Duncan Wiring Q?

[Metalcop]

I got a guitar a couple of weeks ago, and the Duncan was wired up 'incorrectly'. It sounds fine, and I was just wondering if this type of wiring makes the pickup out of phase or whatever. It was wired with the black and the bare wires to the back of the volume pot (ground) and the green to the hot lug. Normally the black wire is the hot wire, not the green. Does this wiring cause anything different to happen with the pickup?

[mm2002]

Re: Duncan Wiring Q?

You are correct, Duncans should be wired with the black as hot and the bare & green as ground to be in phase. Dimarzios are wired like yours but not Duncans. It will make a diference in the sound.

[charvel750]

Re: Duncan Wiring Q?

Actually, there is no tonal/output difference when a lone Duncan is wired like that. The black and green may be interchanged. This is commonly done when another pickup brand is used to avoid phasing problems. For example, a Duncan and a Jackson cannot be combined together when wired "as normal" because they will be out of phase with eachother. But, leave the Jackson pickup as is, and change the Duncan so that the green is hot and black is grounded and you'll be in phase. So in that regard it does affect the pickup but only when used with another pickup.

[vklobucar]

Re: Duncan Wiring Q?

If I add a Duncan in my PS-4 to replace the bridge Jackson I should have no problems right?

Remember that a PS-4 is a H/S/H

[vklobucar]

Re: Duncan Wiring Q?

[mm2002]

Re: Duncan Wiring Q?

Joe is actually right in a sense. When dealing with only one double coil pup there's really no such thing as in or out of phase. However, you can hear a definite difference when it is wired backwards. When a Dimarzio is wired with the green wire grounded they sound very thin to me.