Pickups with varying loudness

Guest · Posted 18 Sep 2001 5:48 am

The pickups on my late 70's Sho-Bud Pro III are the original single coils. For some reason, the pickup on the E9 neck is significantly louder than the one on the C6 neck. The strings on each neck are the same distance from the pickup, so I don't think that's the reason. The strings on both necks are the same brand and same age.

Can anyone explain what's causing this volume difference and how I might fix it?

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Is this a new problem or was one always louder than the other?

Pickups can go bad with age. Permanent magnets can lose their magnetism and the wire used is so thin it can degrade and possibly short out as well. You may want to check the impedence of the two pickups to determine whether you have a short. Single coil pickups are generally in the 18000 to 20000 ohm range. Is it microphonic? (if you tap on the pickups is one much louder than the other -- or do you hear pedal action through the amp? Both are symptoms) Also, follow the pickup leads to the tone control or bank switch and be sure the connections are good. You may even want to resolder them to be sure.

I had a similar problem on the C6 neck on my D-10 '71 push-pull. Found a replacement pickup for $50 -- solved the problem. Talk to Bobbe Seymour. Pickup may need to be rewound, sealed/potted, or replaced.

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 18 September 2001 at 09:15 AM.]

Guest · Posted 18 Sep 2001 8:56 am

Thanks for your reply.

I bought the steel in June and only noticed the problem today when I tried switching necks in a song. I don't hear pedal action through the amp. How do I check the impedence?

thanks again

Blake Hawkins · From: Florida

Steve,
You can't really check the impedence unless you have an inpedence bridge.
What you can do, is check the ohmic (D.C.)resistance with an ohmmeter. I believe that's what Larry ment when he quoted the 18,000 ohms figure.
Check to see if both pickups are roughly the same resistance.
However, unless there are a lot of shorted turns the resistance measurement won't tell you much.
There can be enough shorts to affect the output of the pickup and stlll not show on the meter.
Do the checks which Larry suggested and, if those are OK, then try another pickup.
Blake

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Stephen,

It could also be the tonal response of your amp. The E and C neck accentuate different registers and frequencies. Different amps and amp settings can make some frequencies come out more than others.

Bob

Guest · Posted 18 Sep 2001 10:39 am

Hey, bob, where the hell have you been? Glad to hear from you. Well, I guess you'll be able to check it out next time you stop by. Anyway, I called bobbe and he said he'd replace the pickup if it's bad. Give me shout.

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