BL 705 In My Bmi

Nicholas Scott · Post by **Nicholas Scott** » 30 Oct 2018 3:00 pm

Put this in my BMI SD10 3x5 last night. Already hate it. Too thin, sounds hollow, no warmth. I'll be putting my George L E-66 back in.

Anybody else try this with same results?

I borrowed a buddy's Ritt that had a BL 705 in it and loved the sound. Guess just doesn't work for my guitar.

Input/Suggestions welcome.

-Nick

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 30 Oct 2018 3:38 pm

Interesting. My BMI came to me new with an original chrome surround 705 in 1983. Paired well.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 30 Oct 2018 5:01 pm

My BMI has a 705 and sounds wonderful.

Perhaps yours is not wired properly.

Nicholas Scott · Post by **Nicholas Scott** » 30 Oct 2018 5:17 pm

Lee, this look correct?

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 30 Oct 2018 6:03 pm

There should be two more wires to work with.

Here is some helpful information.

Click Here

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 31 Oct 2018 2:17 am

Really hard to tell from the photos but do I see the stump of a white wire there, cut down to a nub? If so, then I'll assume the same goes for a green wire.
You will need to cut the shielding and expose some more wire and strip and solder and isolate them.
Lee's link is excellent and clear.

My reference to the 705 on my BMI, btw, was just part of my ongoing curiosity about the comparison between the much beloved old chrome BL 705 and the current reissue by the non-Bill Lawrence Bill Lawrence company. It seems to be a very popular and well regarded pickup. I'd give it a go myself if they made a 12 string.

John Swain · Post by **John Swain** » 31 Oct 2018 3:50 am

I've found these pickups sound better if you back them away from the strings. Lane suggests 3 quarters clearance, although my Rains bottoms out before that!

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 31 Oct 2018 5:41 am

Lee Baucum wrote:There should be two more wires to work with.

Here is some helpful information.

Click Here

Yeah, I suspect that you may only be running 1 of the 2 coils with a wire not properly connected, and possibly even an open circuit. This pickup wired correctly is FULL and smooth, and compared to E66, should be a tad less bright and definitely a big, rich sound. Like others suggest, see if there's a wire or 2 hiding in there that aren't connected as they should be.

B

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 31 Oct 2018 7:42 am

If you have an Ohm meter,the 705 should be around 21k give or take a little.

Lee Baucum's post has great info. Looks like there will be a green wire and white wire that have been cut off.

Nicholas Scott · Post by **Nicholas Scott** » 31 Oct 2018 11:37 am

Thanks everyone who commented. I'm going to rewire it tomorrow. Thanks for all the input!

-Nick

Danny Letz · Post by **Danny Letz** » 12 Dec 2018 5:43 am

Hey Nicholas, let us all know how it came out. Thanks

Ken Mizell · Post by **Ken Mizell** » 29 Dec 2020 5:35 am

Nicholas - Did the new wiring solve the problem?

I was having a bad hum problem with the old, original BL705 in my BMI. I fixed my black ground wire that was hanging by a strand of wire. It improved, maybe 75%, but it is still noticeable enough to be annoying. The pickup is wired as per the instructions from Lee Baucum. Green and white is connected and soldered.

I was looking around at the Wilde/Lawrence site, and found this diagram. I havenâ€™t changed the wiring yet. I may do so but Iâ€™ll wait and see what Lee or others say first . This diagram kind of complicates things a bit, since is says to connect and solder GREEN and RED, and connect the WHITE wire to the hot terminal of the jack.

Thoughts, opinions?

Ken Mizell · Post by **Ken Mizell** » 3 Jan 2021 3:46 pm

I just solved my BL705 problem in my BMI by installing an E66. Sounds great. No regrets.

Butch Pytko · Post by **Butch Pytko** » 7 Jan 2021 10:30 am

Well, then, which wires do you connect and solder?

Do you connect and solder the GREEN and RED?

or

Do you connect and solder the GREEN and WHITE?

Or, is it one of those things where it doesn't matter?

I need to know, as I'd like to get some Bill Lawrence pickups.

Ken Mizell · Post by **Ken Mizell** » 7 Jan 2021 10:53 am

I didnt have much wire to workvwith, plus the ohms on the pup reading was at 35k ohms. I decided to install a George L's E66. The BL710 was wired with black to ground and red to the tip. The white and green wires were connected and soldered. I believe the pup was going bad.I never experimented with the witing as described on the above diagram.

Wesley Medlen · Post by **Wesley Medlen** » 7 Jan 2021 3:45 pm

I've had 2 SD10 BMI's with them and both sounded good. Wes

Nicholas Scott · Post by **Nicholas Scott** » 14 Jan 2021 5:22 pm

Just saw this post pop back up. Thanks everyone for the help. I was able to rewrite the 705 and that fixed the problem. Lots of great advice on this thread. I have since sold the BMI and moved onto a couple of others(Sierra, ZUM, Carter, Excel and now an Emmons). All great guitars, the BMI included.