Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

[Thoraby]

My Nightswan sounds kinda hollow compared to my Alder-bodied Jackson. I was thinking, doesn't one get that effect by wiring the guitar's pickups in a certain way? Or is this how a Mahogany body sounds? Or is it just the pickups(Full Shred and JB)? It sounds way more hollow on bridge position.

When I say hollow I mean that it sounds kinda like a strat in positions 2 and 4.

Thanx a million

Thoraby

[Newc]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

On a Strat in positions 2 and 4, the two pickups that are active at the time are out of phase with each other, thus you get this thin, crappy sound.

And yes, mahogany bodies do have a toally different tonal quality than alder or poplar - my Warmoth Star (mahogany) is very warm acoustically, but my alder/poplar Jacksons are brighter-sounding.

Mahogany does take some getting used to if you're not familiar with the tone, but it's probably the tonally-best wood you can get for a guitar body.

Newc

[jgcable]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

You could possibly have your pickup wired incorrectly. If it is tapped, mistakenly wired in series with another pickup on the guitar or out of phase it can also have a hollow sound.

[Thoraby]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

Originally posted by jgcable:
You could possibly have your pickup wired incorrectly. If it is tapped, mistakenly wired in series with another pickup on the guitar or out of phase it can also have a hollow sound.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">How do you know if the pups are wired incorrectly or out of phase or whatever? The guitar has 2 humbuckers, one volume knob, and a 3 way switch.

Thanx a million

Thoraby

[Newc]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

Duncan's main lead wires are black, and those should be the only ones connected unless you've got a splitting/phasing system (push/pull pots, switches, etc).

Check to make sure the red and white wires of each pickup are soldered to each other (not red to red and white to white, but the bridge pickup's red to the bridge pickup's white, and middle pickup's red to the middle pickup's white), the green and bare ground wire are soldered together (or at least both grounded, but again, not green to green - green of each to ground) and the black wires of each pickup are on each side of the switch (one wire per side).

If you have a green wire of one pickup and a black wire of the other on the switch, when they are both active they'll be phased with each other and get that Strat position 2/4 sound.
Also, your pickup's output will be reduced if the red and white are not soldered together, or if the solder joint or connection itself is bad (I've had a couple of used pickups that the exposed/soldered red and white wires were too brittle and they broke off).

Newc

[kremit]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

Originally posted by jgcable:
I think actually that if the red and white are not soldered together on each pickup you will get no output. Am I right Newc?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, I've made this mistake before. You do get sound, just not much (like an under powered single coil). The red / white are just a bridge between the two sides if I'm right.
If not, I must have had another problem entirely and fixed it somehow by soldering those wires... [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[mm2002]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

If the red and white wires are not connected to each other they must be connected to the black or green wire through a switch to act as a single coil tap (red is south, white is north I think)
See this diagram:
http://www.guitarelectronics.com/dia...rsal/hhc1.html

This is how I wired my model 5. (like anybody cares)

[jgcable]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

I think actually that if the red and white are not soldered together on each pickup you will get no output. Am I right Newc?

[Thoraby]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

Thanx guys! You are the best [img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

The pickups were all wired correctly, no bad joints, no odd phasing-crap. I guess I'll just have to change the bridge pickup then. I need something with more mids, anyone wanna trade a Duncan Custom for a Full Shred? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Something else just hit me, the guitar has 9 gauge strings right now, doesn't that affect the sound in a negative way? I've been meaning to set her up with 11's, but I'm just flat-out broke, I can't even afford new strings [img]graemlins/eyes.gif[/img]

Thanx a million

Thoraby

[Newc]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

I use 9's on all my guitars and have no problem with the output [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Could be a bad pot? Wire each pickup directly to the jack and see how that sounds. Wire them one at a time (not both together). That'll tell you if your pots are to blame, or if it's the switch, or if it's the pickups or the connecting wires.

Newc

[Thoraby]

Re: Hollow-sounding guitar. Any fix for this?

Originally posted by Newc:
I use 9's on all my guitars and have no problem with the output [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Could be a bad pot? Wire each pickup directly to the jack and see how that sounds. Wire them one at a time (not both together). That'll tell you if your pots are to blame, or if it's the switch, or if it's the pickups or the connecting wires.

Newc

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The pot crackles, and the 3-way switch feels unstable as hell. This axe needs most of it's electronics replaced. It's funny how a axe with hardware and frets in such pristine shape can have so worn out electronics. They'll be replaced. Thanx for the help! You da man, Newc [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I'll order those parts right now - with the christmas-money I'll be recieving. I'll also buy some strings! W00t!

Thanx a gazillion [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img]

Thoraby