# Wiring Help(Universe Pickup Switch VLX53)



## Elysian (Feb 1, 2006)

can't find any schematics on ibanez.com for this switch, so i have no clue how i'm supposed to wire this thing up... its from my 99 UV777BK, and i'm putting it in my RGT42(2 humbuckers, Duncan Distortion bridge and Duncan Jazz neck), does anyone have any idea how i should wire this up? i'm having no luck searching either... or, if anyone has a pic of the wiring in their universe that would help a ton too...


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

no one eh? its an 8 pole 5 way switch, and i tried wiring it up like an RG520/620, but had no luck at all with that. i'm certain the switch works, as i just pulled it out of my universe, and if i had been smart i would have taken a picture of it before i pulled it out, but i didn't, and now i'm screwed... and i've been told that it never even came stock on the universes, but i'm honestly not sure about that answer, as it looked completely oem and at home inside my guitar, the solder joints were too perfect imo...


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## metalfiend666 (Feb 2, 2006)

Maybe something here would help?


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

not a single link on that page works


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## jim777 (Feb 2, 2006)

Wow, they used to!


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

maybe i should just buy a dimarzio switch and call it good lol...


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## metalfiend666 (Feb 2, 2006)

Elysian said:


> not a single link on that page works


 
My apologies, I thought they did. Maybe if you looked at Dimarzio & Seymore Duncan's sites they'll still have the diagrams, just in a different place.


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

metalfiend666 said:


> My apologies, I thought they did. Maybe if you looked at Dimarzio & Seymore Duncan's sites they'll still have the diagrams, just in a different place.


none that are even remotely applicable to this switch...


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## jim777 (Feb 2, 2006)

Doesn't the Megaswitch come with diagrams?
Like this? 
http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29780&highlight=megaswitch


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## Freddie (Feb 2, 2006)

Is this the switch you are talking about?







This is from a 1527 but those wires are from 2 DiMarzio's.


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

nope, definately different... pulled these pics of it off another site... unfortunately that site didn't help me in my quest...


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

jim777 said:


> Doesn't the Megaswitch come with diagrams?
> Like this?
> http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29780&highlight=megaswitch




thats the same diagram i already tried to use to wire it previously...


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## dpm (Feb 2, 2006)

It's actually a 2-pole switch. The contact layout is the same as a Strat switch, ie. each pole has a common contact, then 3 'position' contacts. The UV's have one pole doing the pickup selection, so each pickup's output goes to it's respective 'position' while the common contact is the output and goes to the volume pot. The other pole controls single coil switching for the humbuckers to give the strat-like sounds in pos's 2 and 4. The middle 'position' contact is connected to earth, with the black and white wires of each DiMarzio humbucker connected to 1 and 3. Common is ignored.

Lemme try find a diagram....


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## dpm (Feb 2, 2006)

It's the same as the Jem. This one had the right color code (providing you have DiMarzio pickups)


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## dpm (Feb 2, 2006)

Hey, well I'm a dickwad and didn't read your first post properly. So two humbuckers, eh. What do you want to achieve with the switching? It's pretty limited what you can do with 2 HB's and this switch.


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

well, itd be nice to be able to coil tap, and then combine the 2 for the middle spot... although i don't normally really use that stuff heh... really the nicest thing would be to have no dead spots in the switch... i think that jem 777 diagram might be just what i'm looking for, it makes a bit more sense to me given the pickups i'm using...


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## dpm (Feb 2, 2006)

The JEM wiring with two HB's will give you a dead middle position. So you'd get Neck HB - Neck HB (single coil mode) - nothing - Bridge HB (single coil mode) - Bridge HB.

The only other way to wire it is like a Tele switch which would give you Neck HB - Neck HB - Both HB - Bridge HB - Bridge HB. No single coil switching.


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

i'll give that jem 777 wiring a try tomorrow, maybe i can find a way to make it not dead spot on the middle... we'll see... if it even works i'll be happy, i haven't played my neck through rg in forever, and its got new pups i haven't even gotten a chance to try yet


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## Chris (Feb 2, 2006)

You have a neck through RG?


