Okay, I've been reluctant to post this for fear of embarassing myself, but here goes. I have a 77 P that seems to have stopped working. It was cased for a few years with no play time and when I took it out and plugged it up, there was no sound. Took it to a tech at a local independent shop and he hooked it up to some sort of meter and declared the pickup dead. Told me to get a new one or have this one rewound. Here's my question and forgive my ignorance in advance....but how does a pickup "die"? There's not much in the way of moving parts...........Anyway, is this guy on the mark or are there other avenues that should be explored? Also any opinions on rewind vs. new Fralin, Nordy, etc. Thanks.
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Dead pickup on P bass?
- Thread starter kevmoga
- Start date
- Aug 21, 2008
- 10,386
- 252
- 68
- Disclosures
- Owner, SGD Music Products
The problem is that with Fender pickups they wind them directly on the magnets. Usually they dip the bobbin/magnet assembly in lacquer first to insulate the magnets.
The thin magnet wire also has a thin insulation on it. But what sometimes happens is sweat or moisture can seep down into the pickup, and over time the magnets will corrode where the wire touches them. This causes the coil to break.
Since the break is on the inside, the coil needs to be rewound.
However, another thing that happens is the connection between the coil wire and the hookup wire can go bad. That can often be fixed by reheating the solder at the rivet where the two wires are connected.
But more times than not, it's inner coil corrosion, and the pickup needs rewinding. I've rewound quite a few old pickups that died because of this. The rewound pickup should sound just like the original did.
The thin magnet wire also has a thin insulation on it. But what sometimes happens is sweat or moisture can seep down into the pickup, and over time the magnets will corrode where the wire touches them. This causes the coil to break.
Since the break is on the inside, the coil needs to be rewound.
However, another thing that happens is the connection between the coil wire and the hookup wire can go bad. That can often be fixed by reheating the solder at the rivet where the two wires are connected.
But more times than not, it's inner coil corrosion, and the pickup needs rewinding. I've rewound quite a few old pickups that died because of this. The rewound pickup should sound just like the original did.
This is the closest answer I have found so please allow me to pick you brain as well.
I recently got a GFS p bass pickup, it had no sound in bass so I wired it directly to a jack. There is no sound when I touch the poles with anything metal however there is a slight noise when I touch the windings on the lead pickup (the one wired to the hot white wire) but no sound on the windings of the pickup wired to the ground.
Is this a symptom of the wiring between the 2 bobbins, broken winding in second bobbin or....
The pickup was brand new in the box, the covers had been popped loose but I didn't buy it from the manufacturer so no warranty I am thinking.
I recently got a GFS p bass pickup, it had no sound in bass so I wired it directly to a jack. There is no sound when I touch the poles with anything metal however there is a slight noise when I touch the windings on the lead pickup (the one wired to the hot white wire) but no sound on the windings of the pickup wired to the ground.
Is this a symptom of the wiring between the 2 bobbins, broken winding in second bobbin or....
The pickup was brand new in the box, the covers had been popped loose but I didn't buy it from the manufacturer so no warranty I am thinking.
