djhollowman Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi all, Well, suddenly my DiMarzio Evolution 2 has stopped working properly! It's a bridge pickup, bought new about a year and a half ago. It has been working perfectly up 'til now. There's some output, but it's really thin, and only audible at all thru the high gain settings on my amp. The other pickups in this guitar are still working fine. I tried wiring the Evo 2 direct to the jack, to rule out the switch and pots, and it's still the same. Funny thing is, when I have the Evo 2 selected via the 5-way switch then the tone control acts as volume control for it!! Perhaps the pickup has shorted internally?? I'm in the UK, so I'm assuming contacting DiMarzio directly won't help me much, warranty-wise?? Is it worth it to have it repaired? Or just suck it up, and buy another? I had it wired up to be humbucking in series: white and black joined together and isolated, green and bare to ground, red to switch. Any other tests I can carry out? Or is it FUBAR? Greatly appreciate any help! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 If you have a multi-meter, disconnect the pickup in the guitar, put the meter on the Ohms setting and check the impedance. You can test the each coil and both together. The Ohms value should be around 12k for both coils in series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 failing that there are plenty of UK guys doing rewinds I can recommend BKP (about £65 to rewind a humbucker), but there is also Wizard pickups (approx £40) and Bulldog pickups (approx £40) offering rewind services at more reasonable prices remember that all 3 companies are making pickups much better than dimarzios and a rewind would give you something between the dimarzio and pickup companies quality. also the prices i could see were for a full rewind and rewire of a humbucker. it may not need that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 If you want me to I can have a look at it and give you an estimation of what it would cost if I need to rewind one or two of the coils. A complete rewind is normally 42£ , shipping not included. Last rewind was a really cool one; An original early W's DiMaggio Super distortion. That pickup alone (if it was in original conditions, with is of cause isn't any longer) would be worth like 5 times the value of the rest of the guitar. And it that guy hadn't made an attempt to fix the pickup himself I would have been able to salvage it without a rewind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 (edited) The weird thing to me about all of this is that I have to ask how did this happen in the first place? I've never heard of a pickup just going bad before. It's usually due to broken wires in the electronics cavity, bad pickup selector switches, that sort of thing... Edited May 12, 2009 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 The weird thing to me about all of this is that I have to ask how did this happen in the first place? I've never heard of a pickup just going bad before. It's usually due to broken wires in the electronics cavity, bad pickup selector switches, that sort of thing... Probably a short like he said. The coil wire is contacting itself somewhere...giving only a fraction of the resistance and output. That'd have to be a factory defect though. I'm surprised it's just now cropping up. Maybe the wax was the only thing keeping it from shorting and over time the vibrations worked it into contacting another wire. Who knows. Take it out and check the resistance. Also make sure the white and black are still well-connected. If you're reading something significantly lower, it's definitely shorted. Too bad you're in the UK, it seems like Dimarzio should take responsibility for something like that. Perhaps this is a chance to try something new in that guitar? Maybe take what you didn't like about the Evo 2 and use that to pick an even better bridge pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Probably a short like he said. The coil wire is contacting itself somewhere...giving only a fraction of the resistance and output. That'd have to be a factory defect though. I'm surprised it's just now cropping up. Maybe the wax was the only thing keeping it from shorting and over time the vibrations worked it into contacting another wire. Who knows. Well, I guess your explanation seems plausible. It's still kind of a freak thing, though. Who knows, if you contact DiMarzio about it, they might tell you to send it to them and they'll send you a new one if it proves to be a factory defect. Only one way to find out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Two reasons for the pickup to die: Problems from bad installation (jank the hookup cable hard enough and you will get problems, and that is just one way of creating problems) Environmental issues (Anyone know what sweat can do corrosion wise?) I've seen quite a few dead pickups and the most common problem is damage during installation. That is often an easy fix. Sort out the problem and replace the hookup cable and you're fine. Don't be too scared to open up the pickup. Be gentle and careful and take notes (or pics) of what you are doing and you will be fine. If you cannot find the problem and the pickup arn't under warranty: send it to someone to do a partial or complete rewind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Two reasons for the pickup to die: Problems from bad installation (jank the hookup cable hard enough and you will get problems, and that is just one way of creating problems) Environmental issues (Anyone know what sweat can do corrosion wise?) I've seen quite a few dead pickups and the most common problem is damage during installation. That is often an easy fix. Sort out the problem and replace the hookup cable and you're fine. Don't be too scared to open up the pickup. Be gentle and careful and take notes (or pics) of what you are doing and you will be fine. If you cannot find the problem and the pickup arn't under warranty: send it to someone to do a partial or complete rewind. I thought about