hi13ts Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Friends, I recently had my '78 Les Paul Custom refretted and had the luthier re-wire the neck pickup to be out of phase with the bridge (ala Peter Green, Gary Moore). It sounds great, but now I'm getting a hum whenever I'm on the middle or neck position. The bridge position does not have noise. When I'm on the neck or middle position, if I touch the bridge pickups, it quiets, but when I touch the neck pickup, the buzzes louder. My tech also flipped the neck pickup upside down to look like Greeny as well. I understand this is likely a grounding problem, but I wonder if that out-of-phase wiring wiring will inherently produce hum? I'm attaching photos of the wiring (as I know nothing about pickup wiring). Hopefully you can see something stand out and that it'll be an easy fix. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 He's wired your neck pickup cover, frame and cable shield to the hot output. That's a crap and lazy way to do that mod. He should have swapped it inside the pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 He's wired your neck pickup cover, frame and cable shield to the hot output. That's a crap and lazy way to do that mod. He should have swapped it inside the pickup. Thanks for that. I don't have the authority to say that, I don't make pickups or fix them or anything. But I do know that to purposely flip the polarity you have to...reverse the two teeny weeny little leads out of the pickup? Something like that. And there was always a cheap-0 way to do it that was noisy, I remember quite a few folks doing that. That's why I never do such upgrades! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi13ts Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Is there an easy way to rectify this? Something I can do myself with a soldering iron? If not, is this a grounding issue that can be dangerous in regards to electrocution on stage? The noise itself isn't unbearable, I've played single coils and had to be mindful of noise. But if it can be dangerous, then this needs to be fixed immediately. Thank you for the responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Ohh no it's not dangerous. It's just noisy. Your tech has converted you neck pickup shield that protects against noise into an antenna that picks up noise and main lines it straight into your signal. If you can deal with the noise then enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi13ts Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 The noise is bearable, but would you recommend a more ideal alternative? I'm understanding that this wiring is the old-fashioned two-conductor wiring (since it only has the white and red cables)? Would the noise problem be nulled if we wire it to a push-pull pot or something instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Your luthier is an idiot. To change the polarity elecrically should be done, as Searcy said, by swapping the wires at the pup end. Besides, the Peter Green mod is to change the magnetic phase, so he should have flipped the magnet. Undo his shitty work and if desired, do it properly, yourself. Furthermore... has he ever soldered before? Talk about guano soldering. I'm afraid to ask to see the fret work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 And just to really rub the salt in, you don't sound like Gary Moore anyway. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 You could put it through a switch so it's only using the shielding as a hot when switched. It would still be noisey when switched. You'd be better off using a 2 conductor pup. You could convert thqt one or get another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Yea, the magnet flip is the right way to do the Peter Green. Swapping the wires at the pot is sort of the cheaters way of achieving a similar sound. I don't mean to rag on your tech but he really kind of miss the ball on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi13ts Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 Thank you for the reply, friends. I've got the wiring reversed to normal. Unfortunately, I know nothing about wiring so I wasn't confident in trying to re-do it myself. There was another luthier in town that has had good reviews, but he too is a little... spacey. Anyway, to avoid paying more, I had the original tech reverse the wiring, which he did without payment. Fretwork is okay. It's much better than it was before with the flat fretless wonder frets but it's not as playable as my SG or 333 with the same bridge action. But I found that each guitar is its own animal; you have to take a bit of time to get use to each one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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