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Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker)
Posted on Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 9:29 pm:   

Is it possible to get into a 2-wire super 70 or 80, and convert it to a 4-wire, so it can then be wired to a tri-sound switch? Surely someone's tried it before...
Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar)
Posted on Friday, October 04, 2002 - 5:40 pm:   

Tim,

Yes, it can be done. You're playing with fire, though, because you need to unwind the tape and get to the actual coil winding ends.

I have done it, but the pickups I used weren't Ibanez. I can't tell you exactly what you'll find under the tape on Super70/80's.

Cheers
Steve
Guitaki (Guitaki)
Posted on Sunday, October 06, 2002 - 4:35 am:   

Super 70's will be as easy as it gets, which is not a piece of cake. But possible. I have done this to a Super 58 and others.

Super 80 (Flying Fingers) is a different situation. The pickup is fully sealed with wax or epoxy etc. The pickup can not be opened or even wax potted. Meaning, nothing can be done to the Super 80 without melting the whole pickup.

And yeah, this really pisses me off too!


-Aki.
Paddy_F (Paddy_F)
Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 3:55 am:   

Ive got an ash 2617, reading the spec for this guitar ,I should have super 70s, but the guitar has flying finger covers, does this mean that it really has super 80s fitted
Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker)
Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 8:21 am:   

Paddy,
what's the serial no? Depending on the year, 2617's were fitted with either super 70's or super 80's.
Aki...
can you explain what I need to do to a super 70?
Or is it going to explain itself once I expose the wires?
Paddy_F (Paddy_F)
Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 1:10 pm:   

Tim the sn is A786676, I'm hoping the're super 70's
Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker)
Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 2:36 pm:   

Paddy, they'll be super 80's, they were standard on 2617's in 1978. Super 70's have either plain, or script logo covers with polepieces showing. If you take one out, it will say underneath.
Guitaki (Guitaki)
Posted on Tuesday, October 08, 2002 - 10:37 am:   

Tim

This is a job that is pretty risky, so You should be afraid of permanently destroying Your pickup.

Still, in case You are as determined to do the mod as I was, I will tell You.

First, the metal pickup cover will have to be removed. It will probably have two solder points to the bottom of the pickup. The points must be melted with a very hot soldering iron, since if the iron is held too many seconds in place, it will melt the insulation in the coil wire.

If the pickup has no metal cover, only the black tape around the coil must be removed. Be careful, You will need this same tape when putting the pu back together. Also, check which end of the tape comes to the top, it will help You make it look good. The wires are inside a layer of wax, and will have to be dug out carefully with a small screwdriver.

One (black) wire will go from one coil to the other. It is 4-5cm long, so it has enough space to be cut from the half. These two ends are the extra wires that You will need. I would replace the whole wire with a 3 or 4 + ground wire. Be sure to make neat solderings, You don't want them to fall off. Use a little bit of tape to insulate all solderings in a wire. I use "Nitto" tape, since it sticks well, but won't get sticky in time. Electronical tape could be okay, but a regular plastic tape will get very tacky in time.

I will number the leads #1 - #4. #1 will be the ground wire that originally went to the guitar ground. #4 will be the original positive (hot) wire that originally went to the volume or pu selector. 2# will be the other wire that comes from the same coil as #1. #3 will come from the same coil as #4.

When regularly in series, the #2 and #3 wil go together, #1 to ground, #4 to volume/pu selector.

When in parallel, coils #1 and #3 will go to ground, #2 and #4 to volume/pu selector.

Single coil. Mostly the inner coil is used. With the neck pu I prefer the coil next to the fretboard. Depending on this preferation the #1 will go to ground and the #2 to volume, OR the #3 to ground and the #4 to volume. It is clearly visible from which coil the wires come from. The wires not in use don't matter, if they go to same place which eachother.

Put the pickup back together as cleanly and nicely as You can. The wires will have to fit the hole they were in, otherwise they can accidentally be ripped out. If You need more specific soldering guides on a tri-sound switch, let me know.


-Aki.
Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker)
Posted on Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 2:29 pm:   

Thanks Aki...I'll try it
Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker)
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - 2:20 pm:   

Aki, it worked! I wanted to replace the original Pickups on my new Artwood twin (the 6 string had seymour duncans on). I got some super 70 types from an old (Ibanez built) CSI Les Paul. They're almost identical to the original pickups still on the 12 string. I took the tapes off the CSI ones and copied the wiring from the 12 string pickups. The switches are just simple coil taps, not tri-sound in this case. I had to dismantle the pickups to get the four new wires in, but kept the same colour coding as the originals and HEY PRESTO!
Luckily, all four script logo gold covers came with the guitar (in good condition) so she's now been restored back to the way Hoshino intended and looks and sounds great! It was a very fiddly job, but not too difficult after all....Thanks for the advice!
Tim
Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar)
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - 4:21 pm:   

Tim,

Glad to hear it worked out for you!

Cheers
Steve

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