Electronics behaving badly

doddsie_105 · May 2023

Hi all

I have recently picked up a cheap Artist ST62 HSS something-or-other, which I quite like. The electronics are behaving in an odd way, however.

When I first plugging it in, I thought the humbucker was wired out-of-phase, as it was quieter and thinner sounding than the singlecoils. No problem, easy fix! Before any repairs, I left the guitar alone for a couple of days. Next time I plugged it in, the humbucker sounded great but then the singlecoils were quiet and thin. This reversal has happened a couple of times this week. I cannot physically make it swap between the humbucker and singlecoils sounding out of phase while plugged in, no matter what I do to try and diagnose the issue.

I do not want this out-of-phase sound, I want full, with more balance. Dodgy switch perhaps?

TIA.

Funkfingers · May 2023

There is a good chance that the selector switch is intermittently shorting against something.

Could be shielding materials on the floor of the control cavity. If the selector switch has been mounted the wrong way around - with its contacts towards the control cavity wall - it could be bent out of shape, interrupting the contacts.

It is unclear with what your humbucker is out of phase. The middle pickup? Itself?

Does your guitar have a "seven sounds" switch? All three pickups on together mode might sound odd if one of the pickups is considerably more powerful than the other two.

One way to get a humbucker sounding odd is to wire it up wrongly. e.g. Installing a DiMarzio humbucker according to a Seymour Duncan schematic diagram. (Same conductor insulation colours, different order!)

Remotely diagnosing anything else will require photographs of your guitar's wiring.

TTony · May 2023

I’d be tempted to strip out the current wiring and start again,

You could spend ages (or longer) trying to diagnose the problem. It might be quicker to start from scratch with a fresh install. Decent switches / pots aren’t expensive …

maltingsaudio · May 2023

Sounds like the selector switch to me, give it a good spray with servisol and go from there.

Funkfingers · May 2023

If the guitar were pre-owned, it could have been customised but, then, undergone a hurried return to standard spec immediately prior to going on sale.

The electrical components might all be working but they have been connected together poorly.

BillDL · May 2023

If it's a fairly recent model, the Artist ST62 and ST62 II actually have pretty good quality pots, switches and own-brand pickups installed, and I would say that there should be no pressing urgency on ripping it all out and starting again unless the switch is obviously faulty or (as Funkfingers suggested) a previous owner has been in there messing around. If the pickup covers don't have "Artist" on them, then somebody has been in there to swap the pickups or covers on the single coils and swap the bridge pickup completely. I have the white ST62 with SSS configuration, and spec for the HSS is the same - very good for the price. It has a standard 5-way blade switch with the expected pickup selection, so it should be easy enough to check the wiring against diagrams known to be correct.

https://www.artistguitars.co.uk/collections/guitars-electric-guitars-signature-electric-guitars/products/artist-st62ii-black-electric-guitar-w-hss-pickups-16411

If you bought it brand new (not B-Stock) from Artist Guitars, then they have an exceptionally good and efficient customer returns policy where you can swap it for another or ask for a full refund including shipping costs (they are currently in stock):

https://www.artistguitars.co.uk/pages/free-returns

https://www.artistguitars.co.uk/pages/warranty

If it was a "customer return" B-Stock purchase (I was looking at one on their site recently) BUT there was no issue mentioned about dodgy electrics as being the reason for it being in their bargain bin, then you should still get a refund and shipping costs (and perhaps they might even send you a new replacement) due to the wording you find in their descriptions of B-Stock items:

"This item doesn't include free returns, UNLESS its significantly not as described".

I've just bought one of their B-Stock semi-acoustics and it was half price because dodgy pickup switching was mentioned, but I could still return it for a full refund including shipping costs if it had, for example, a faulty machine head or a sharp ding on a fret.

If you bought it 2nd-hand or directly from them as B-Stock where dodgy electrics were mentioned, then you won't be able to return it for that fault. In that case the first place I would start is by carefully inspecting or just replacing the blade switch, but have a look at all the other solder connections while you are at it. It has standard HSS Strat wiring and the humbucker doesn't have coil splitting, so two of the four wires will be joined together. Take a few close-up photos of the wiring after you have removed the scratchplate so we can look for any obvious issues.

axisus · May 2023

It was a rubbish sitcom.

BillDL · May 2023

axisus said:

It was a rubbish sitcom.

I found it quite electrifying.

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Electronics behaving badly

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