jimmybass04 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 hi there,i have a reissue precision(tele bass butterscotch) i went to alter the pickup height on the tiny single coil,and the wires came off the solder joint and the top of the pickup came away, iv tried to repair it but cant get it working, and the pickup wire is so thin and fragile.any one know how to fix it(can it be fixed) cheers in advance, jimmy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='jimmybass04' post='360110' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:22 AM']hi there,i have a reissue precision(tele bass butterscotch) i went to alter the pickup height on the tiny single coil,and the wires came off the solder joint and the top of the pickup came away, iv tried to repair it but cant get it working, and the pickup wire is so thin and fragile.any one know how to fix it(can it be fixed) cheers in advance, jimmy.[/quote] There are two wires coming out of your pickup. One is from the end of the coil (part of the very outside winding) and the other is from the start of the coil (you will see it disappearing under the coil and going inside). If it's the latter, you're screwed. If it's the former, I can explain how to do it this afternoon, if someone doesn't get there first. (I'm at work). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmybass04 Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 both the wires are off, so it looks as if its a new one. i,v put it into a shop in glasgow. cheers stevie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='jimmybass04' post='360155' date='Dec 21 2008, 12:14 PM']both the wires are off, so it looks as if its a new one. i,v put it into a shop in glasgow. cheers stevie.[/quote] That's a shame. It is sometimes possible to repair the internal wire, but it's not a job for the unpracticed, as wire that thin will 'melt' and disappear under the bobbin. Vintage-style pickups are basically unfit for purpose because they are so easily damaged, but everybody wants vintage, so that's how they make them. It's another of the downsides of this vintage nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavedoctor Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='stevie' post='360276' date='Dec 21 2008, 03:41 PM']That's a shame. It is sometimes possible to repair the internal wire, but it's not a job for the unpracticed, as wire that thin will 'melt' and disappear under the bobbin. Vintage-style pickups are basically unfit for purpose because they are so easily damaged, but everybody wants vintage, so that's how they make them. It's another of the downsides of this vintage nonsense.[/quote] As long as the coil wires themselves are not damaged this should be a very routine op, but I'm not sure what you mean wne you say "the top of the pickup came away". If you mean the coil bobbin base then that's a bit of a problem... I'm not sure I agree with Stevie that vintage style pickups are "unfit for purpose" although he's right that there is a lot of nonsense talked about "vintage" stuff. In my experience older is not necessarily better but a pickup coil is inherently fragile whichever way you make it. As long as people don't go poking them with screwdrivers they have a high survival rate and are easy to fix when they die... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 [quote name='octavedoctor' post='360340' date='Dec 21 2008, 05:24 PM']As long as the coil wires themselves are not damaged this should be a very routine op, but I'm not sure what you mean wne you say "the top of the pickup came away". If you mean the coil bobbin base then that's a bit of a problem... I'm not sure I agree with Stevie that vintage style pickups are "unfit for purpose" although he's right that there is a lot of nonsense talked about "vintage" stuff. In my experience older is not necessarily better but a pickup coil is inherently fragile whichever way you make it. As long as people don't go poking them with screwdrivers they have a high survival rate and are easy to fix when they die...[/quote] Do you know a way to get to the inside wire of the coil if it has snapped off and disappeared under the bobbin? I'd be interested to know if you do. My problem with vintage style pickups is that they are, as you say, inherently fragile. So there should be some means of protecting the wire, even if it's only tape - or the cover should be fixed. Strict vintage specifications preclude this, however. I have more of an issue with the way the leadout wires on vintage-style pickups are basically connected to a blob of solder on an eyelet. Move the leadout wire slightly and the bobbin wire snaps. More modern pickups have improved on this, of course, but the vintage-style ones have to be true to the original design, which is not brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmybass04 Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 iv spoke to the guy at guitar guitar in glasgow, and without looking at it he tells me its beyond repair? i dont know, but iv decided to order a new seymour duncan replacement just to get it working again. all i done was try to raise the pickup cause the e string was too quiet compared to the other strings and the top of the pickup came away, sorry i touched it now as its gonna cost me.i think its been a very poor connection anyway. oh well wont do that again. cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 You could get it re-wound? Do fender sell the reissue pickups seperate? They do tend to whore out a lot of their other parts/pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 [quote name='jimmybass04' post='360507' date='Dec 21 2008, 09:41 PM']all i done was try to raise the pickup cause the e string was too quiet compared to the other strings and the top of the pickup came away,[/quote] At the risk of stating the obvious, you should not be able to damage your pickup simply by adjusting its height. I'm at a bit of a loss to understand exactly what happened, but there's something wrong somewhere. It might be an idea to show your bass to someone who knows what he's doing, or maybe post a close up photo or two on here. How do you know the same thing is not going to happen with the new pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmybass04 Posted December 22, 2008 Author Share Posted December 22, 2008 cheers again steve,i dont know anything about pickups,but when the bass had no output after i tried to raise the pickup with the adjuster screws, i discovered that the two solder joints had come away,and also the top of the pickup came away in my hand(the polepiece part),. i tried to put the wire back on but could,nt get it to work. I dont have the bass right now as its in the shop, or i could have posted some pics(i should have done that in the first place). its hard to explain, but if you look at any pictures on the net of the 51 reissue tele bass ,and that kind of pickup, you may be able to see what i mean. cheers again for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 (edited) Sounds like the pickup wire may have been a bit tight and when he raised it, it pulled off the contacts. Am I right? Edited December 22, 2008 by budget bassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 You can get the proper Fender replacement ones from Basspartsresource.com. I've got an SD 1/4 pounder in my gold bass and its a very powerful pickup, moreso than the original. I've got a Lollar one in my '57 single coil bass and its very growly and warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavedoctor Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 [quote name='stevie' post='360464' date='Dec 21 2008, 08:34 PM']Do you know a way to get to the inside wire of the coil if it has snapped off and disappeared under the bobbin? I'd be interested to know if you do.[/quote] No I don't although I have been able to effect repairs by bleeding conductive silver paint into the bobbin, but it's a hit and miss effort. a rewind is the only sure fire way. [quote name='stevie' post='360464' date='Dec 21 2008, 08:34 PM']My problem with vintage style pickups is that they are, as you say, inherently fragile. So there should be some means of protecting the wire, even if it's only tape - or the cover should be fixed. Strict vintage specifications preclude this, however. I have more of an issue with the way the leadout wires on vintage-style pickups are basically connected to a blob of solder on an eyelet. Move the leadout wire slightly and the bobbin wire snaps. More modern pickups have improved on this, of course, but the vintage-style ones have to be true to the original design, which is not brilliant.[/quote] You are correct, of course but I find that modern pickups with plastic bobbins are worse; at least the fibre bobbins of vintage pickups can cope with the heat of soldering, which makes them superior, in my opinion. If the ferrules are stable, I don't usually have a problem handling the lead wires when soldering them and I fix dozens of these every year and rarely have any die on me... If I'm winding a pickup from scratch, and authenticity is not a requirement, then I usually bind the coil wire to a heavier gauge. This will take rougher handling. Given that the requirements of a pickup are that one is working with a very fine gauge of wire which is inherently fragile it's hard to see how these designs can be improved upon other than in areas of construction finesse. It sounds as though the pickup featured in this thread needs rebuildiing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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