Is my pickup going bad?? (Help)
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  1. #1
    Bullethead
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    Default Is my pickup going bad?? (Help)

    My bridge pickup on my wolfgang is acting very strange. Out of the blue it seems to have less than half the signal strength of my neck pickup and on a crunch channel is loses almost all its distortion. I am getting some sound out of it but this is ridiculous. Is my pickup bad ( it is the original wolf pup) or is there a wiring issue in the pickup selector area. Any help would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Romeo Delight

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    Try wiggling your selector switch back and fourth. It may be getting oxidized and needs cleaning.

  3. #3
    Bullethead
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    unfortunately I have tried that, I even took the back plate off to mess around with the pickup selector from the back and still cannot get it to function properly. The selector does seem to be getting caught up trying to move from the neck to the bridge p/u , but once there I still have the same output problems.

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    Eruption

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    The only way you'll know if its the switch or not is to by-pass the switch somehow. My suggestion would be to put the switch into "NECK" position and then open the back and thread some bare wire between the poles of the neck pickup hot wire and the *send* wire that feeds the volume pot. This will ensure that you're getting a good firm connection from the pickup to the pot. You could also just un-solder the switch and hook it up direct.

    once you've eliminated the switch as the problem (and I've had this problem so many times that I'm almost sure it is the switch) ... then you can worry about the pickup.

    Pickups, unlike transformers and other wire-wound devices as such, are only subject to vibration or tampering related illnesses (that is, unless you left your Wolfgang baking in the car unprotected in 105 deg heat). I know its possible to have a bad winding but I've never experienced one personally.

    The only other thing I could think of, and this is probably NOT it, is that a coil-tap wire accidentally touched ground and is thus killing your tone. I don't own a Wolfgang but I'd dare say that there's no coil tap wire to speak of and thus its not that issue.

    IMHO, concentrate on the switch.
    Good Luck

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    5150

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    If you are using a tube amp, you may need new tubes....
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    Take Your Whiskey Home

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    I think if you're unfamiliar with wiring, the easiest thing to do is just bring the guitar to a trusted music store or tech. It'll be an easy problem for someone in-the-know to diagnose, and you can know right away if it's a switch, soldering connection, or the pickup itself. Unfortunately I have heard of the Wolfie pickups dying occasionally (though with 18 of the damn guitars myself I've never had it happen). The good news is you can still get a replacement from Peavey if need be.

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    thanks for the replies, I was just playing it and the pickup started working correctly out of the blue so I am thinking, hot damn, then about 2 mins later it went back to having problems. I do know that I was adjusting the saddles for the strings ( correcting intonation) about a week ago and the allen wrench did touch the bridge pickup and became magnitized. I do not know it that is the problem but seems ironic. I cannot figure it out. Guess it is off to a repair shop.

 

 

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