Problem w/ bridge pickup on my JEM90HAM: as singlecoiled !

[nmanel]

Hi,

I have a problem with my bridge pickup on my JEM90HAM. While I was playing, the pickup suddenly started to have way less gain that normally.

The guitar tech where I brought my guitar said that the pickup now runs as a single-coiled instead of a regular humbucker.

The wiring in the guitar looks normal. The tech will look at the wiring in the pickup.
As anybody experienced such problem with the pickup ? Any chance to repair it, or do I have to buy a new pickup ?

Thanks

Nicolas.

[phienix]

maybe the push pull poti is damaged?

[vaijem777]

The JEM90HAM didn't have a push/pull pot (nor has ANY JEM model- at least, not as a stock feature).

Sounds like you may just have a short- it's possible that there's a bad solder connection at the 5-way switch.

[Scott of Actual Time]

Originally Posted by vaijem777

it's possible that there's a bad solder connection at the 5-way switch.

that's always possible [and you can't tell much by how the wiring _looks_; i hope the tech will trace it with a voltmeter]. but the way the automatic coil cut in the 2 and 4 positions on the JEM 5-way switch works, a loose connection would not cause a humbucker to go into single coil mode -- another connection has to be made for this to happen [the series link must be connected to ground]. the series link wires could be shorting to ground, on the shielded paint or foil of the control cavity, or there could be a short inside the switch. all of these possibilities can be troubleshooted by tracing the wiring with a voltmeter and/or disconnecting the automatic coil cut for the middle positions and seeing if the humbucker runs full on.

it's possible that there is a short inside your pickup. this is rare but does happen, sometimes when a string gets caught underneath the pickup top plate. the wire inside the pickup is tiny, hair-thin, so it's far easier and cheaper to replace the pickup. hopefully you won't need to do that.

[Mandrak]

Don´t worry; you´re the only guy
in the world with a S-S-H guitar!

[nmanel]

So, actually, the guitar tech confirmed that the wiring inside the pick-up is broken.

Re-wiring would cost 85€, so, I think I'll just buy a new pickup. However, Di Marzio pickups are not readily available in France. However Seymor Duncan are. So, my question now is : what Seymor Duncan would sounds the closer to the Evolution (bridge) sound ?

Thanks again !

Nico
http://www.infadedglory.com

[rgr]

Tough call, their specs and tone curves don't exactly match up. The JB might work for you in the bridge, it's one of my favorite SDs anyway. It is similar to the Evo, it has tight base and alot of treble. It also has an Alnico 5 magnet that makes it a little smoother, other than that the Distortion is close but has a ceramic magnet, probably the closest tone wise to the Evo. The Full Shred is also good, lower output though, probably closer to a PAF Pro than an Evo.

You can probably order DiMarzios straight from the US, try Matt's Music, the link is at the top, they may ship directly to you.

Roger

[RG550BW]

Don't throw away that pu.. There is some magic here..humbucker magically decides to become a single coil...don't throw away the sign...there is a message hidden..the time has come for you to renounce the worthless Vai shreeding,get a new haircut and form a Beatles cover band :P
PS. Could you post some samples of a MAGIC EVO? Dude..you are a chosen one!

[wrallen]

On the seymour duncan website they recommend 250k pots for their humbuckers while dimarzio humbuckers normally use 500k pots. I put a duncan distortion in my RG770 and it was way too bright with the stock pots.