# Need help with Ibanez super 5 way switch wiring, VLX91



## MrMcSick (Nov 23, 2013)

Im trying to put my guitar back together and I noticed that my wiring/switch was not setup like the diagrams for it. Its a RG3120. No one messed with the switch before I did. The jumpers are in different locations than what the schematic shows. 

My switch had 3 jumpers on it, one for 4 pads and one for 3 pads along with the front to back jumpers on the bottom (common) pads plus a pad to ground. 

I had the 4 on pads (with switch facing so blade is up) on pads 2,3,4,5 on the left side on the side of the switch that reads otax.

I had the 3 on pads 1,2,3 on the right side on the side that reads VLX91.

It also has a jumper from pad 6 of OTAX to the ground lug on the switch.

This is how it came out of the guitar and it was never set up a different was due to solder not being on some of the pads. I don't remember how the pickups where wired and the pics I took before I ripped it apart aren't of too much help. I tried wiring it where I thought everything went and it was all screwed up, some positions worked and some did not some weren't how they were supposed to like parallel or split or whatever. So I ripped everything off of the switch to try to recreate the schematics way of it. Major pain in the ass as I had to add acouple loop jumpers that would skip a pad which was not on there originally. After all was said and done I plugged in and got nothing. Went over all my work and still found nothing. Broke it down and ripped everything off again and wired just the hot leads a the bridge to pad 1 and the neck lead to pad 5 on the OTAX left side. I got full humbucker on position 1 and full humbucker on position 5 which is all I really need but I'm still baffled how to set it up like the stock wiring. Why wasn't mine the same as the schematic???? Why when I reproduced the schematic I got nothing???

The schematic has more jumpers and they are setup like this.
the 3 pad one is on pads 3,4,5 on the left side of VLX91 and the 4 pad on pads 2,3,4,5 on the right side of VLX91. 
It also added a jumper wire from left common (pad 6) to right common on the VLX91 side???????????????
Then it adds a loop jumper from pads 3 to 5 and another from 2 to 4 to a ground lug on the switch all on the left side of OTAX????????????
Then a jumper wire from the jumper loop on 3 to 5 that goes around to pad 2 on the left VLX91 side???????????????

Why was I missing 2 loop jumpers and 2 freaking long wire jumpers that this schematic says are there. They never were on mine and every position worked fine before I took it apart months ago.

Not sure if the front to back jumpers on both of my commons are even on the schematic?? Im lost. I have no clue why mine wasn't setup like the diagram and still worked. I just want it setup like factory but can't seem to do it.


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## MrMcSick (Nov 23, 2013)

This is the stock schematic. So is this switch basically 4 pads activated at once on any position like in position 1 all 4 of the #1 pads are connected and in position 5 all 4 of the #5 pads are connected?


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## MrMcSick (Nov 25, 2013)

No one? Can anyone figure out how to add to what I have already. I have full bridge hum in pos 1 and full neck hum in pos 5. I want both hums on pos 3 and don't about 2 and 4 really for now. Do I just use 2 jumpers?


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## atticus1088 (Nov 25, 2013)

I know I'm not adding anything to the topic.

I had those same switches in my RG2120X and they are so overkill, and a nightmare to work with. (I switched my VLX91's for 3 way switches)

Why not grab a regular 5 way switch? You should be able to do the same stock pickup configuration as the stock RG3120. Also, in case you change the pickups again, it could make life easier.
Check out the Dimarzio RG7620 (Dimarzio Custom pickups) Diagram on the dimarzio site. It shows exactly what I mean and it uses the same color codes with the 5 way switch.

Sorry if this doesn't help.


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## cardinal (Nov 25, 2013)

God speed, my friend. I'm having similar issues. My VLX91 switch is jumpered unlike any other Ibanez diagram that I can find, and I didn't take good enough pictures of the stock wiring before I undid everything to install new pickups (let alone draw myself a diagram, which is what I should have done).

And I can't for the life of me figure out how the switch is suppose to work. With everything jumpered as it is, I don't understand now all of the positions aren't active at the same time, given that they're essentially all connected by jumpers at some level...

In any event, I followed the diagram that was closest to mine, and it still wasn't right (bridge pickup was split at all times), so I just tied the bridge pickups black and white wires together and taped them up off the switch (it's a Dimarzio pickup). So it functions correctly in 4 out of 5 positions. And that last position isn't really "wrong," it's just not stock.

Good luck.


