1984 Ibanez DT 555 Destroyer Replica Build:

The Destroyer was quiet when I received it, although the factory wiring didn't look very clean...

Here are some photos before I started pickup and pot replacement:

IMG_20170904_37233.jpg

IMG_20170904_4943.jpg
 
Installing the PIO K40Y tone capacitor...

IMG_20170904_1566.jpg

I'm not going OCD on this wiring like I did on my Gibson SG, shown here:

IMG_20170307_5510.jpg

I think the black shielding paint is good enough, although I did copper shield the back of the Destroyer's cavity covers...
 
Here is a rough sketch of what the wiring arrangement looks like in my Destroyer. I did not deviate from this schematic, only swapped out pickups and pots...

2017-09-04 10.48.09.png
 
Holy Biscuits these 17.12k/15.88k - Alinco V humbuckers are well balanced and sound great clean!!!

But with a lot of gain...man-o-man...the tone is killer, but its like trying to hold a rattlesnake by the tail and not get bit.

Its a wild beast cranked up...

On the other hand, the Gibson SG, with 7.93k/7.88k Alinco II, is totally docile at almost full gain and 3/4 volume on a small stage, but it doesn't have the punch this Destroyer has...
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Robert, U swapped em already? Also, did your hum go away?
Click to expand...

Hey, Chili....I swapped late last night. I couldn't crank my DSl40C, so I tested them out on Natalie's 15watt Fender Champ. The buzz was really bad on that little amp, but barely noticeable on the DS40C.

These 17.12k/15.88k/15.86k pickups are LOUD man!!!
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Robert, U swapped em already? Also, did your hum go away?
Click to expand...

Ok, Checked all my grounds and all were less than 1.0Ω (most were .09Ω) and yet the buzz persists. I swapped amps and cables and verified with another guitar....the problem is definitely in the Destroyer.

If I touch any metal part of the guitar, the noise stops. If I touch the metal case of the cable, the noise stops. I installed a new Switchcraft jack and the noise persists...
 
like Goo said, i have that on most if not all my guitars.
Mixture of new and used.
Some say it is normal, some say it is not.

It is different than single coil hum.
My acoustic doesnt hum at all.
 
jtcnj said:
like Goo said, i have that on most if not all my guitars.
Mixture of new and used.
Some say it is normal, some say it is not.

It is different than single coil hum.
My acoustic doesnt hum at all.
Click to expand...


This is a ground issue. I can touch the metal cover of the cable and it goes dead quiet. I am going to test with some alligator leads until I find the culprit...
 
Do share, if I can quiet mine I will, or i am happy to live with it I suppose.
If I knew it was flat out "wrong" and especially if I did it myself, it would drive me Bonkers!
 
jtcnj said:
Do share, if I can quiet mine I will, or i am happy to live with it I suppose.
If I knew it was flat out "wrong" and especially if I did it myself, it would drive me Bonkers!
Click to expand...

My 1987 Squire is dead-silent.....Lots of copper tape and a super thin aluminum shield between pickguard and body, as shown below...

Stratoblaster Input Jack Shielding 2.jpg Stratoblaster Copper Shielding Tape.jpg Strat Pickguard GFS H-S-S.jpg
 
Robert, what you describe is exactly what my LP was doing. Ground ground ground is all I thought it was. I rewired that sucker three times, only to find it still doing it.

If I touched any metal component on the guitar, it would stop. Very frustrating....had to be the ground. Then, as you did on the squire and sg I believe, I copper shelded it. Problem solved! Dead silent.

I think you said this guitar has shielding paint, but maybe the quality of it isn't as should be, for the changes you made. Seems you're trying everything else.....just maybe it needs the tape. I know you like silence, and my LP is friggen silent, as is your Squire.
 
Bocc69 said:
Robert, what you describe is exactly what my LP was doing. Ground ground ground is all I thought it was. I rewired that sucker three times, only to find it still doing it.

If I touched any metal component on the guitar, it would stop. Very frustrating....had to be the ground. Then, as you did on the squire and sg I believe, I copper shelded it. Problem solved! Dead silent.

I think you said this guitar has shielding paint, but maybe the quality of it isn't as should be, for the changes you made. Seems you're trying everything else.....just maybe it needs the tape. I know you like silence, and my LP is friggen silent, as is your Squire.
Click to expand...

Exactly right!!!

What I am doing on this Destroyer now is using a better quality shielding paint followed by copper tape - a double-whammy if you will....
 
Bocc69 said:
Robert, what you describe is exactly what my LP was doing. Ground ground ground is all I thought it was. I rewired that sucker three times, only to find it still doing it.

If I touched any metal component on the guitar, it would stop. Very frustrating....had to be the ground. Then, as you did on the squire and sg I believe, I copper shelded it. Problem solved! Dead silent.

I think you said this guitar has shielding paint, but maybe the quality of it isn't as should be, for the changes you made. Seems you're trying everything else.....just maybe it needs the tape. I know you like silence, and my LP is friggen silent, as is your Squire.
Click to expand...

I actually ended up soldering ground wires to the COPPER TAPE so that all the cavities are connected and grounded!!!!
 
Robert Herndon said:
Exactly right!!!

What I am doing on this Destroyer now is using a better quality shielding paint followed by copper tape - a double-whammy if you will....
Click to expand...

nice, the double whammy. Wait, so now it has three whammys total? A triple whammy threat....could it be???!!
 
Bocc69 said:
nice, the double whammy. Wait, so now it has three whammys total? A triple whammy threat....could it be???!!
Click to expand...

LOL!!! Yes!!!

Let me tell you, the hot ceramic magnet humbuckers (I named Von Herndon Supre-Sonics) I had made for me are so quiet (other than the grounding/shielding buzz/hum) it's unreal. The bridge is 17.12kΩ and I can sit right in front of my DSL40C cranked and it's quiet!!!!

These pickups are essentially a "clone" of the Ibanez V2....

Custom Von Herndon Supre-Sonic Humbuckers.jpg
 
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