Double Neck Pick up volume

[SeanP31]

Just wired my SG style double neck and the pickup volume on the 12 string side is much louder than the pickup volume on the 6 string side. Is that a wiring or grounding issue? not sure what could cause that or how to pinpoint the problem. Thoughts?

[Trevor Davies]

Hi Sean,
These may be no help to you, but:
Is any sound coming out of the 6 string pup?
Are you using good strings on the 6 string?

If you do the tap test are the volumes still different?

If it was only a little louder you could raise the 6 string pup and lower the 12 string pup to compensate.

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome.

Well, I've never had a double neck, but with 12 strings, you've got double the number of strings to generate a voltage from the pickup, so it's probably going to naturally have a louder output.

Let's start with the 6-string side. Is its output comparable to a normal humbucker 6-string or is it significantly quieter?

Are both the 12-string bridge and neck pickups comparable in output volume? Are both the 6-string bridge and neck pickups roughly equal in output?

If it's normal, then it's more like trying to balance the outputs between the two. Can you drop the pickup heights on the 12-string side to drop its volume, and maybe raise the pickup heights on the 6-string side to increase its volume?

If it's a lot lower, then there's something else going on.

What wiring diagram did you use to wire it up? The Pit Bull one? https://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-co...12-2019-v2.pdf (It's just that a lot of people opt for a different arrangement).

That diagram shows 2-conductor pickups, but the kits can vary and sometimes they come with 4-conductor connections. If 4 wires, what colours have you used? Or have you fitted aftermarket pickups?

Have you installed any cavity shielding?

If the pickups weren't labelled bridge and neck, did you check the pickup DCRs with a multimeter to make sure the higher DCR pickups went in the bridge positions?

[SeanP31]

Thanks for the replies, gents. This is only my second build (first was a tele style and super easy to wire) so the double neck with the three switches has required a lot of research and watching videos. Not many out there for the double neck. I used the Pitbull diagram you referenced but also checked out a couple others just to compare.

I haven't got the neck/strings on yet and was only testing with the tap test, and found that the 6 string pickups, when both at full volume was significantly less. I have to admit, being new to this I didn't even know that there were differences between the bridge and neck pickups, I just used the ones based on the wire lengths to reach the switch. It was the opposite of the diagram (the red wires were shorter so ended up being used in the neck slots, the yellow wires were longer and went into the bridge position).

I did put in the cavity shielding, and I am pretty pease so far that there is no buzzing noise as of yet when it is plugged in, but again that is without having strings on yet.

Since posting I went over all the wiring and the soldering joints and re-soldered a few. I noticed that the blue wire from the switch to the pots on the 6 string side must have got nicked by the soldering iron as there was a bit of a melt through the plastic so I replaced that and its is noticeably better and closer now to the 12 string volume, but still not as loud for sure.

I bought the multimeter, but still haven't figured out the best way to use it! Been watching videos trying to figure out what the best readings are for the different points in the circuit.

Thanks again for the feedback. Simon, you gave me lots to consider working with the pickups. I didn't really think too much about checking them before I popped them in. Rookie mistakes....

Now I have to tackle the bridge problem....the holes were drilled too narrow by 2 or 3mm and so the bridge will not come close to sitting on the posts...

Any thoughts on that one or is that a whole new thread altogether? I did discover this in the mock build but thought I would save it until later....another rookie mistake I am sure