Finding The Dead Pickup

[robbie_g]

Hi guys,

I have this old guitar that i have been fixing up. I have the back open and i am looking at all the soldered pots and such. However, when i am playing, one of the pickups is dead (out of the two humbuckers). How can i find out which one,without putting them in a different guitar and testing them?

Thanks!

Robbie

[thegarehanman]

Everyone always wants an easy solution. No one ever wants to work. People these days...newbs these day. GEEZ!!!

Now that I've vented, do you have a multimeter? I certainly hope so. Check the resistance of each humbucker, it should be around 7k to 8k ohms for Gibsons and most other humbuckers. Hotter humbuckers will range from 12k to 14k ohms. If one of them has a reading much different from those or has no reading at all, it's bad. However, do not throw out the idea that you may have a bad connection. Also, you could very well have a bad switch. If your test on the humbucker yields no conclusive results, check your switch.

Edited July 18, 2005 by thegarehanman

[borge]

(caveman way)

tap them with something metal, if the pup is running you will get a popping sound though the amp if its not silence.

but remember if you touch a string while trying to tap a pup then you will get a sound reguardless of whether youre tapping the good or bad pup.

[Dswain81]

You could always try the "remote control trick." Take a remote control and press the buttons on the remote (while pointing at the pickup). An active pickup will transmit a ringing noise through your amp.

However, I would test it with the meter...the remote trick is more for fun.

[borge]

I have this old guitar

An active pickup will transmit a ringing noise through your amp

i doubt it has active pups but that works on passives aswell antways.

but your amp will probably make a sound reguardless of which pickup you point it at (albeit louder pointed at the working/selected pup) so it will tell you which pup it

faulty then you can go on fixing it: check if the pup has output with a meter then you will know whether its the pup or the wiring at fault and go from there

[Hunter]

Why don't you just switch between the pickups, and see which one doesn't make noise...

[thegarehanman]

doh! ...common sense strikes again!!!

[Hunter]

Yeah, I figured someone was forgetting something.

[thegarehanman]

I guess I just assumed he had done that already...seems like an obvious one doesn't it? He has 3 posts; so he probably doesn't know which selection is for which humbucker.

Listen robbie g, when the 3 way switch is up, you've selected only the neck humbucker, when it's in the middle, both are selected, and when the switch is down, you've selected the bridge only.

[haggardguy]

Maybe he has a 5 way

[crafty]

Oh My God. Keep it simple, people.

robbie_g, select the neck pickup and pick a string or tap on a pole with a screwdriver. If you hear something through the amp, it's probably okay. Repeat with the bridge pickup.

Now, if you don't hear anything, either the switch, the pot, the wiring, or the pickup is bad, in that order. If you don't have a multimeter or the slightest clue what you are doing, carefully pack up the guitar and take it to your favorite tech.

If you have a multimeter, check the pot through the full sweep. If that checks out, check the wiring continuity from the pickup through the switch. Next check the pickup. If it reads very low resistance, it's shorted. If it's very high (>25k ohms) or infinite, it has a broken wire inside. If you didn't understand these instructions, take the guitar to your favorite tech.

[lovekraft]

If you didn't understand these instructions, take the guitar to your favorite tech.

Thanks, crafty - couldn't have said it better myself!