Odd problem with 51 P-Bass reissue-no sound, except when...

[mjau]

I was playing my Fender 51 P-Bass reissue last night, and all of sudden the sound went from full and loud to barely there. I've been checking it out this morning, and what I've found is that if I touch the E or G string to the pickup magnet and hold it there, I get a full signal coming out of the bass when I thump the other strings, but when I'm not touching the string to the magnet, there's no sound. I've checked solder points and they all look ok, so what could it be?
Thanks for any help.

[Shadi]

It could be a broken ground wire or pickup lead wire.

[M.R. Ogle]

I'll go for that!
Just look for anything physically disconnected first, then start juggling stuff next. It's pretty unusual to have stuff jusat "go bad" in a simple passive bass.
Carbondale? I'm in Mt. Vernon...

[Jefenator]

If the (-) pickup lead is soldered to the casing of the volume pot, and that area is grounded via physical connection with the control plate (instead of being wired to the jack), maybe that connection is getting fuzzy. If you can wiggle the pots around and get your signal back, that would be a good indication.

[mjau]

Thanks, guys. I just double-checked all the solder points, and they seem to be ok. The lead wire also looks to be ok, though I didn't unwrap the fabric that is wrapped around the pickup. The odd thing, like I mentioned, is that the bass sounds fine once I touch the G string to the pickup magnet immediately below it.

[mjau]

I should mention that all the negative wires are soldered to the tone pot, though I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by mjau

Thanks, guys. I just double-checked all the solder points, and they seem to be ok. The lead wire also looks to be ok, though I didn't unwrap the fabric that is wrapped around the pickup. The odd thing, like I mentioned, is that the bass sounds fine once I touch the G string to the pickup magnet immediately below it.

good god, don't touch that fabric wrap on the pickup!

check the ground connection at the jack, by (believe it or not) plugging in, touching the bridge with your thumb and the end of the cable where it's plugged in with your finger. there's enough conductivity through your hand to get some sound, so if you hear sound, then the jack's ground is disconnected.

if that's not it, check the lead wires where they solder right to the pickup coil, especially the black one.

you may need to re-melt the solder right at that connection (happens a lot with fender pickups).

[M.R. Ogle]

...what he said....

[mjau]

Originally Posted by walterw

good god, don't touch that fabric wrap on the pickup!

check the ground connection at the jack, by (believe it or not) plugging in, touching the bridge with your thumb and the end of the cable where it's plugged in with your finger. there's enough conductivity through your hand to get some sound, so if you hear sound, then the jack's ground is disconnected.

if that's not it, check the lead wires where they solder right to the pickup coil, especially the black one.

you may need to re-melt the solder right at that connection (happens a lot with fender pickups).

Thanks so much, Walter. I used to shop at Alpha all the time when I lived in Va Beach.
I think I understood you correctly, re: grounding at the jack, and that didn't seem to solve it.
I also checked the solder points on the pickup, and I applied a bit more solder to them even though they both seemed to be ok. Still no luck, though.