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## MrMcSick (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks guys. This switch is so confusing and such overkill. I think I might just get a 3 way or a simpler 5 way. I just can't comprehend how this all functions together lol. I don't want to keep trying trial and era for the fact I'm scared I'll ruin the switch from so much soldering/heat. I would be ok If I would've made a diagram or detailed pics before taking it apart almost a yr ago, lesson learned. Don't know why my jumper setup was no where close to any of the Ibanez diagrams, wish I could make it work with their setup too but oh well I guess.


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## MrMcSick (Nov 26, 2013)

Hey cardinal, can you post where your jumpers are or read my earlier post to see if they were like my original setup?


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## tmo (Nov 26, 2013)

Hi there

I dig a lot this mega switch from Ibanez. I have it on my RG 2027xvv and on my old S540. This switch allows for a multitude of wirings that makes it second to none.

I have already tried several wirings on my RG, some did not work at the first time, but that was only because of bad schematics. After a few trial and error I found the problem.

It works simply as the "0" contact (common?) is always linked to one of the other 5, and there are 4 independent circuits with this config inside of it.

Try to follow the signal flow, think as an electron. Be careful with the interpretation of the jumpers, they may look like they are linking lots of spots, but only the opposite ones.

In the mean time, do think on what you would like to have in each position and let me know.


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## cardinal (Nov 26, 2013)

MrMcSick said:


> Hey cardinal, can you post where your jumpers are or read my earlier post to see if they were like my original setup?



Ours seem similar. Here's how mine are set up, with the switch oriented like this:







VLX side: 
Left: pads 3, 4, and 5 jumpered (pad 1 is closest to the switch)
Right: pads 1, 2, 3, and 4 jumpered (pad 5 is closest to the switch)

OTAX side:
Left: pads 1 and 3 jumpered (pad 5 is closest to the switch); pad 2 jumpered to ground (I think, my notes about jumpers to ground suck)
Right: pad 4 jumpered to ground (again, not positive about this one)

Bank-to-Bank jumpers:
VLX Left Side pad 2 -> OTAK Left Side pad 1
VLX Left Side Common -> VLX Right Side Common


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## MrMcSick (Nov 27, 2013)

Ohhh I screwed up when listing my jumpers. I just went pad 1-5 from the top down on both sides instead of the right side being inverted. 
Heres what my original setup looked like.

VLX side
Left (top 1 bottom 5 then 0) 2-4 jumpered together.
Right (top 5 bottom 1 then 0) pads 5-4-3 jumpered together

OTAX side
Left (top 1 bottom 5 then 0) 2-3-4-5 jumpered together
Right (top 5 bottom 1 then 0) 0 jumpered to the ground lug diagonal southwest of it. ( the bottom right of the 4 ground tabs on this side.)

Bank to bank jumpers. (this is weird)
VLX left side common or 0 going straight back or between the 2 pc boards to OTAX right side common or 0

VLX right side common or 0 going straight back or between the boards to OTAX left side common or 0

Since my switch was grounded out to otax right 0 and it is also jumpered to vlx left 0 wouldn't it make both of those sides all grounds??????? 

And my Otax left side 0 and vlx right side 0 are jumpered and running to the volume pot for signal????

I'm so confused lolol.

I just want it setup like stock or at the bare minimum pos1 full bridge pos 3 both hum pos 5 full neck.


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## MrMcSick (Nov 27, 2013)

These are how the switch looked before I messed with it.


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## MrMcSick (Nov 27, 2013)

When I took the switch out I resoldered the pickups to it but the bridge leads all broke off over the year it sat around and got moved around. My neck leads where still connected though and they seemed in the pics to be 
Neck white to Otax left 3
Neck black and ground to Otax ground 
Neck Red and Green to VLX left jumper on 2-4
Does that make any sense?


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## MrMcSick (Nov 27, 2013)

Well I messed around a little more tonight and have 4 positions working lol

I basically just used one part of the switch, Otax left side.

I have position 1- bridge hum on pad 1 - red wire
Position 2 - bridge outer single coil on pad 2 - black and white 
Position 3 - nothing
Position 4 - neck outer single coil on pad 4 - black and white wire
Position 5 - neck hum on pad 5 - red wire
Green and grounds of both going to otax ground lug on the switch caseing

I would like to have both hums working for position 3. Any ideas how I do that? When I jump 1-3 and 5-3 it just makes both hums on pos 1-3-and 5.


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## tmo (Nov 27, 2013)

So, if you want it stock wiring, please, let me know:
pos 1 - Bridge full on (serial coils)
pos 2 - Outer Coils, in Serial or parallel mode?
pos 3 - Bridge and Neck in full mode, parallel mix?
pos 4 - Neck parallel ?
pos 5 - Neck full on (serial coils)

Is this what you are after?


