Jem Pickup Volume Issue.

[ANT5150]

Does anyone know why the pickups on my Jem BFP have less output than my other Jems. The pickups are original and the same as my FP but are lacking the same clarity and volume. I have adjusted pickup height but still no improvement. Can pickups get old?

[djohns74]

Originally Posted by ANT5150

Can pickups get old?

For some reason this question amuses me to almost no end.

I don't think guitar pickups, left installed and unmodified, are going to experience significant enough decay to cause a detectable difference in a guitar's sound over the likely lifetime of the instrument. I would have to assume there are other factors at work here, but I'm not completely sure what they would all be. Strings, setup, other electronics (pots, etc) and just plain old random chance might contribute to seemingly identical guitars sounding different. Talk to Steve Vai about that, he continues to swear that Evo has a completely unique sound that no other guitar, no matter how close in configuration, can quite match.

[Swirled777]

Originally Posted by ANT5150

Does anyone know why the pickups on my Jem BFP have less output than my other Jems. The pickups are original and the same as my FP but are lacking the same clarity and volume. I have adjusted pickup height but still no improvement. Can pickups get old?

I agree with the other guy. Check your pots first. Might have a volume or a tone pot going bad. Pots will wear out over time, especially if you use them alot. I've experienced this on more then one guitar. Mainly my strats where I do alot of volume swells. Tends to wear the pot out and it will get a minor crackle to it over time. Which then means it's just time to change it out.

I will say though, that not all pick-ups are the same(even if they are the same brand). While it's highly unlikely, you may have ended up with pick-ups that aren't wound the same as the others.

There's a number of things it could be and the funny thing is, it could be any combination of them. My honest advice would be. If it's really bothering you that much, just rip out everything and start over. Get new Evo's or PAF's(whatever you use), install new wiring and pots and selector switch. Just do a complete flush of the system and start over.

A lot of the time it will work for you.

[RedTiger]

Originally Posted by djohns74

For some reason this question amuses me to almost no end.

Probably because of the shear number of guitar players out there that would answer "I sure hope so!". How much are original PAFs going for these day?

Pickups do change as they age, but I'm not sure if that would reduce their output, it usually just sweetens their sound a bit. Even then, I'm not sure if a pickup made in the last 20 years is going to age the same a 50 year old PAF has.

From my experience, what usually goes bad in a stored guitar is the wiring and/or pots. Don't know why, but it seems that guitars that I haven't played in years tend to have wiring and pot problems.

[MacMusica]

Is there a capacitor or resister there. They break down celluar structure don't they. I got same issue with my 7RB. But new p/ups are double wax coated. In time the old wax can break down and require re-potting. Just get new p/ups and save the vintage ones for a future sale of the guitar.

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by ANT5150

Can pickups get old?

The quality and consistency of the materials used to make pickup magnets today is significantly better than say 40-50 yrs old. Modern pickup magnets will take substantially longer to age than the pickups made in the 50s and 60s. The percentage of magnetism they will lose over a few decades is inconsequential to the sound they create.

This is about vintage "mojo" - it's about science.