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[Jan Deal]

The other week I ordered a set of Lace Sensor pickups to put into my Fender Stratocaster. I thought it would be a straight swap, but unfortunately it hasn't worked out that way.

I wanted a blue in the neck, which I've installed and sounds great, a silver in the middle (not yet arrived, and a red in the bridge( Specs of pickups can be found here ). Now, the problem is that the red pickup sounds very weedy, thin and lacks output, the exact opposite of what it is meant to sound like. My Strat is a Japanese 50's reissue if that is any help. Have I done something stupid? I've had a look on the internet at numerous wiring guides, but they are all pretty much the same. The only difference I've noticed is that my 5 way switch is different from modern Strats, but I can't see this as being the problem.

Any suggestions are very welcome. I don't really want to send the pickup back saying it is faulty, as I'm thinking that I'm probably just missing something...

[Domino]

Is there any chance that your OLD pickups has 4 wires instead 2 wires as the new ones? Or other way round?

I had similar problem in merchant city when i changed my bridge pickup to Seymour Duncan 59'

There was a set of neck and bridge (59'), I took em, they started all their work, but the ones in box had 4 wires instead of two as needed for my ibanez, So I had to order it separately And there wasn't a set of two for cheaper price. Now I've got 59' only in the bridge

[Jan Deal]

A Seymour Duncan '59 is a humbucker, lace sensors are single coils, so it isn't really the same thing unless you were swapping it for a humbucker.

[Jeid]

Chances are, you've installed the pickup "out-of-phase". If it's a two wire pickup, then swap the wire going to the switch with the wire going to the pot. I've done this before.

Domino, you could have just soldered the wires together.

[Domino]

Originally Posted by DustyDeviada

Domino, you could have just soldered the wires together.

So whats the point then of making pickups with two wires and four??? :/ Dont get it either...

A single coil pickup has one coil, hence the name single coil. A humbucker has two coils, but if they come with four wires it allows you to wire it up so that either both coils are outputting sound ie humbucker mode, or just one, like a conventional single coil.

This explains it a bit better:

Humbucker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Jan Deal]

Originally Posted by Eriatarka

Chances are, you've installed the pickup "out-of-phase". If it's a two wire pickup, then swap the wire going to the switch with the wire going to the pot. I've done this before.

Thanks alot, I'll try that. I sort of thought it was going to be something obvious like this.

[Al Coholic]

Originally Posted by Jan Deal

Thanks alot, I'll try that. I sort of thought it was going to be something obvious like this.

A pick-up can only be out of phase with another pick up. So if it's a single coil, and it is used on it's own (i.e. not in 2nd or 4th switch position), it shouldn't make any difference which way to connect it. It only is important to have all three in the same phase when you use them together.

Did you exeriment with the pick-up height? It can make quite a difference.

Info:

Electric Guitar Pickups - Seymour Duncan/Basslines