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## Shikaru (Feb 2, 2006)

Elysian said:


> i'm putting it in my RGT42...



I've always wanted to try one of the RGTs, never seen one in a shop though.


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## Dormant (Feb 2, 2006)

Shikaru said:


> I've always wanted to try one of the RGTs, never seen one in a shop though.



RGT42 = very nice looking guitar (for a 6 string)







My bro has the RGT2020 which is mahogany and sounds great (again would look better 7 string): 






Sorry Shikaru I also wanted to point out that this quote is the funniest thing I have ever seen (I'm guessing only the Brits will understand this)!!    



Shikaru from Myspace said:


> Project Killbot are the greatest band in the universe. Jesus came to ben in a dream, and told him if he didn't make the greatest band in the universe, he would lose all the points on his tesco clubcard. Jesus knew this was ben's only weakpoint, his tesco clubcard points,and like a crafty devil he exploited ben into making Project Killbot. None of the other band members ever believed Ben about this experience, and ben has since grown to enjoy being in the band. Ben now doesn't tell anyone about his tesco, or other supermarket point cards....


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## Elysian (Feb 2, 2006)

Chris said:


> You have a neck through RG?


yeah, funny thing, i bought it early 2003, like january, they hadn't even been put on ibanez's website yet, couldn't find them anywhere online... just happened that my local brook mays had one on the wall, and i fell in love with it at the store, and got my mom to buy it for me  i paid 650, and that included a skb case, and then i upgraded the tremelo to an origional edge(from LoTRS II), and also upgraded the pickups to duncan jb/tb4(from INF1/INF2)... those pickups have since come out, and a duncan distortion bridge and jazz neck are in, they are white, they look so killer... heres a pic... i also did a (very) amatuer scallop on it...the edge thats on it now, i got for 20 on ebay, it only needed new saddles, and since i got graphtech string savers for the edge on my EC-29, i put the old saddles on the "new" edge... it had a bit of corrosion through the chrome, so i put super glue over it hahaha, to try and keep it from spreading... i'm so cheap haha... the tuners are the origional gold tuners from my Rhoads V... at one point it had gotoh tuners from an old RG570 i had, but i put those on the Rhoads to give it all black hardware and put the gold ones from the Rhoads on this guitar... i'm going to probably replace the fretboard with an ebony one after luthiery school, its one of the first things i plan on doing, complete with a half scallop(12-24, my favorite kind)


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## Elysian (Feb 5, 2006)

sh*t no luck with the jem777 wiring, i'm gonna just buy a dimarzio switch some day


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## widdly (Feb 7, 2006)

This is the wiring I'd go with...

www_ibanez.com/wiring/wire.asp?y=2004&w=RGT2020

It's kinda like a les paul but with series/parallel options too.


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## Elysian (Feb 7, 2006)

thats not the switch i have... i think the problem might lie in the kill switch i have wired in to the circuit, it kind of broke a long time ago so i superglued it to fix it, and it worked for a while but i don't think it works now lol... i'll just go buy another and give it 1 more try.


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## LordOVchaoS (Feb 16, 2006)

So did you ever get this worked out? I'm really interested to know how those pups sound in a UV!


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## 7 Dying Trees (Feb 16, 2006)

Well...I'd seriously upgrade the switch anyway, seeing as something like a 4 independant plate 5 way switch will allow you to do anything! The VLX-91 is sometimes hard to figure out, but you can do pretty much anything with it.

So just replace the switch, it'll be easier.

otherwise, that switch works with each connector being tied to what you want on it. Figure out which one is the output, then draw out the wirting diagram. To be honest, with what you want to do you will need a switch with at least two plates (independant) ones, so as to be able to do pickups configurations without shorting full humbuckers together.

[selfpromotion] I've got a VLX-91 if you want one  [/selfpromotion]


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## Elysian (Feb 20, 2006)

LordOVchaoS said:


> So did you ever get this worked out? I'm really interested to know how those pups sound in a UV!


uh they aren't going in a UV...


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