• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

eldeadache

New member
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Messages
2
Hello,

A happy day has come and I will finally equip my Sterling JP70 with the proper pickups in my quest for Petrucci's Black Clouds & Silver Linings sound. But as much as I'm quite a capable guitar player, I'm not at all a capable guitar user, I have no idea how to change the pickups. Fortunately, a family member is here to help me with the electrics, but it's the first time for him to deal with an instrument, too.

So far I received such instructions from a Sterling worker: 'Solder the red and white together, ground the plain and the green to the pickup selector, black goes to the contacts on the selector. It's the same for each. Be sure to use heat shrink wrapping where necessary. The red and white will be for cool tapping later, so be sure to cut all wires the same length.'

And it pretty much solves most of my problem. But we still need some help.

First, won't doing the wires the same way for both pickups lead to a phase reverse?

Second, I know that some people place their Crunch Lab with this shiny long side directed towards the bridge, while Petrucci directs it towards the neck. But are there any alternative ways of connecting the cables or is it only a matter of different placement with all the wires exactly the same way?

Third, is there any difference between both LiquiFire sides? They look exactly the same so I'm not even sure if I should think about which side I want to face the neck/bridge.

Thank you for your attention. Please, be meticulous in your answers for electrics is not really something I'm adept in + English is not my first language, so I might not be able to understand brachylogy.

Have a good day you all!
 

DrKev

Moderator
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
7,187
Location
Somewhere between Paris, Dublin, and Buffalo
Hi! And welcome to the forum!

The wiring info you got is wrong for DiMarzio humbuckers - Red goes to the switch terminals, black and white together, green and bare to ground. DiMarzio have a whole bunch of wiring diagrams on their website which will help...

Wiring Diagrams | DiMarzio

First, won't doing the wires the same way for both pickups lead to a phase reverse?

No. They are designed to be in phase when wired the same way. All manufacturers do the same thing (though they use different colours for the wirings, which causes much confusion). Google "humbucker colour codes" and you'll see what I mean.

Second, I know that some people place their Crunch Lab with this shiny long side directed towards the bridge, while Petrucci directs it towards the neck. But are there any alternative ways of connecting the cables or is it only a matter of different placement with all the wires exactly the same way?

Wires are exactly the same. Just the orientation of the pickup changes, that's all.

Third, is there any difference between both LiquiFire sides? They look exactly the same so I'm not even sure if I should think about which side I want to face the neck/bridge.

Orientation does make a difference to the Liquifire. This link should answer this and the above question...

Frequently Asked Questions | DiMarzio
 

eldeadache

New member
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Messages
2
Hi! And welcome to the forum!

The wiring info you got is wrong for DiMarzio humbuckers - Red goes to the switch terminals, black and white together, green and bare to ground. DiMarzio have a whole bunch of wiring diagrams on their website which will help...

Wiring Diagrams | DiMarzio



No. They are designed to be in phase when wired the same way. All manufacturers do the same thing (though they use different colours for the wirings, which causes much confusion). Google "humbucker colour codes" and you'll see what I mean.



Wires are exactly the same. Just the orientation of the pickup changes, that's all.



Orientation does make a difference to the Liquifire. This link should answer this and the above question...

Frequently Asked Questions | DiMarzio

Thank you for your informative response. Very much appreciated. I understand pretty much everything now. We'll be trying this later in a free time, hopefully today.

One last question arose. Does anyone happen to know what Petrucci's own LiquiFire orientation is? Cable to neck or bridge?
 

johnnyboogie

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
1,347
Location
ATHENS, HELLAS
Good question.

He favours the full-fat, round note overall. Could it be that he goes for the one with the less treble-bright orientation..? That would coincide with his preference on the CrunchLab pickup for the bridge position.

Good luck with the endeavour!!
 
Top Bottom