Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: artypaul on April 03, 2011, 06:48:04 PM

Title: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: artypaul on April 03, 2011, 06:48:04 PM

I have a Miracle Man in a mahogany Dean flying V, which I haven't used for a while. I've started using it again recently, and it seems to me like it's not giving the output I remember it having. My references are a basswood Peavey Wolfgang with a Painkiller and a Mahogany Les Paul with Dirty Fingers. Compared to these, the Miracle Man sounds like I have the volume only half way up. Before I bother Tim, is there a way to check what output the pickup is giving, and whether it matches its intended specification? It could be my lousy wiring, but I've had a look and checked that nothing obvious is shorting.

Sorry if this question has been asked before - I did a forum search, but didn't come up with any threads that covered what I'm asking. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Paul.

Title: Re: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: Alex on April 03, 2011, 07:00:49 PM

Maybe it's just the solder joint which isn't ok anymore.

Title: Re: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: artypaul on April 04, 2011, 10:28:57 PM

Ok - I'll try re-soldering it this weekend to see whether that improves the situation. Thanks for the input - I'll let you know how it goes.

Paul.

Title: Re: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: Madsakre on April 04, 2011, 10:59:30 PM

the miracle man is extremely height sensitive too. try and raise it a bit

Title: Re: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: Transcend on April 05, 2011, 12:07:23 AM

Here's how to check the DC the simple way

plug a lead in and get a multimeter and measure it before the ring and after with the leads

It should be in the ballpark around 17-18k

Title: Re: How can I check my pickup is working OK?
Post by: artypaul on April 25, 2011, 08:31:23 AM

It's been crazy at work, so I've only just got around to playing with the Miracle Man. The first thing I did, as suggested, was play around with the pickup height. This seems to have sorted the problem out perfectly. It might be that there's an intermittent fault with my soldering, so if the output drops again then I'll re-solder it, but as it stands I'm getting a great tone from the guitar. Comparing it to a Les Paul with Dirty Fingers, the V with the MM has the same round, full tone, but is just so much more articulate.

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Much appreciated.

Paul.