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## MrMcSick (Nov 27, 2013)

I don't mind how it is at the moment besides not having a position 3 which would be both hums (not sure if its series or parallel) Whatever every other dual humbucker guitar like a les paul or whatever use for the center position with both hums being used. If I could get that wired in I would be fine with it.


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## tmo (Nov 27, 2013)

the les paul toggle switch links both pickups in parallel. I will see what I can do, will be back tomorrow with some news


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## tmo (Dec 2, 2013)

Hi, back again, sorry, for the delay, I've been busy so I couldn't work on this.

I think this scheme is understandable. It looks correct to me, but I have not tried it. If anyone finds a bug in it, please feel free to jump in.

In order to think on how to use this switch, I advise any one to think of it as the OTAX side for one pickup and the VLX91 for the other, on two humbucker guitars. It gets MUCH easier to draw a wiring scheme.

From 1 to 5, Neck to Bridge
1-Neck Serial (Full humbucker)
2-Neck, outer coil (North coil)
3-Neck Serial (Full humbucker), *PARALLEL MIX* with Bridge Serial (Full humbucker)
4-Bridge, outer coil (South coil)
5-Bridge Serial (Full humbucker)

Please note that regularly placed pickups have the NORTH coil facing the guitar's NECK and the SOUTH coil facing the guitar's BRIDGE. In this scheme, Neck pickup outer coil is the NORTH one and the Bridge pickup outer coil is the SOUTH one.


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## MrMcSick (Dec 2, 2013)

Oh thank you so very much. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do this. I'll probably mess with this either tonight or tomorrow night.


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## tmo (Dec 2, 2013)

Oh, and obviously, those yellowish colors represent the white wire of the pickups...


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## MrMcSick (Dec 3, 2013)

Ohhhh my god! I'm gonna smash this thing into 1230712471 pieces. It's been nothing but problems with this thing since the day I decided to mess with it. Position 1,2 and 3 work somewhat (neck to bridge) Hers what I get when taping on each coil of the pickups below the low E string -

Position 1 - Very slight neck north, loud neck south, moderate north and south bridge
Position 2 - Very slight neck north, loud neck south, very slight bridge north and loud bridge south
Position 3 - Same as position 1
Position 4 and 5 - nothing

Very slight humming in position 1 and 3 no hum in pos 2.

I'm so fed up with this thing. Think I just need to buy a 3 way and call it quits.


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## tmo (Dec 3, 2013)

All grounds should go for the same spot, meaning it is better to have a star like array than a net or a ring one. Parallel ground loops generate problems. This could be the origin for the hum.
There are several jumpers to pay attention to, questions:
Did you link the "Cs" on the VLX and OTAX sides?

*VLX91 left side* - Jumper on 1 and 3, linked to neck pickup white wire tip. 2 linked to ground spot, 4 and 5 left untouched and unlinked to anything. "C" linked to neck pickup BLACK wire.
*VLX91 right side* - "C" links to volume pot. 1, 2 and 3 link all to neck pickup RED wire.
*OTAX left side* - "C" links to previous "C" on the VLX91 rigth side, so it is linked to volume pot. 3 and 5 have a jumper to link them to bridge pickup RED wire. 4 is linked to OTAX right side 4. Leave 1 and 2 clear.
*OTAX right side* - "C" links to bridge pickup WHITE wire, again a jumper on 3 and 5, both linked to bridge pickup BLACK. 1 and 2 are clear.
If you wish, I may do a step by step pic guide. There aren't that many solder points, so with a step by step, you will be able to follow things easier...

My first attempts were also very messy, so all I can say is BE RESILIANT. That switch IS the best 5 way I can find.


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

#1 the wire jumper from pad 2 to OTAX side ground (used white wire)
#2 is black wire on common from neck
#3 is Loop jumper on pad 1 to 3 with white wire from neck


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

#1 is jumper on pads 1,2,3 with red from neck
#2 is common to volume pot (used dark blue wire)


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

#1 is pad 4 linked to otax right side pad 4 (white wire)
#2 is loop jumper pad 3 to 5 with red from bridge 
#3 is common otax left side to common vlx right side in between circuit boards
#4 is Otax ground with neck and bridge green and braided shield plus volume pot ground (plus the pad #2 from vlx side)


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

#1 is loop jumper pad 5 to 3 with neck black
#2 is pad 4 jumper from left otax 4 (white wire)
#3 is common otax right with white bridge


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

Otax side

VLX side


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## MrMcSick (Dec 4, 2013)

Haven't messed with it again yet though. Don't really care about the slight hum right now just baffled as to why every setup I try ends up not functioning correctly.


