3below Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) I really like the realist pickup as do many others, however, it can develop faults such as intermittent, low or no output at all. The good news is that they can be repaired and if you are lucky it is a an easy DIY job. Failure with the piezo dots version seems to be caused by the conducting adhesive giving up with age or through corrosion on the strip metal contact inside the pickup. First fix: They can be 'fussy' about how well the bridge foot is seated on the piezo dots. Ensuring the bridge is sitting 'upright' and making good '90 degree' contact on the piezo dots , is one factor. Also where the dots sit under the foot can have a significant effect - experimentation is worthwhile. Second fix: If you have the version with the obvious piezo dots, try pressing firmly on the dots with a piece of wood (e.g. kitchen knife handle, pencil, with the pickup supported on a worktop/cutting board). Next gently rub the foil against the piezo dots on both sides. This has been successful in getting reluctant ones to work again. Third fix: Major surgery, this involves taking the foils apart, rebuilding / replacing corroded parts / new conducting foil inside the pickup and some soldering. It will usually be visually obvious that this is needed. Even with this level of repair I have not (yet!) failed to bring one back to life. Edited August 2, 2022 by 3below 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 I followed the above advice (option 2) and it worked a treat. Many thanks to @3below! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 My Realist and Apt-Flex pickups are still going strong 2 years after 3below repaired them. Totally worth giving this a go. Continued thanks to 3below for his talents and help. Legend. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 This is intriguing to me. I bought a realist from the classifieds here that I think had only been on a bass for about 12 months. I put it on mine and after about 9 months it just stopped working. I ended up replacing it with the lifeline which I'm pretty happy with now, but it would be good to get some use out of the broken one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 Try the fix(es) above, nothing to lose everything to gain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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