Help with crackling Warlock NJ

[Michelob_64]

I originally posted this in the bass forum by mistake, so I'm reposting in the pickups & electronics since that is the nature of the problem.

HELP!!! I have an issue with my BC Rich Warlock. Intermittenly when I play, it sounds like I've got a blown speaker. I actually almost took my amp & cabs into GC to be checked out. My drummer for a side project noticed it during practice a couple of weeks ago over top of his drums & the rest of the band in the practice room.

The sound is a crackly high pitched break up over top of the notes. It really does sound like a speaker has blown, but it only happens when I play the Warlock. As I don't notice the sound when I'm playing my Thunderbird which is a passive humbucker setup.

My Warlock has a 2 band onboard EQ for bass/treble. And I have tried new batteries, which did help somewhat, but I still hear the crackling in the background just not as pronounced.

Some areas I thought to check were the grounding of the electronics & maybe replacing the cap. Waiting to call BC Rich to price a new preamp, the only other thing are pots & pickups.

Any ideas would be helpful. Thx

 

[PhantomRegiment]

My bass (albeit an Ibanez) had a similar problem; whenever I'd turned the pots there'd be a deafening scrape/crackle. I took it in to GC to have it checked out, and the pots were just full of dust and dirt.

 

[Michelob_64]

Cool, I'll take the pots out & clean them. I had an old Peavey Super Festival head that would do the same thing now that I think about it.

Thx