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## tmo (Dec 4, 2013)

Hi

First, I think that the problem may come from those (bare) jumpers. They should all be covered with that plastic/rubber. When one pushes the switch down back to place, IF the bare jumpers touch anything else, it goes ground, so it may kill the sound.

I have a guitar with a VERY crowded control cavity, that did give me some problems with hum. I had to isolate the bigger components with tape and, magically, the problem was solved. So, I suggest you to rewire those jumpers so the only possible contact is on the terminal solder spot and not on its length. Troubleshooting isn't easy on the other side of the planet based on photos...

As you said that 4 and 5 did nothing, AND 3 was equal to 1, I guess the solution is on getting the OTAX side redone. If the jumper on OTAX left side touches ground, there will be no sound from the bridge pickup, for it gets a shortcut. Since electron move the easiest way... a shortcut is better than miles of bobbin wire...

Make clear that those solder points are clean and that anything that is not supposed to go ground is fully protected against unexpected shortcuts/contacts when placing the switch back in its place.

I am assuming that you are using Dimarzio pickups (and not any other brand or DiMarzio/Ibanez ones). Do not forget to solder all green and bare wires to ground for this scheme.

On a side note, I have been applying some mini connectors to all my guitars, so I can change pickups without interfering with the circuit. Just plug and play on my custom wirings...


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## MrMcSick (Dec 5, 2013)

YAY, got it working. Went back over the wiring and all connections were good. Left the VLX side alone. Took everything off the otax side but the grounds. Put a jumper on 1-3 left otax then put hum red on it. Put hum white and black to pad 2 on otax left. Everything works as planned except the position 2 is neck south coil instead of north but I don't care. Still some hum to kill (only thing dead silent is position 3) but I'll get back to that at a later date. Thanks for the help.

Edit - I see where we went wrong. Otax left starts with 5 at the top not 1.


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## tmo (Dec 5, 2013)

... strange, the one I have here starts with 1 at top and c at bottom. Maybe one is mislabeled or they may have changed the circuit order. However, it functional logic remains, so from here you can wire it the way you want.

Why is position 2 south coil? If you wired it correctly it should be North coil. Did you flip the pickup over when installing it on the guitar? If the pickup coils are equal, the difference in sound is minimal.

Glad to know it is functioning.


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## MrMcSick (Dec 5, 2013)

If you look back at some of the pics and schematics earlier in the thread some are labled 1-5 and some 5-1 so who knows.

Pickup says Dimarzio in the bottom right corner, if I put it in the other way it would be in the top left and read upside down, I don't care as long as its functioning.


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## cardinal (Apr 1, 2014)

I know this is an old thread, but I've been looking into a wiring up to a VLX91 and it's confusing enough. I think the numbering on the OTAK side in the quoted diagram below is backwards based on other schematics of the VLX91 floating around, so either I'm screwed up or this could screw up someone else.

EDIT: other VLX91 diagrams:











DOUBLE EDIT: I should add that I think the diagram as it is shown below is correct based on how I understand how the switch works; you just can't work from that diagram directly because it doesn't match the physical switch. You have to work from the numbers and the match them to the actual switch. 



tmo said:


> Hi, back again, sorry, for the delay, I've been busy so I couldn't work on this.
> 
> I think this scheme is understandable. It looks correct to me, but I have not tried it. If anyone finds a bug in it, please feel free to jump in.
> 
> ...


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## tmo (Apr 2, 2014)

cardinal said:


> I know this is an old thread, but I've been looking into a wiring up to a VLX91 and it's confusing enough. I think the numbering on the OTAK side in the quoted diagram below is backwards based on other schematics of the VLX91 floating around, so either I'm screwed up or this could screw up someone else.
> 
> DOUBLE EDIT: I should add that I think the diagram as it is shown below is correct based on how I understand how the switch works; you just can't work from that diagram directly because it doesn't match the physical switch. You have to work from the numbers and the match them to the actual switch.



You may be right on this, since I have redone the numbers over the initial drawing long ago and may have switched their order on the OTAX side, however, you are also right on the logic of it. Following the the numbers will solve everything.

Thanks for checking this out.


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## cardinal (Apr 2, 2014)

Thank you for putting that together! It was real helpful. I made a slight variation on it, but the diagram helped confirm that I at least was understanding the switch right.


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## MrMcSick (Apr 2, 2014)

When wiring mine up I found that the actual Ibanez schematic had the wrong numbers on the otax side. They mirror the VLX side unlike in that schem they are opposing it. The top to diagrams are correct. Such a confusing switch. Glad we all could help each other out and possibly help out others that come along to this thread through a search in the future.


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## tmo (Apr 2, 2014)

Maybe I followed that diagram... again, I appologize for that misleading diagram...


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