National D8 pickups

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 7 Nov 1999 7:38 pm

I have an old National D8 that I bought from Herb Steiner some time ago. It is a beautiful instrument and I love it. I recently had the chance to compare it with the S6 I have; the pickups are the same, but the output on the 6 is much more than the 8! Could it be my pickups are fading with age, or is this the way it's supposed to be? I never noticed it before because I had a dedicated amp for steel. Now I am using a Line6 AX2 and run everything through it. The S6's output is much greater than the D8. Any ideas on how to solve this? Thanx.

Blake Hawkins · Post by **Blake Hawkins** » 8 Nov 1999 6:54 am

Could be that nothing is wrong. Just a difference in impedence between the pickups and the ones on the 6 string are a better match for the input of your amp.
Blake

John Borchard · Post by **John Borchard** » 9 Nov 1999 10:24 pm

Louie, I don't know what type of pickups you have (National made several kinds). However, I am a big fan of the "string-through" type. These pickups have the magnets on opposite SIDES of the pickup bobbin (coil) with a metal plate covering the pickup and resting on the magnets. The strings pass between the top of the coil and the bottom of the metal plate. If the magnets are not oriented properly (e.g., one of them has been turned upside down), the out put will be very weak. This can also happen in "conventional" pickups, but is less common because the coil and magnets are mounted as one integrated unit. I've repaired quite a few of the string-through pickups with this problem. It's just a matter of rearranging the magnets until you get the most output. If you're not familiar with pickups and how they work, I'd recommend having your favorite guitar tech check it out. Also, you might try adjusting the pole pieces on the pickup if you haven't tried that. Good luck!

John Borchard

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 10 Nov 1999 2:14 pm

The pickups on both are similar; one just has more pole pieces / one less. They are the chrome covered ones that look like oversized humbuckers with the bridge "attached" at the base of the pickup. Should I be able to check the impedance with my Radio Shack DVOM?
Thanx.

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Jason Lollar · Post by **Jason Lollar** » 11 Nov 1999 12:47 pm

Yes you can test them with a digital voltmeter, if you notice a big difference between the 6 and 8 you could have a partial short in the coil where the insulation has been corrupted which could cause part of the coil to no longer funtion yet leaving a portion still active.