VIP Wiring question…

[soybean]

I have an older Academy Custom with the VIP wiring. It has four knobs, two mini 3-way switches and one regular 3-way pickup selector toggle. Lately, it's developed electrical hum in many of the positions. I took it to my tech for repair and then realized i don't actually know what the system is supposed to do other than split the coils. What are the other features and is there anything I need to tell my guitar repair guy? (It's a 1997 "N" series.) Thanks!

 

 

By the way, I looked at the VIP information on the Heritage website, but it doesn't seem to apply to this guitar.

 

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[SouthpawGuy]

Your's is the newer D-VIP with two 3 way switches

 

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE D-VIP

(DOUBLE VAR-I-PHASE CONTROLS)

 

Please Note :

The D-VIP controls work best with our new HRW pickups.

Each HRW pickup, has four lead out wires, plus ground, plus complete full length wire shielding for all 5 wires.

 

D-VIP Controls

 

 

 

( Right handed player )

Sitting in the playing position.

 

Lower left = master volume control, for both pickups

 

Lower right = master tone control , both pickups.

 

Upper left VIP control knob.

10 = in phase, for fingerboard pickup.

0 = out of phase, for fingerboard pickup.

( mini switch down) Please note that when on "O", there is little volume, because the bass and mid-range have been phased out.

 

Upper right VIP control knob.

10 = in phase, for bridge pickup.

0 = out of phase, for bridge pickup.

( mini switch down) Please note that when on "O", there is little volume, because the bass and mid-range have been phased out.

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http://www.heritageg...r.com/dvip.html

[soybean]

Yours is the newer D-VIP with two 3 way switches…

Thanks to you and mars_hall who sent me a schematic.

 

This guitar has the standard four knobs, like a Les Paul. If I am reading your message correctly, there is supposed to be a master volume, master tone and the other two knobs are in phase/out of phase control for each pickup. Is that correct? If so, my guitar has been rewired in some way because i think the four knobs are not doing anything to the phase and are just normal volume and tone knobs.

 

Using your and mars_hall info, my tech can re-wire back to stock. However, do you guys like the D-VIP wiring? Is there any improvements I should make to it? Thanks for your help.

 

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[SouthpawGuy]

I have D-VIP in my '86 VIP2, it was sent back to the factory a couple of years ago for the upgrade and HRWs. Can't say I use the out of phase very much, the single coil is about the same as many humbuckers when split, not bad but nothing really to write home about. Since I had the job done on the VIP2 I've become a big fan of Duncan P-Rails, especially with the triple shot mounting rings, very versatile and no need for extra mini switches.

 

VIP2 with HRWs and D-VIP

 

 

H-535 with P-Rails and triple shots

 

 

I find the tones from the P-Rails to be more useable than those from the HRWS / D-VIP

 

As they say ymmv ...

[soybean]

…Can't say I use the out of phase very much, the single coil is about the same as many humbuckers when split…

 

From reading older posts it seems that, like you, most guys didn't use the out of phase. Therefore, I'm thinking of wiring the D-VIP system without out of phase combinations. Anybody have any good ideas for the mini switches? I definitely want to have coil splitting.

 

 

…I've become a big fan of Duncan P-Rails, especially with the triple shot mounting rings, very versatile and no need for extra mini switches.

Didn't know the mounting rings on P-rails had switching capability. How cool!

 

…I find the tones from the P-Rails to be more useable than those from the HRWS/D-VIP.

I've always been interested in those pickups. Can you still get the classic jazz sound on the neck like a regular humbucker?

[SouthpawGuy]

The triple shot mounting rings are very cool. With the P-Rails there are many options, mine is wired for the following .... series humbucker, parallel humbucker, P-90 and rail ( single coil). The weakest setting, literally is the single coil setting, the volume drop off is fairly dramatic compared to series humbucker. I don't use the single coil much, it does sound good though when the level is brought up a bit by a booster pedal. The full series humbucker tone is full and fat, definitely not thin or weak, sounds great clean. Parallel is still humbucking but very clear, good for rhythm and clearer lead tones. The P-90 tone is also good, it's maybe 60-70% of the series humbucker volume, again a booster helps.

 

I have the P-Rails without the triple shots in a 170, that guitar was originally single VIP wiring. It now has two three way minis for each pickup with series / P-90 / single coil. At the time the triple shot rings were not available so the minis were the way to go. The middle mini switch is still in there but not wired up.

 

 

The HRW neck pickup is very clear and articulate, the bridge for my ear has too much bite and is difficult to find a balance tonally with the neck. The neck sounds good for jazz or clean tones, and the bridge is surprisingly good for rock or metal.

[soybean]

Well, after thinking long and hard I decided to go ahead and get a set of the Duncan P-Rails. We'll start without the triple-shot rings and see how it goes. Somebody on the Gear Page said the two "rails" sounded best (most Strat-like) when they are installed on the outside. In other words, with the rails closest to the fingerboard and bridge.