Members Picktrade Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 I posted this in the EC forum, but I just noticed this one and this is maybe the better place to ask this question: Let me start by saying I don't know much about the inner workings of a guitar. In spite of this, last night I wanted to determine what kind of pickups were in an old SG of mine. I've always known they weren't the original pickups and wanted to find out if they were even Gibson pickups or what they actually were. So, I removed the 4 corner screws holding the bridge pickup in and carefully lifted it out. I could basically only turn it up as there wasn't much wire. It said Gibson USA on the bottom. The pickup had a cover on it, and I was curious to see the actual pickup. I noticed 4 little screws on the bottom of the pickup, so I took them out, thinking the cover would then come off. It did not, so I put the 4 little screws back in and screwed the pickup back into the body. For the hell of it, I turned the guitar over and removed the cover just to take a look. There is a coil tap switch that never seemed to do anything. It doesn't look like there are any wires attached to it, so I'm not sure what's going on with that? Anyway, the bridge pickup no longer works. What did I do? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MakuseruSukotto Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 The cover wouldn't come off because it is soldered onto the bottom of the pickup, you're not going to get that off easily. As to what's wrong, without a few pictures I can't really tell you anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picktrade Posted December 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 This is the only picture I have right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MakuseruSukotto Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Oh man, that looks gross. I don't see any broken leads, possibly the grounding on the back of those pots, they look like cold solder joints. Did you break a lead off pickup itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picktrade Posted December 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 I don't know what I did. It worked before I lifted the pickup up to look at the back of it. Maybe I pulled a wire loose or something. I'll just have to take it to a professional and get them to look at it. As for it looking gross inside, is it because pickups have been replaced several times over the last 25 years or that its a hack job. I've had the guitar for about a year and really don't know where its been or whats been done to it before that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GomezAddams1 Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 I think the four screws you removed from the bottom of the pickup are the screws that hold the bobbins to the bottom plate. Since there isn't room for the bobbins to move inside the case, you probably hit the holes when replacing the screws (I assume the screws tightened up like they were anchored into something). As to why the bridge pickup no longer works, you'll have to figure out where the connection was lost. If you are lucky, the bridge pickup wire may have broke (or maybe had a bad solder joint) at the pot in the control cavity. If you are unlucky, the break is inside the pickup itself - probably the small pigtail lead that is soldered onto the fine wire that is the pickup winding. You could take it to a repair shop, or just buy a new pickup. If you buy a new pickup, you might want to buy a 4-wire one so that you can put the coil tap switch to use. As for the unused switch - I can't figure out what it is for. The small black jumper wire that is still attached indicates that it wasn't used as a coil tap switch, but the jumper isn't in the right place for any sort of phase reversal switch either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Curiosity killed the cat. Put an ohm meter on the bad pup and see if you get a reading. If you get zero you have damaged coil or connection to it. You'll need to remove the cover to see if it can be salvaged. The cover needs to be removed with a heavy duty solder gun or iron. Its not an amature job repairing coil wires. The coil wires are as thin as the hair on your head. If the bottom screws were screwed into the coil youre screwed. Buy a new pup or get the existing one rewound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picktrade Posted December 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Curiosity killed the cat. Put an ohm meter on the bad pup and see if you get a reading. If you get zero you have damaged coil or connection to it. You'll need to remove the cover to see if it can be salvaged. The cover needs to be removed with a heavy duty solder gun or iron. Its not an amature job repairing coil wires. The coil wires are as thin as the hair on your head. If the bottom screws were screwed into the coil youre screwed. Buy a new pup or get the existing one rewound. You're right, my curiosity got the best of me. I always thought the pickup covers would just be held on with screws and would pop off. I guess I learned the heard way. Really, the only thing I did that could have messed anything up was taking those 4 little screws out. Unless a wire was just barely hanging on and came loose. I always found the bridge pickup a little muddy sounding anyway, so I dont' mind replacing it. As for that switch which was added, I always assumed it was for a coil tap. Since there is an additional switch already in the guitar, what are my options for make it actually functional? Do I need a special pickup to add a coil tap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MakuseruSukotto Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 what are my options for make it actually functional? Do I need a special pickup to add a coil tap? Yes, you need a four conductor pickup for coil tap. If you replaced it with one you would just have to get a diagram and wire the switch up correctly, or have a tech do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Personally I would use a 4 conductor in a parallel / Series wiring configuration. I think the coil tap configuration sounds weak and whimpy with a single coil and half the power, but you can experiment and try it out for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picktrade Posted December 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 I found a good diagram on the internet. The four screws you can see in the picture are the ones I removed then put back in. So I likely messed something up inside. Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picktrade Posted December 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2008 I just noticed that both volume knobs now control the bridge pickup. What does that mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rob14 Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 Sounds like you iust might be lucky (well sort of), you could have a bad solder joint from the bridge pickup and not a stuffed pickup. Maybe pulling on the bridge pickup wire broke a conection? You either need a multimetre or someone with one and check the pickup, but also check every solder joint looking for breaks. You have a pretty {censored}ty wiring job in there, solder on top of solder and some weak looking joints. I'd strip the lot, draw a diagram, label all wires and start again, but you probably don't want to go that far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 Rob14 & WRG are right on point. Using the ohm function on your meter, you can check from point to point in the entire guitar. When you have no resistance your meter wont register anything. No resistance = bad connection, bad pup, switch, etc. Also use alligator clips or some other method to make sure your body doesn't come in contact with the meter leads. Your body has resistance & that can phuck you up. I also second the series/parallel motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UMT Posted December 31, 2008 Members Share Posted December 31, 2008 Personally I would use a 4 conductor in a parallel / Series wiring configuration. I think the coil tap configuration sounds weak and whimpy with a single coil and half the power, but you can experiment and try it out for yourself. PM sent regarding this. UMT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UMT Posted January 1, 2009 Members Share Posted January 1, 2009 Personally I would use a 4 conductor in a parallel / Series wiring configuration. I think the coil tap configuration sounds weak and whimpy with a single coil and half the power, but you can experiment and try it out for yourself. Well, I just wired the bridge pickup on my Tele HH to a series/parallel configuration instead of my normal coild tap on a toggle switch. Sounds MUCH nicer that the straight coil split, don't lose as much volume or TONE when in series (single coil). And NO noise! Absolutely love it. Thanks, WRGKMC for the comment and putting the idea in my head! Now, off to wire up the bridge pickup the same way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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