The mysteriously unreferenced current model Ibanez 3EMP3LD EQ

[admacdo]

So here's my dilemma.
I can't find a wiring diagram for an Ibanez 3EMP3LD.

With quite a few older Ibanez basses, if you have to change the board, you need to change almost everything because the new replacement is this totally new board which doesn't interface with anything in the original bass.

I'm replacing the board in a 2004 BTB400, so I've got no hope at all.

The Ibanez database says this:
"Preamp module: BEQ3 module Main PCB, 3 band Low noise, Dual gain => In case any module of this preamp set before 2015 production (including 2015) is needed to be replaced, the whole preamp modules need to be replaced due to spec change of the preamp."

After some initial assumptions, I realised that the pickups actually connect under the switch and are marked NE TP and BR TP.
I have connectors coming to allow the older pickups to be used with some minor violence, solder and trial and error, but I can't find anything which is an authority on how the power and output jack are wired.

There just appears to be no wiring diagram available to the public that I can find.

This module is still used on a heap of current Ibanez basses:

3EMP3LD. Preamp module: BEQ3 module Main PCB, 3 band Low noise, Dual gain.

ATK800, ATK810, BTB1405, BTB1406, BTB1605, BTB1606, BTB1805, BTB1806,
BTB1825, BTB1826, BTB1905, BTB1905SM, BTB1906SM, BTB1935, BTB1936,
BTB20TH5, BTB20TH6, BTB33, BTB686SC, BTB740, BTB745, BTB746, BTB747,
BTB845SC, BTB845, BTB845V, BTB846, BTB846SC, BTB846V,
EHB1000, EHB1005, EHB1005MS, EHB1500, EHB1505, EHB1505MS,
K5, SDB3,
SR1100B, SR1105B, SR1200, SR1205, SR1206, SR1300, SR1305, SR1306,
SR1340B, SR1345B, SR1346B, SR1400, SR1400T, SR1405, SR1405T,
SR1600, SR1600B, SR1605, SR1605B, SR1800, SR1805, SR1820, SR1825,
SR2400, SR2400W, SR2600, SR2605,
SR300, SR300E, SR300EB, SR300EBL, SR300EL, SR300L,
SR305, SR305E, SR305EB, SR305EBL, SR306EB,
SR30TH4, SR30TH4P, SR30TH4PII, SR30TH5, SR30TH5P, SR30TH5PII,
SR370, SR370E, SR370EF, SR375, SR375E, SR400EQM, SR405EQM,
SR4XXV, SR5XXV, SR5000, SR5005, SR5006,
SR500, SR500E, SR500EL, SR505, SR505E, SR505EL, SR506,
SR5PBLTD, SR5SMLTD, SR600, SR605, SR650, SR650E, SR655, SR655E,
SR670, SR675, SR750, SR755, SR756, SR800, SR805, SR870, SR875,
SRC6, SRFF800, SRFF805, SRFF806, SRMS805, SRMS806, SRSC805,
TMB600


Ibanez parts catalog

I've spent days searching the internet on keywords and looking at random Ibanez wiring diagrams for this EQ or anything remotely likely to give a reliable hint.

It has beaten my best internet search efforts, much to my surprise.

There is nothing about it on any Ibanez corporate website that I can find.

At this point, I have to ask more experienced people.

Can anyone either preferably point me at a wiring diagram for this eq or if not, pop their electronics enclosure off and take some detailed photos of how this connects to the power and output jack please?

It's the last step in getting this project up and running, now that it's headless.

 

[robert43]

The 3 wire are not the 3 wires that go to the output plug ie hot , and the 2 neg to turn on the preamp and the battery neg

 

[admacdo]

Did you realise that I'd given up archery and moved to basses?

 

[admacdo]

But now the B+, GND and OUT on those two end connectors makes more sense..

 

[robert43]

Maybe its for a DI / XLR jack?

 

[JKos]

What is the connector on the far left labeled? The one you have the wires labeled "HELP!"

- John

 

[admacdo]

Thanks guys, but it appears that my second avenue that I followed right before posting here bore fruit.
In between searching the internet for days and asking experience people, is a step called "ask the manufacturer"
This turned up in my email this morning.

The circuit differences are still there in the entire drawing though, as the balancer has the switch input which then accepts the bridge and neck pickups. The empty single socket on the left acted as a red herring as other board photos had all inputs filled.
I expect as this module is used across so many different Ibanez basses, that they have optioned it for several different configurations. It's the logical thing to do as that keeps costs and parts lists down.

