I have Nordstrand DCs wired to an Aguilar 3band. I also put an active/passive switch in. I lost the active all together over the weekend. I pulled everything out and it looked like when I tightened down one of the pots it turned and was touching the cavity which has conductive tape in it and a ground wire soldered to it. So I twisted it back and put it back together. I was working fine for 10 minutes. Now I have perfect sound and output in passive, while in active it only has output if I hit the strings hard, and when I do it's has volume swells to it, so much so, that it's distorting. If I hit the strings soft, there's no output at all. I can't visibly tell that anything is wrong, but I'm hoping someone here can tell me where to look for problems. The battery is brand new.

When you say 'brand new' do you mean you put in a new batter after you fixed the short problem? if not, try that, as it's possible that the short drained the batteries. If yes, then I suggest you contact Aguilar. They're very good at returning support emails.


I have Nordstrand DCs wired to an Aguilar 3band. I also put an active/passive switch in. I lost the active all together over the weekend. I pulled everything out and it looked like when I tightened down one of the pots it turned and was touching the cavity which has conductive tape in it and a ground wire soldered to it. So I twisted it back and put it back together. I was working fine for 10 minutes. Now I have perfect sound and output in passive, while in active it only has output if I hit the strings hard, and when I do it's has volume swells to it, so much so, that it's distorting. If I hit the strings soft, there's no output at all. I can't visibly tell that anything is wrong, but I'm hoping someone here can tell me where to look for problems. The battery is brand new.

When you say 'brand new' do you mean you put in a new batter after you fixed the short problem? if not, try that, as it's possible that the short drained the batteries. If yes, then I suggest you contact Aguilar. They're very good at returning support emails.

Battery was the same before and after the short, I'll give it a try. Thank you sir!

Worked great..............I think I'm still going to need to take it apart one more time.......when I touch the blend knob I get an A.M. radio station in pretty well.........if only it was music, I could play along......he he.........

I had a similar problem lately when I grounded a pot. Do you get the "open ground" sound when you touch the strings? After re-soldering all of my grounds I decided, on a whim, to replace the capacitor. That was the solution for me. I don't know why it worked.

nope, quiet as a mouse while playing, and when still, it's only when I touch the knobs (it's all of them) that I complete a circuit to ESPN AM radio............it was fun last night at practice because while the guitar player tuned, the drummer and I listened to the game........he he........I may keep it like this for a show or two just to throw people off......

nope, quiet as a mouse while playing, and when still, it's only when I touch the knobs (it's all of them) that I complete a circuit to ESPN AM radio............it was fun last night at practice because while the guitar player tuned, the drummer and I listened to the game........he he........I may keep it like this for a show or two just to throw people off......

does this happen on a specific location and/or facing or more than one?