Volume Dropping Help!

[mkh02]

Hey guys

So I soldered in my new Nailbombs into my Les Paul but I am having some issues with volume.

The neck pick up is fine but I notice that the volume on the bridge pickup can randomly drop dramatically. There is still sound from the pick up but it is 1/4 the volume of the neck pick up.

If I remove the back plate when the guitar is plugged in and touch or prod the capacitor (with an insulated screwdriver lol!) or the wires to the volume tag then there is a "crack", and the volume returns to regular again.

I am fairly inexperienced with guitar electrics so need some help please. I have noted that the red wire from the pickup is going "through" the hole in the volume tab therefore not forming a direct connection with the volume tab but is conected purely by solder. It almost looks like it is conected direct to the wire on the capicitor in the middle of the solder lump on the volume tab.

Could any of these issues cause my volume drop? Could the capacitor be broken. The guitar has been fine with stock pick ups for years and when I soldered I didnt go near the capacitor.

Really frustrating and any help would be great!

Thank you

Mark

[Twinfan]

Sounds like you've got a bad earth somewhere.  I would re-heat the joints you made when fitting the bridge pickup and make sure the solder flows better.  Ideally, I'd get a solder sucker and do the joints again...

[mkh02]

Thanks for the advice.

I resoldered the connections but when I fired the guitar up I had the same problem.

Touched a screwdriver to the capacitor wire for a bit then crack the volume came back up again!

Played most of the night and it maintained itself which is hopeful however I am a bit uneasy that it might go again any thoughts on what could be causing this?

I am not an expert solderer by any means but its not rocketscience and have never had a problem with connections before .

Your input would be greatly received!

Would replacing the volume pot and capacitor help in any way? Could it be related to the switch?

Kind regards

Mark

[Twinfan]

What exactly are you doing with the screwdriver and what are you touching?

[mkh02]

Ok back plate off guitar and plugged in and amp switched on.

I am touching the screwdriver to the capacitor that branches between the bridge tone pot and bridge volume pot.

When I hold it on the wire of the capacitor there is a hum for a while then a cracking noise like a jack lead being put in when the guitar is on.

After this the guitar sound is fine for an random time till it goes quiet again.

Hope that helps

[Twinfan]

Very odd.  Which side of the capacitor are you touching, volume pot side or tone pot side?

It may be a fried cap?

[mkh02]

It is the volume side.

It does seem strange. I am confident that my solders are ok, could be an issue with the capacitor.

Do youo think it would be worth replacing the volume pot and capacitor or is is a switch related problem?

[Twinfan]

I've no idea mate!

[JacksonRR]

Can you upload pics of the cavity? Have you tried bypassing or removing the questionable capacitor/pot? Do your pots feel OK mechanically(shaft and tabs)?

[darkbluemurder]

I would take the cap out first and check whether the problem is still there. If it goes away then replace the cap. If the problem persists it has nothing to do with the cap. I would look to the pot as the next possible culprit. Swap it for a known good one. If it goes away you're done. If not, the problem is in the pickup (very unlikely) or in the pickup leads.

You could also do the following: swap the bridge and neck pickup leads, i.e. solder the neck pickup hot to the bridge pickup volume input lug and vice versa. If the problem is now with the neck pickup then it's either the pot or the cap. If the problem follows the bridge pickup it may be a kink in the bridge pickup's hot lead. Maybe it would then be possible to shorten the pickup wire.

Good luck
Stephan

[mkh02]

Thanks for the further help guys.

My friend had some 50's bumblebee capacitors that we fired in and he gave me some tips on soldering...aparently as much as I thought I knew what I was doing it was rubbish lol :)

Tell you what though watching him solder for about 15 minutes has taught me packet loads!

Sometimes its the simplest thing! could have been the capacitor or more likely a poor earth connection as already suggested!

Well at least I know now!