tabs like the EMG one, but both switch lugs connect to the tip of the 1/4" plug. Do you think it will work?

If not, I'll just get a new jack.

[Sunbane]

Those solder joints look horrible! Looks like you didn't heat the surface enough before soldering.
It's down to luck if you get a good connection through those.

The solder should get a slick and even surface when the joint is properly done.

[Nazgul]

Those solder joints look horrible! Looks like you didn't heat the surface enough before soldering.
It's down to luck if you get a good connection through those.

The solder should get a slick and even surface when the joint is properly done.

I know. the solder that I have sucks...hard to get it slick. Maybe I should get a new one. I'm using 25W iron btw.

[RobRR]

OK, I wired it like that but it's not working. I have one another jack at home. This one has three tabs like the EMG one, but both switch lugs connect to the tip of the 1/4" plug. Do you think it will work?

If not, I'll just get a new jack.

No, it wont work... the other lug has to connect to the body of the jack. Just go to Radio Shack, they sell stereo input jacks!

[Sunbane]

No, it wont work... the other lug has to connect to the body of the jack. Just go to Radio Shack, they sell stereo input jacks!

+1...although I doubt they have Radio Shack stores in Slovenia.
But yes, get a proper stereo jack and throw that other junk away.

[RobRR]

Ah shit, I just realized where he lived.