Aboutpaul wilczynski Expertise Anything concerning building, tuning, theory of construction. Specialist in finishing (40 years' experience); extensive knowledge of Rickenbacker instruments of all vintages. Rckenbacker factory connection on personal level; ONLY licensed Rickenbacker luthier in the world.
Experience Extensive. I build and restore electric and acoustic guitars (steel string and nylon classicals). I build all of Rickenbacker's acoustic instruments in my own shops in San Francisco and Healdsburg, CA.
I write two online columns with a total of over 15,000 posts since January, 2005.
Google my name or my screen name, "jingle_jangle".
Organizations American Guild of Luthiers.
Publications Mostly automotive and hobby (in the past).
Education/Credentials Manage the University Department workshops(Industrial Design) in SF, also have taught and written design and fabrication classes for almost a decade. Have produced online classes, written curricula, syllabi, etc. Run an online forum for my students (500 in number).
Awards and Honors Awards won for product, vehicle, and preschool toy design in the past.
Past/Present Clients Rickenbacker International Corporation, Waterstone Guitars LLC, many Fortune 500 companies before I worked in guitars (I ran a design studio for 22 years). I have hundreds of individual--private party--customers.
Expert: paul wilczynski Date: 6/12/2008 Subject: Regarding pick ups
Question QUESTION: Hi Paul. I have 2 guitars that i am having the same problem with. Basically when i flip the pick up selector switch i am having trouble at one of the settings. Both guitars have a 3 way selector switch. The same thing is happening on both guitars. At one setting the guitar doesn't completely cut out but the signal is only faint. Today i got a new pick up selector switch and fitted it to the guitar i use mostly as i really want to get the problem fixed. The other guitar i don't use very much. Anyway after i fitted it i tried it out thinking that was the problem but it wasn't. I'm having the same problem at the very same setting. I then realised that it wasn't the switch on that guitar so i thought why not fit the one i took out and put it into my old guitar and at least fix that one (thinking the switch was the problem with that guitar). I did that with no luck. Same problem. So i'm a bit confused. Both guitars have the same problem but it doesn't seem to be the selector switch that causing it on either guitar. So what could it be?? Could it be the pick ups themselves?? Have you come across this before?? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers man
ANSWER: Hey, Conor:
Please write back ASAP with details on what brand and model these guitars are, and where they are made if you know. I can do a better job of answering if I have this info.
--Paul
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QUESTION: Hi Paul. Thanks for the quick reply. My main guitar is a washburn x-series X-50 and my back up one is a peavey predator. I'm afraid i dont know where they were made. Any ideas on what the problem could be??
Answer Asian guitars, both. The electronics in these are usually suspect. Asian cost-cutting takes its toll on pickups, pots and switches.
If these guitars were in my shop, I'd start with a new, different cord, to make sure it wasn't a problem between cord and jack. So far, the cord's the only real common thing, right?
Once I eliminated the cord and jacks as the culprit, I'd move on to the switches. I am at a disadvantage here because I don't know what type of switch you bought--sealed or open-leaf? American or Asian-made? Of course, if it was a new switch, it should have cured the problem. I, like you, find it very odd that both guitars from two different makers would have identical problems at the same time.
At this point, we get into using a VOM (volt-ohm meter) to check pickup resistance and wiring connections for continuity. I would also check the pots.
This all takes the VOM, a soldering iron, and a set of jumpers with alligator clips, stuff that I have and you probably don't.
Here's what you can do, however, before taking them to a tech:
Remove the strings and guard or access panels on the back. Plug the guitar into an amp and, beginning at the output jack, check for broken or faulty solder connections. Wiggle the wires as you go along. This could be an issue with a broken pickup connector wire (more likely the hot than ground). It could be a bum pot. Do any pots make crackling noises when you turn the knobs?
The least likely, though still possible, scenario, is an internally shorted pickup.
I would also look for a broken ground wire somewhere. The pots will probably have a daisy-chain ground: each connected to the next by a wire, soldered from pot case to pot case.
That's about all the help I can give you without actually holding the instruments in my hands! I hope there's something in my answer that works for you.