sweat maybe being a possibility, but only because of a Seymour Duncan factory video I watched not too long ago where they mention something about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks for your help so far guys! If you have a multi-meter, disconnect the pickup in the guitar, put the meter on the Ohms setting and check the impedance. You can test the each coil and both together. The Ohms value should be around 12k for both coils in series. I've disconnected the pickup, and separated all the wires out. Here's what I get on the meter: across the red and black wires is 6.5 ohms, and across the green and white wires I get 8 ohms. (I get a zero reading when I try any other combination of wires.) Since I have separated the wires out, these will be readings for single coils, yes? I've also just took a reading off a couple of decent (working!) single coil pickups I have lying spare, and they have roughly the same values!!! OK, this is making me think that each coil is working now! So, I'll check that I have the white and black wires linked together correctly. Back in a minute! Two reasons for the pickup to die: Problems from bad installation (jank the hookup cable hard enough and you will get problems, and that is just one way of creating problems) Environmental issues (Anyone know what sweat can do corrosion wise?) I've seen quite a few dead pickups and the most common problem is damage during installation. That is often an easy fix. Sort out the problem and replace the hookup cable and you're fine. Don't be too scared to open up the pickup. Be gentle and careful and take notes (or pics) of what you are doing and you will be fine. If you cannot find the problem and the pickup arn't under warranty: send it to someone to do a partial or complete rewind. I'm sure I didn't damage it during installation - I've installed dozens and dozens of pickups now, and I'm always careful not to put strain on wires. Yeah, I like the idea of opening up the pickup, never done this before! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 sounds like its working then. with dimarzios you need to connect the black and white wires together then check with the multi meter between red and green the red wire is hot and green is ground i assume the mismatched coils is a feature of this particular pickup edit: are you sue its an evo 2 (DP215), does it have the dimarzio model number on its baseplate? seems like your readings are a little hot for an evo 2, closer to the original EVO (DP159) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks Wez! Yeah, that was how I had it hooked up in the first place. Just re-soldered black and white together, checked resistance across red and green and it's 14 ohms!! (Don't know about the mismatched coils, must be.) Re-wired and IT WORKS!!!! YAY!!!! Not 100% sure what's happened, but I'm thinking it must have been the black and white join. Anyways, thank you all! Problem solved! DJ Was sold to me brand new as an Evo2. Haven't checked the baseplate though. Packaging says it's DP215. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Glad it works! there is always a bit of variation within models anyway so it could be a hotter version of an evo 2, just wouldnt expect that much variation from published specs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks Wez! It's strange - I checked all these things before, and even unsoldered it and resoldered it! I must have made a cold-solder join on the black and white join maybe?? DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Glad it works! there is always a bit of variation within models anyway so it could be a hotter version of an evo 2, just wouldnt expect that much variation from published specs Also, my meter isn't a digital one, must get one! So my readings are perhaps not as accurate as a digital one would be! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 I thought Dimarzio wound their coils to equal resistance with different gauges of wire? Or is that just on certain models? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 i imagine they do different things with different models... thats the best way to get variation in your range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 I must have made a cold-solder join on the black and white join maybe?? And that is one thing that is part of : Problems from bad installation (jank the hookup cable hard enough and you will get problems, and that is just one way of creating problems) And no offence DJ, just pointing out that this is the most common reason for a pickup to end up in my workshop. I thought Dimarzio wound their coils to equal resistance with different gauges of wire? Or is that just on certain models? DiMarzio have several way of doing the same thing, enhancing treble presence and “airiness”. One way is that they wind the two coils with different wire gauges to the same turn count (they have that patented, like everything else they do…). I *think* that is what they do with the EVO. This is reducing the cancelling of treble frequency (ask if you want a in depth explanation). Us “normal” guys that doesn’t run off and patent everything we do simply mismatch the coils (same wire type on both coils) a bit to get the same effect. That just doesn’t sound as scientific and isn’t possible to patent and thus can’t be used as effectively in marketing. The same thing with their air line of pickups (not airline). They use a special plastic keeper (patented of cause) to hold the magnet so that it doesn’t touch the screws and the slugs and thus decrease the magnetic flux up through the coils. We simple guys do it by controlled degaussing of the magnets. Hey, there I got something that sounds scientific, “controlled degaussing” (meaning we take the magnet and run it passed another strong magnet with opposing poles, with a controlled distance until we get the gauss we want) and can possible be patented and used in marketing. Or maybe not… And yeah, good to hear that it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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