 

[archtop2]

Hi, I have a SR-305e and did my own schematics, hoping it's accurate

 

[admacdo]

Awesome! That looks pretty good. Since posting this, it seems that this board is in almost every single Ibanez offered and the switches and pots that are available as parts are used to configure everything.
Just lately, the only Ibanez bass with sweepable mids since 2015 was the Fieldy K5 and the mid switch to do it was actually labeled with just K5 in some catalogs. Now all the headless basses have sweepable mids.
You can get stacked knobs from the spares catalog online and order them to make up your own configurations not offered in production basses now. Currently nothing in the line up has Stacked balance/volume, mids/variable sweep and bass/treble

So if you ordered 3EMV5C, 3EMB410C, 3EMMV84-C, you can have six controls on three knobs.

I'm quite impressed with the ability of these electronics and I'm surprised that they haven't caught on. They even accept the 18v input with no issues.

 

[ronald cardenas]

Hola maestros ... Somebody know why this preamp have two outputs... One say BEQ3 and the other VM3?

 

[admacdo]

If you look at the two circuit diagrams above of the 3EMP3LD, you'll notice the drawings show both connectors plugged into a battery and output. The photo shows that they're both labeled identically, so they're for dual battery systems for when the board is in a BTB or such 18 volt systems.

 

[ronald cardenas]

[QUOTE = "admacdo, post: 24709648, member: 350571"] Si observa los dos diagramas de circuito anteriores del 3EMP3LD, notará que los dibujos muestran ambos conectores conectados a una batería y salida. La foto muestra que ambos están etiquetados de manera idéntica, por lo que son para sistemas de batería dual para cuando la placa está en un BTB o sistemas de 18 voltios. [/ QUOTE]
Gracias por la información pero por qué ... Una salida dice VM3 en the board with a arrow ??... And the other say BEQ3? I know both are output... Battery and ground... But i try both output and sound diferent.... The beq3 output is more treble... And the vm3.. Is more warm or minus treble..... My sr1306 ibanez. Premium. Come with the output in VM3.... but i see other phots like btb or prestige with the output in BEQ3... why?

 

[admacdo]

Sorry. That would be one of those unanswerable questions. Only whoever assembled it would know.

 

[admacdo]

The ibanez parts catalog says that the SR1306 first started using the 3EMP3LD board in the 2015/11 model.
Your photo is a bit fuzzy, although it looks like the right one.

 

[MattZilla]

The empty single socket on the left

so, are you going to drill and mount a pot in your BTB to use that mids sweep socket?

 

[admacdo]

No need. It has five holes and I've found and ordered the three stacked pots in the Ibanez catalog for the 3EMP3LD. Volume/mix, bass/treble and mids/sweep centre. I'll actually have two holes left unused unless I swap out pickups for multi coil choices.

 

[JakesAy]

 

[JakesAy]

This is a clearer picture... This preamp is from my SR505e I sold a couple of months ago...The one in the picture is probably from the SR 300e series with the power tap switch. The pickups are connected directly to the switch which is connected to the volume and blend pot.. the 3 wires (help) is the input from the blend and volume pots. The preamp has 2 outputs, the VM3 and the BEQ3. The VM3 sends out the raw output of the pickup without any coloration while the BEQ3 makes the output a lil scooped with a high-end presence.

 

[ronald cardenas]

Hi i received information from IBANEZ about this preamp... And they told why this preamp board have 2 outputs... The BEQ3 output is for preamps with mid selector switch like

And the VM3 output is for basses with VARI - MID pot... Like the news EHB ibanez series

I also include the original wiring from IBANEZ for the SR PREMIUM series... And this series use the BEQ3 output

 

[admacdo]

Well, this is amazingly convenient.
As Ronald discovered, there's a difference between the BEQ3 and VM3 output.
Since all my switches turned up last week, I tried both and found that the BEQ3 worked SO much better with the variable sweep mid.

I also used the +6 dB in, rather than the 0db in.

Now Ronald's latest info confirmed what he discovered and I also confirmed.

Thanks Ronald!

It's nice when that happens.

The SR premium wiring also nicely shows the modularity of the board and switch choices.
I've decided that rather than plugging up the two holes left, I'm going to have a look to see if Ibanez makes any pickups that will let me run any single/series/parallel three position switches so that I can do the same trick as my Warwick Corvette.
It would be really nice to have the headless project bass able to be completed using all genuine Ibanez components in a configuration not actually ever used by Ibanez.