Stringmaster T8 - one neck not quite as loud as other 2

[David DeLoach]

On my 1957 T8 the inner/closest neck is not quite as loud, and doesn't have quite the tone of the other two. Any ideas about what would cause this?

Thanks!

[Dom Franco]

I had the same problem with mine... one pickup was dead. You can test with it an ohmmeter (or check it just by tapping the pickup to see if one is silent.

Hopefully it is just a broken solder joint and not the pickup itself.

Dom

[David Mason]

Any knowledgeable local repair/setup guy could use a multimeter in a non-invasive way to see what each pickup's pumping and look for shorts. In fact, anybody with a meter who's changed pickups can help here. The good news is, if a pickup was DEAD it'd be... umm, dead? You may be able to narrow it down just by wiggling switches, pots, connections - but don't wiggle too hard! In fact I wouldn't do that at all on an old guitar unless I'd exhausted the search for a multimeter connected-to-tinkerer. Partial shorts and partial breaks are common as you get older (guitars too!), for sure if your pickups are putting out drastically different levels it can generate the next set of questions. Google a few combinations of the basic terms "check pickups wiring guitar" and a multiplicity of stuff shows up, this is just one:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/2 ... multimeter Or just borrow a meter and dig in.

[David DeLoach]

Thanks guys! Much appreciated! Think I'll find a guitar tech to check it out - I'm better at playing than repairing!

[Dom Franco]

My string master had 2 pickups on each neck and 1 was dead on my outside neck.

[Webb Kline]

On my 1957 T8 the inner/closest neck is not quite as loud, and doesn't have quite the tone of the other two. Any ideas about what would cause this?

Thanks!

Caps may have been replaced and not matched to the others as well. I never realized what a difference good caps make or that manufacturers don't necessarily understand the importance of good ones. My Remington changed tone when I turned the volume down, and my George Board didn't have the volume of the Remington. My tech built me a box with an attenuator on the one channel so I could balance the volume between the two, and that really helped, but when he re-capped both with real quality musical caps, I no longer needed the extra volume boost ( I still use the box so I can run them both into the same volume pedal). But, those caps, man, what a difference! There is now not a single bit of tone change when turning the volume down of either neck, and the tone controls work so well, that I change them in different songs if I'm looking for a certain color. I'm not into electronics, but this guy is amazing. His name is Don Moser, from near Williamsport, PA. His email is mainmose@windstream.net. He's custom shopped a couple of twins and Hot Rod Deluxes for us, and he made them into the most incredible amps we've ever had. I'm sure he'd be happy to advise you an what you need to do. Tell him Webb sent you.

[David DeLoach]

Thanks so much for the advice!

[Miles Lang]

I recently had to have one of my '56 Stringmaster pickups rewound. No big deal- it sounds so much better now. You wouldn't want to drive a '56 Chevy with original tires, either. It's a 60-year old instrument, so it will need some maintenance.

[Tom Wolverton]

Anyone ever pulled out the Fender pickups and put a pair of Lollar Stringmaster pickups in? If so, how do they sound?

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/mercha ... ar-pickups