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Pickup wiring short

12/22/2005 3:51 PM
Dezee	Pickup wiring short Got a new PRS guitar. Got it from an online store. I think they would be willing to work something out....but I think it will be easier to fix it around town. After a week of playing I noticed it has an intermittent short in the pickup wiring i guess. Here is what happens: 1. I first noticed when I had the knob pulled up(in single coil mode) switching to the the treble pickup the volume would be cut in half. Again this is very intermittent. Some times it takes hours for this to happen. 2. Then the thing I noticed was that when I did switch to the treble pickup(single coil mode) and it worked ok...after playing for a while the volume would dramatically cut out. So the only time there is a "short" is when its in single coil mode...and when switching to the treble pickup only. slight rant in this paragraph.... You can skip Ok I want to take it to a tech....but I have had bad experiences with tech's and "intermittent problems". I am 1 for 6 in this area...of getting an amp fixed and that 1 time was because I talked to the tech first and he agreed we would work on it over time. But, the tech's I talked to now....will not really agree to this. Soo..... I want to narrow down the problem further before I take it in. Can anybody help me pin point this problem from the description I gave you? Also, like in my old physics class...."Assume all other variables constant" ....like the amp....cables...etc. Also, another option...the drummer in my band was trained in the military to solder stuff as some kind of engineering job....so he could even look at the schematics and fix it if we point him in the right direction Here is a picture of the schematics. http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/mccarty.gif Thanks D

12/22/2005 3:51 PM

Dezee

Pickup wiring short

Got a new PRS guitar. Got it from an online store. I think they would be willing to work something out....but I think it will be easier to fix it around town. After a week of playing I noticed it has an intermittent short in the pickup wiring i guess. Here is what happens:

1. I first noticed when I had the knob pulled up(in single coil mode) switching to the the treble pickup the volume would be cut in half. Again this is very intermittent. Some times it takes hours for this to happen.

2. Then the thing I noticed was that when I did switch to the treble pickup(single coil mode) and it worked ok...after playing for a while the volume would dramatically cut out.

So the only time there is a "short" is when its in single coil mode...and when switching to the treble pickup only.

slight rant in this paragraph....

You can skip
Ok I want to take it to a tech....but I have had bad experiences with tech's and "intermittent problems". I am 1 for 6 in this area...of getting an amp fixed and that 1 time was because I talked to the tech first and he agreed we would work on it over time. But, the tech's I talked to now....will not really agree to this. Soo.....

I want to narrow down the problem further before I take it in. Can anybody help me pin point this problem from the description I gave you? Also, like in my old physics class...."Assume all other variables constant" ....like the amp....cables...etc.

Also, another option...the drummer in my band was trained in the military to solder stuff as some kind of engineering job....so he could even look at the schematics and fix it if we point him in the right direction

Here is a picture of the schematics.

http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/mccarty.gif

Thanks

D

12/22/2005 6:48 PM
Luijo	OOOOOOhhhhhh..drummers fixing guitars....that's scary!!! LOL First thing to look for is cold solder joints or broken ones. Your best bet is go over all your solder joints and redo/reflux them so you can get that out of the way. Next suspect would be the swith itself. That would be harder to troubleshoot, but from what you say I'd change it and be done with it. Hope this helps you.

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12/22/2005 8:49 PM
Steve A.	Luigo said: Next suspect would be the switch itself. That would be harder to troubleshoot, but from what you say I'd change it and be done with it. That's my guess, too. So does PRS use a special push-pull pot like Gibson (with a long bushing) or just a regular one? Steve Ahola P.S. Actually one way to test the push-pull switch on the pot would be to remove it from the circuit and see if the problems continue.

12/22/2005 8:49 PM

Steve A.

Luigo said:

Next suspect would be the switch itself. That would be harder to troubleshoot, but from what you say I'd change it and be done with it.

That's my guess, too. So does PRS use a special push-pull pot like Gibson (with a long bushing) or just a regular one?

Steve Ahola

P.S. Actually one way to test the push-pull switch on the pot would be to remove it from the circuit and see if the problems continue.

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