dh7892 Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 I've been having a problem with my JEM for a while now. When I select any pickup other than the neck, I get little or no sound. If I wiggle the selector switch a bit, I can usually get output but it can take a lot of fiddling with which is not ideal in the middle of a song! wiggling the volume control or even pushing the pick-guard can affect the "connection". I first thought that it was the selector switch getting dusty/corroded so I cleaned it up and then replaced it with no improvement. I've been through and re-soldered all of the connections several times with no joy. I even put some electrical tape under it in case it was grounding out on the cavity shielding. I'm at a bit of a loss for what to try next. I seems obvious that there's a poor connection somewhere but I can't find it. I've been all over the circuit with a multi-meter to check the continuity but can't find a problem. I'm not sure that this would even help though because the connection can be just a bit crackly and this might still count at continuity for the MM. Any ideas folks? Could it be a problem in the actual picukps or connecting wires? Perhaps I should try directly connecting each pickup in turn to the output to reduce the problem down to its component parts. This is a major PITA though because I have to re-string it each time to test it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 One of your pots may need replacing? Your symptoms sound the same as when my volume pot broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted August 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 I thought about that but why would it be that the neck pickup works perfectly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 I thought about that but why would it be that the neck pickup works perfectly? ah, I missed that.... It does sound like the pickup could be the problem, but I'd wait for someone a little more experienced than me to answer before you go an resolder anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted August 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Well, it would have to be the bridge humbucker and the middle single coil. It's got the usual Ibanez 5 position selector and in the neck + single position, I can hear the single coil dropping in and out of the mix. It's only the neck humbucker that consistantly has a good connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 You could try measuring the DC resistance of the suspected pickup(s). I would expect 7k-12k or something close... 0 ohms or infinite ohms would be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubber314chicken Posted August 21, 2007 Report Share Posted August 21, 2007 make sure that the leads are solidly connected to the 5 way, and not shorting out to ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.