Pickup problem

[tkgwheeler]

Hey folks,

Wondered if anyone has any ideas about the problem i have been having with my bridge pickup. Basically the volume from my pickup has become almost inaudible. This has actually happened a couple of times in the past but it seemed to sort itself out so i never bothered to find out what had gone wrong. Well yesterday i decided to raise the pickup which had been sitting extremely low up to about 5mm from the strings and although i did notice a slight increase in volume the sound produced is crackling. And it was still cracking when i lowered it back again!

Basically i am stumped. I can't tell if the pickup is knacked or if it's just a wiring issue. Someone even suggested that it may be the balance pot to blame?

so anyone got any ideas of what i can do to figure this out?

thanks

tom

[The Burpster]

Sounds like a dry solder joint or broken wire.....

Have you checked these...?

[tkgwheeler]

hey man, thanks for the reply. I've had a look around the control cavity and nothing stands out to me but i am a maintenance novice and i'm not completely clued up on what to look for specifically. Is it possible for there to be a wiring or connection problem at the pickup as i haven't looked at the actual pick up cavity or the pickup itself. I'll have another good look in the control cavity and check out inside the pickup cavity and report back to you.

thanks again.

Tom

[The Burpster]

Tom, by gum it [u]is[/u] likely. You can get dry joints or broken wires anywhere...... The nasty end of teh spectrum is that there could be broken winding in teh pick up but lets look at the obvious first!

Do you have a multi meter..?

[mrcrow]

initially try to get the pup out and then resolder it to the pot
as suggested a meter is your friend when you learn to use it

if you arent technical then all the checks advised need to be done by someone else

resoldering all joints can be a step forward in elimination

cheers
geof

[tkgwheeler]

thanks alot for your wise words guys.

Tomorrow morning i'll have access to a multi meter and a technician so hopefully i'll be able to get closer to an answer then. I may as well take this opportunity to learn more about instrument maintenance and i think i will have a go at some soldering. Oh and what readings should i be looking out for?

Thanks again guys

update to follow!

Tom

[7string]

Worth squirting some contact cleaner into the gap at the bottom of the pot to see if it's just dirt.

Squirt the cleaner in and then turn quickly turn the pot back and forth.

I've used WD40 in the past, but apparently this is the wrong thing to use as it creates a "gummy mess".

[mrcrow]

[quote name='tkgwheeler' post='655489' date='Nov 15 2009, 10:20 PM']thanks alot for your wise words guys.

Tomorrow morning i'll have access to a multi meter and a technician so hopefully i'll be able to get closer to an answer then. I may as well take this opportunity to learn more about instrument maintenance and i think i will have a go at some soldering. Oh and what readings should i be looking out for?

Thanks again guys

update to follow!

Tom[/quote]

i wasnt sure which pups you had but a P standard is around 13k and a jazz 6-8k

hot ones of course are higher..

those are the readings over the coils as played...if you have exposed poles check them to earth..you shouldnt get a reading...or rather a big one..
to finish off check the installed wiring for all the earths to the jack ground pin...you should get 0 ..that is dead earth..dont forget the bridge...i check the strings to earth...they have to be earthed as well over the saddles

do your pup checks with the pots disconnected or at full vol and no tone

you can get misleading readings with pots connected and i do the pup checks out of the bass and then the earth checks when wired up

hope you get sorted ok..

next master class for you and your assistant will be setting up the neck, action, pup heights and intonation

its good to really be a part of the instrument and know its every part has been checked out..

cheers