vintage P Bass pickups dying :(

[griffin738]

Hi gang,

I've got a early 70's p bass that I love. It has been such a great reliable friend for so long. Sadly, the pickups seem to be dying now and I wonder if I should replace (with what?) or repair (how?).

The other night I was playing out and suddenly my volume dropped by about 50%. I had little choice but to turn up and keep going. Then of course the volume came back and suddenly I was the loudest thing in the world. It was uncool. Back at home I tested all gear: amp, pedals and cords all checked out. The p bass was the culprit.

Right now the bass is in the hands of a trusted tech. He reports that the ohm-meter gives hugely high readings (like 2000+ ohms) on my pickups. He interprets to say that with all that resistance, the pickup is not sending much juice at all. He's not 100% done tinkering but he speculates that the pickups are shot.

So what do I do? I hate the idea of changing my all-original '73 instrument. Do I buy new pickups? Do I send the stock pickups somewhere for further analysis and repair?

If replacements are in order, what is the best passive setup that comes closest to the vintage p bass sound?

If repairs are in order, then any best thoughts on who to contact?

Thanks for any guidance you all might have.

Paul

[cataract]

Get some Lindy Fralin pickups.
Save the originals in case you ever decide to sell the bass.

[carlos840]

I would rewound the originals!

Just send them to lindy fralin or Seymour duncen, or any good pickup guy...
Shot pickups are worth nothing in a sale, and original rewound pickups are going to be worth more and sound the same as replacement pickups!

[SGD Lutherie]

I would have the pickups rewound.

It might be a little cheaper to get a replacement like a Duncan/Basslines, but rewinding would restore the pickup to like new condition and keep the bass all original.

Rewinds for a P bass should run about $100. That's what I charge anyway.

[teleharmonium]

What exactly is the DC resistance reading ? 2K would be low, not high. If your tech didn't know that, you need a new tech.

If the coil is good, it's good, rewinding it would not help anything. If it's low, it could have some shorted turns and still have output. That could call for a rewind. But if the volume dropped and came back, it's probably not the coil. Shorted turns generally aren't going to unshort themselves. It's more likely a potentiometer.

I don't think those magnets usually have issues, but if they did, if I'm not mistaken they could be replaced or recharged while using the original coil.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by teleharmonium

What exactly is the DC resistance reading ? 2K would be low, not high. If your tech didn't know that, you need a new tech.

If the coil is good, it's good, rewinding it would not help anything. If it's low, it could have some shorted turns and still have output. That could call for a rewind. But if the volume dropped and came back, it's probably not the coil. Shorted turns generally aren't going to unshort themselves. It's more likely a potentiometer.

I don't think those magnets usually have issues, but if they did, if I'm not mistaken they could be replaced or recharged while using the original coil.

These are good points. A stock P bass pickup should read around 11,000 ohms. A very high reading, or even infinity, can still produce a sound because there is a break in the coil, and the windings are capacitively coupled.

A very low reading that still produces sound would mean shorted windings.

Sometimes the eyelets where the hookup wires are attached need to be reheated.

And it can also be bad pots or the jack.

[griffin738]

Hello again - - and thanks for the replies!

I'm not so well versed with certain terminology, so I likely mis-stated what my tech found. Since my initial post, I visited with the tech and:
- he connected an ohm-meter to points A and B and got a reading about halfway up the scale (yes, I should know the scale but I don't)
- then he connected points C and D and the meter didn't respond at all.





My tech explained that one pickup was allowing a signal to pass (and so it should be working) and the other pickup did not allow a signal to pass (and so it is not working).

Does that all make sense?

On this busy (and expensive) day, I bought some antiquity pickups (Fralins not available locally today) and they are being installed right now.

I'd like to have the originals also work so I plan to get the originals re-coiled - maybe just the bad p/u, maybe both so that all will be well for the next 40 years.

Does this all seem reasonable? Thoughts from the collective?

[SGD Lutherie]

The first thing I would try is to reflow the solder on C & D. That will sometimes bring a pickup back from the dead.

otherwise you can have that one coil rewound.

[Spinal Tapper]

have them rewound. Fralin's sound good, but IMO not as good as the originals.

[Groover]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

The first thing I would try is to reflow the solder on C & D. That will sometimes bring a pickup back from the dead.

otherwise you can have that one coil rewound.

+1

Definitely check in detail. Take the covers off and see if the actual windings terminate inside the solder points. I've seen some break at those points.

[Groover]

Also, please report back on the Antiquity pups please (are those the II or the I)?

I'm considering some pickup upgrades, so would be nice to have direct comparison between an original 72 pickup and an Antiquity.

[tspivey]

I have Antiquity pups in my P and I love them. I bet you'll be really happy with it.