First Post: Pickups Cutting Out

[Lavis]

Hey Guys, I just fitted some a calibrated nailbomb set into my jackson, sounds amazing, looks amazing but unfortunately i get the sound cut out every now and then, it only seems to be on the bridge pickup, the sound doesn't go away completely but if i'm using gain all of a sudden the sound becomes slighty quieter and less distorted before returning to normal, sometimes this can last anywhere between 1 - 10 seconds before returning back, i'm totally baffled. Today i removed the pickups and reinstalled them just to check and it seemed to be ok, before it started again...... PLEASE HELP  :(

[_tom_]

I was having this problem earlier with my guitars.. the sound becomes dull and unclear before going back to how it should be. I think its the cable/jack socket as whenever I wiggle it, it seems to fix the problem.

[Lavis]

I wondered about the jack, i thought of replacing it, although i did not have problems like this before the pickup change and none of the wires where changed that were attached to the jack. I'm tempted to change it to try, but its urgent i get this guitar working. When i "wiggle" the cable it doesn't seem to affect the issue, occasionally when i shake the guitar i can make it snap-out-of-it

[AndyR]

If you can "make it snap out of it" by shaking the guitar, and wiggling the jack and it's socket doesn't make a difference, it makes me wonder about two things:

1. Is there a slightly dodgy connection or solder joint in there (not necessarily one of yours :) ) - I've had this before.

2. Have you left the full length on the pickup wires? The external shield might be intermittently touching something else and shorting the signal out? - Also had this...  :oops:

I'd recommend opening up the control cavity, looking for bare wires that can move around, and see if any can reach anything else - especially the pot covers, which should be grounded. And if you've got lots of BKP cable (I don't want to cut mine, in case I move the pups to something else where I need the length), make sure that the metal shielding isn't capable of touching any hot wires or connections.

[Lavis]

Cheers guys, i'm very hesistant to cut although i took apart again this morning cut a bit, and the problem seems to be better i have a feeling that the shielding was shorting, i might have to cut it really tight as hesistant as i am to do so, will covering it in electrical tape help?  8)

[AndyR]

Wouldn't do any harm :D

I got round it by folding/coiling the extra lead, and then jamming it between a pot (away from the lugs) and the body. I reasoned that the outside of the lead and the pot are both grounded, so shouldn't cause any problems. Doesn't look too pretty, but no-one sees it, and the main thing was that it wouldn't move around anymore.

[MDV]

Yeah, sounds like Jack, selector or loose wire or bare wires close to each other moving and intermittently shorting. Open up, look for obvious problems, if you dont find any then resolder the lot, and try again. If that doesnt do it my money is on a dodgy switch.

[Lavis]

Cheers for the advice guys, the jack needs replacing before tour starts but i dont think thats the issue atm, i think its either the braided cable or the switch, i trimmed the wire and the problem has become way less frequent, so i think i will cut tight as i love these pickups and dont plan to change them

[WezV]

heat shrink tubing is usefull when you dont want to be trimming all your wires right down

[Philly Q]

Cheers for the advice guys, the jack needs replacing before tour starts but i dont think thats the issue atm, i think its either the braided cable or the switch.

I think you could be right about the switch, I've had similar problems occasionally - I'll switch pickups from, say, bridge to neck and the neck pickup will be really quiet.  When I cleaned the switch with some contact cleaning spray it completely stopped (for a while). 

It's happened to me on several guitars, but only ones with Gibson style toggle switches.  Fender switches seem fine.

[AndyR]

Cheers for the advice guys, the jack needs replacing before tour starts but i dont think thats the issue atm, i think its either the braided cable or the switch.

I think you could be right about the switch, I've had similar problems occasionally - I'll switch pickups from, say, bridge to neck and the neck pickup will be really quiet.  When I cleaned the switch with some contact cleaning spray it completely stopped (for a while). 

It's happened to me on several guitars, but only ones with Gibson style toggle switches.  Fender switches seem fine.

+1
I didn't think of that - and it has happened to me before as well  :oops: (and I think I've advised someone else on it before!! :oops::oops:)
I thought I had a duff pickup, then jack wiring, eventually cleaning the switch sorted it... when it kept failing, I replaced the switch (cheap Epi) altogether and so far it's all hunky dory.

[adamj]

i had this problem with my ibanez, it was a wire from one of the volume pots being ever so slightly loose and touching the conductive paint on the inside of the cavity. took 2 se3conds for a tech to fix without any charge :D

[Lavis]

It's really confusing, i thought the issue was gone but now it hardly ever happens, but still does lol. I'm just gonna order new switch, new pots, new jack and replace one by one

[badgermark]

Or check all your wiring. sounds like either a cold solder joint or a loose wire shorting stuff out.

[Lavis]

went over the wiring, its all nice an shiny looks pretty good lol (not blowing my own trumpet lol) had a 3 hour rehersal on sun and it only did it once, after taking a break and turnin the volume pot back up i got the really quiet sound then i shook the guitar and it called kicked in, so i think i may possibly be that pot. The pots served me well lol it mustve had beer spilled on it a few times while giggin.
i guess it won't hurt to change it anyway