Aah right. Bare minimum. I Actually like that. PhilX style!
- Thread starter Adder
- Start date
beej
Moderator
I'm happy you're happy- but that's entirely subjective.
There's no reason to get rid of the PCB, and there's nothing wrong with the design of it. MM has been using similar designs in various instruments for many years.
Final Update..
So, I got the new MM active board a couple of weeks back and installed it. all was fine, Boost worked all good.
I did notice that the volume between the full humbuckers (1 and 2), the single coil (2 and 4 switch) and also middle (boh pickups) was a bit low and also both pickups sound out of phase on pos 3. Adjusting the white screw pots had little or no effect to compensate for this.
So, I ended up buying a 3 way Kaisch switch to replace the 5 way and wired the pickups directly to the 3 way switch and straight to the pots, effectively bypassing the pc board entirely. I now have a 3 position Bridge H, both HH an Neck H. the guitar is now entirely Passive, no battery needed and no hassles when leaving the cable plugged in. in addition, and this may be a Placebo effect on my part but I have to say the sound I am getting just feels fatter and more organic. the three positions are pretty much all i need and if I ever sell, I have the original board with the 5 way to swap it back to original. from the front you would never know its not standard.
Happy..
So, I got the new MM active board a couple of weeks back and installed it. all was fine, Boost worked all good.
I did notice that the volume between the full humbuckers (1 and 2), the single coil (2 and 4 switch) and also middle (boh pickups) was a bit low and also both pickups sound out of phase on pos 3. Adjusting the white screw pots had little or no effect to compensate for this.
So, I ended up buying a 3 way Kaisch switch to replace the 5 way and wired the pickups directly to the 3 way switch and straight to the pots, effectively bypassing the pc board entirely. I now have a 3 position Bridge H, both HH an Neck H. the guitar is now entirely Passive, no battery needed and no hassles when leaving the cable plugged in. in addition, and this may be a Placebo effect on my part but I have to say the sound I am getting just feels fatter and more organic. the three positions are pretty much all i need and if I ever sell, I have the original board with the 5 way to swap it back to original. from the front you would never know its not standard.
Happy..
Last edited:
Yes, I see that and agree. Another reason using the board is not ideal for me, Ernie ball confirmed in writing that the Dimarzio wiring is what they also use, but is obviously not the case. I also found that using the 5 way switch was not ideal for me live, was too fiddly to move with any accuracy quickly while smiling at the crowd. Lol.
No disrespect to EB as this guitar is easily the best guitar I have ever played. But be aware when you buy one, it is really designed to be left as you bought it, if you like swapping out pickups and stuff, like I do, prepare to be frustrated as you figure out the wiring and realize the pickup magnet poles are not standard with these guitars and the PC board is not the most robust on the planet, or easy to solder.
I did the same with my Warwick jazz bass too. Pulled out the battery and converted active EQ to passive straight, a great growly sound now.
Last edited:
