Pickup problem wrecking my head!

[overexcitedaj]

Hey all,
Im a new poster here so be gentle . ( plus my guitar terminology isnt great so bare with me)

Ok so i have a westfield guitar, Les paul rip off. Ive had if for a few years and loved it for the price and just to learn guitar. Last year a friend of mine offered me a 59 cos my pickups where in an awful state. The second i installed it i knew i needed another pickup so i invested in a jeff back. Problem is when i installed it, the sound was like the amp was set to clean and it was at a low volume which of course it wasnt. Id switch back to the 59 and everyhting was working fine. Thought it might be the switch so i changed it, same problem, then thought about the pots but i switched the wiring of the 59 to check the pots and all is ok. Im at a loss here as ive had this guitar sitting in the corner of a room for the last 10 months and i dont have the funds to bring it to a shop again. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

[marvar]

Do you mean the JB pickup? I had one and didn't like it in any of my guitars.
There is tons of info on here about them.
Since Jeff plays with his fingers instead of a pick, I could understand the usefulness of that pickup, if you also play with your fingers instead of a pick. It is a very bright pickup.
you will find a love/hate feeling about that pickup, but there are things you can do- someone with more JB experience WILL chime in-

[overexcitedaj]

Yes sorry. I dont know why i didnt mention what they where, put it down to tiredness. the thing is a good friend of mine had the exact same guitar and the exact same setup and i loved the sound. Thats why i purchased the Jeff Beck

[Sanford]

... the sound was like the amp was set to clean and it was at a low volume which of course it wasnt. Id switch back to the 59 and everyhting was working fine.

It sounds like the pickup is wired to be in parallel or as a single coil. Check the wires coming from the pickup, there should be four of them (black, red, white, green). Make sure the red and white wires are soldered together and taped off to keep from contacting any conducting surfaces. Then wire the black to "hot" and green to "ground."

Hope this helps.

[overexcitedaj]

this is all done for the exception or a bare wire also coming out of the pickup. All of the above are there ane conected the way you have said but there is an extra bare wire which is also grounded.

[cakire82]

Would you be able to read the DC resistance of the JB? It is highly unlikely but maybe it is defective?

Also wiring diagram you have fallowed might be useful.

[overexcitedaj]

hmm the dc resistance. id have nothing here to read that but i remember faintly about the repair guy talking in these terms ( Its a fuzzy memory as it was over 10 months ago)
I think he said something along the lines of the 59 reading a couple of hundred and the JB reading at 4000. Now i dont know where ive got these numbers from as its a faint memory and im not sure if they mean anything. But i do know there was a vast difference between readings. When he told me this i asked if it could be defective and he said no its very unlikely.

EDIT: oh and here is the wiring diagram i followed http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_2v_2t_3w

[cakire82]

hmm the dc resistance. id have nothing here to read that but i remember faintly about the repair guy talking in these terms ( Its a fuzzy memory as it was over 10 months ago)
I think he said something along the lines of the 59 reading a couple of hundred and the JB reading at 4000. Now i dont know where ive got these numbers from as its a faint memory and im not sure if they mean anything. But i do know there was a vast difference between readings. When he told me this i asked if it could be defective and he said no its very unlikely.

EDIT: oh and here is the wiring diagram i followed http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_2v_2t_3w

In order to measure the DC resistance you should have multimeter (or OHm meter). You connect to black and green wires from the pup to connectors of your meter. JB should read about 16.5Kohm.

If you fallowed this diagram you should be fine. Btw, you have tired both 59 and the JB in the bridge right?

[overexcitedaj]

In order to measure the DC resistance you should have multimeter (or OHm meter). You connect to black and green wires from the pup to connectors of your meter. JB should read about 16.5Kohm.

If you fallowed this diagram you should be fine. Btw, you have tired both 59 and the JB in the bridge right?

yeh i dont have anything to read that. . Yeh ive tried both pickups in the bridge but the same result. Just a nice low clean tone off the JB. I suppose i will neew to get a reading from the JB next?

[ehdwuld]

harbor freight has multimeters for bout 4 bucks
this will be your most important tool

the image is a link to the site