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Complaints regarding Duncan products

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  • #16
    Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

    It's a very slim chance that there is anything wrong with your pups. I have purchased 100s of pickups...SD, other major brands, minor name brands, and no-name brands. I have never, let me repeat that...NEVER had a problem with ANY pick up. I have to admit that I have made some mistakes in how I wired them, but it was NEVER the pup's fault.

    Since, as you say, "the pickup worked fine for about two days after install", that would tell me absolutely that the pup is fine (pups don't go bad just sitting motionless in a guitar cavity). It sounds to me like a cold solder joint, poor wiring, or a short in the wiring or switch.

    First...Unsolder the pup leads and measure each coil's pair of wires (red-green, black-white). You WILL get correct readings.
    Next...Get a new tech that knows what he is doing.

    As for the pups that had "microphonics" or "feedback"...that is normal for high output pups and/or unpotted pickups. Especially if they are not wired correctly. Again, get a new tech.

    Sometimes when I play, I hit a wrong note. Must be a bad guitar.
    Last edited by GuitarDoc; 02-12-2020, 02:42 PM.
    Originally Posted by IanBallard
    Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

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    • #17
      Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

      Are you sure the Full Shred wasn't wax potted, or is that just what your tech told you?

      I guess it IS possible that you got one that wasn't potted. That can happen with the best of manufactures. It is also possible that you accidentally got one that was ordered by someone else who specifically requested one unpotted.
      Originally Posted by IanBallard
      Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

        Originally posted by ArtieToo View Post
        That's cool man. It's just that a Lil 59 is two 5k coils. In series, would be around 10k, and in parallel would be around 2.5k. Your 5(k) measurement would indicate a single coil. But I'd just meter white to black, then red to green, and have a definitive answer. Good luck with this.
        Thanks, GuitarDoc. I've decided to swap the pots and switch first, just to see if it gets sorted out. If not, will get a new one.

        It's not tne end of tbe world, but it kind of bums me out.
        Guitars:Gibson LP Trad ('57 Classics); Ibanez SEW761FM (TB-16/STK-S7 m&n); Charvel DK24 (TB10/SSL-6/A2Pn), DK22 (HRb/SSL-6 m&n), SoCal Style1 (Distortion set) & SoCal Style2 24 2PT (Fluence OCC); ESP LTD MH-1000HS (TB-14/Lil59n); Effects: Line 6 Helix Floor, Digitech Drop & FreqOut, ME EP-1L6,Shure GLXD16, Headrush MX5;

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        • #19
          Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

          We took the tape around the coils on the FS, and there was no wax ar all. I'm currently abroad due to work, so will triy it out next week upon my return.

          The feedback I was getting was definitely an issue; I've owned Distortions, Invaders and PATB-2, and none did the same. The swap for a new Hot Rails also sorted it out for me.

          On the Lil59, my tech did measure the pickups as you suggested. Anyway, I'll swap pots and switch to see if anything changes, still cheaper than getting a new pickup.

          Since I was never a lucky guy, except for my wife, it could just happen that I got some duds out of thousands of pickups.

          BTW, sometimes when I play, I hit the right note. Must be a good guitar.

          Thanks for your input and help, GuitarDoc!
          Guitars:Gibson LP Trad ('57 Classics); Ibanez SEW761FM (TB-16/STK-S7 m&n); Charvel DK24 (TB10/SSL-6/A2Pn), DK22 (HRb/SSL-6 m&n), SoCal Style1 (Distortion set) & SoCal Style2 24 2PT (Fluence OCC); ESP LTD MH-1000HS (TB-14/Lil59n); Effects: Line 6 Helix Floor, Digitech Drop & FreqOut, ME EP-1L6,Shure GLXD16, Headrush MX5;

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

            Originally posted by Synapsys View Post
            On the Lil59, my tech did measure the pickups as you suggested. Anyway, I'll swap pots and switch to see if anything changes, still cheaper than getting a new pickup.
            But what's even cheaper is if you can tell us what those two readings were. Were they both in the 4.5k to 5k range? If not, then swapping anything else won't help.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

              Originally posted by Synapsys View Post
              Since I was never a lucky guy, except for my wife, it could just happen that I got some duds out of thousands of pickups.
              Bad luck is something that I've experienced too with guitar gear, so I sympathise with you (and greekdude) about such problems. Personally, I just tend to decorrelate bad luck from brand and shop names. It doesn't mean of course that all makers / sellers are equally reliable nor that QC is perfect everywhere. :-)


              Originally posted by Synapsys View Post
              Concerning the Lil'59, I pay with high gain amps, and have no noise while using parallel. Hence, it's not in single coil mode.

              My best guess would be a broken coil wire, since the pickup worked fine for about two days after install. Then the volume dropped to almost nothing.

              Yes, a coil wire can break without apparent reason. A pro musician with whom I'm friend was unlucky enough to have this problem twice in a few months, with 2 different humbuckers (a Gibson and... a Duncan). I've repaired both.

              Now, an open coil should give no DCR reading. It's even possible to have a "capacitive broken coil" which is still working while exhibiting an apparently infinite DCR - in which case the series mode sounds extremely weak and the tone pot starts to behave like a volume control...

              So, if I had your issue, I'd pull off the pickup and measure DCR directly on its unconnected wires. It should give what ArtieToo mentioned in his posts (4.9k per coil if we take in account the official series DCR for this model).

              Good luck...
              Last edited by freefrog; 02-13-2020, 12:42 AM.
              Duncan user since the 80's...

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                Originally posted by Obsessive Compulsive View Post
                Lol... And from whom did Thomann get those defective products, DiMarzio?

                What a thoughtful hypothesis.

                Gesendet von meinem ASUS_X00RD mit Tapatalk
                It's not a hypothesis, it's EU consumer law. The vendor has the obligation to ensure the product is functioning properly, not the manufacturer (unless the manufacturer has sold directly to the consumer of course).

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                  Originally posted by orpheo View Post
                  oh man, I remember that horror story.
                  Hey thanks, however now the guitar is in top notch condition! Most stable and solid among all my axez!

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                    Originally posted by Synapsys View Post
                    Since I was never a lucky guy, except for my wife, it could just happen that I got some duds out of thousands of pickups.
                    In Greece we say you can be lucky in gambling or in your romantic relationship never on both! I'd take the latter my self

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                    • #25
                      Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                      Originally posted by greekdude View Post
                      In Greece we say you can be lucky in gambling or in your romantic relationship never on both! I'd take the latter my self
                      So what was the issue? Was it actually a defective pickup?

                      Larry

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                      • #26
                        Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                        If it is a broken coil it would be open in series, not 1.5 kohms, the fact that it reads 5k in parallel and 1.5k in series makes me question the wiring, I would definitely pull it out and start over, I can't come up with a scenario that would give those kinds of results. Is it hooked to a 5-way switch? Maybe there is an issue with that and it is getting put in parallel with something else, like a low power single coil. Hard to diagnose over the interwebs, but those numbers really don't make sense.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                          Originally posted by greekdude View Post
                          In Greece we say you can be lucky in gambling or in your romantic relationship never on both! I'd take the latter my self
                          We have the same saying in Portugal! We seem to share a lot more than good food, good weather and breathtaking coastal lines
                          Guitars:Gibson LP Trad ('57 Classics); Ibanez SEW761FM (TB-16/STK-S7 m&n); Charvel DK24 (TB10/SSL-6/A2Pn), DK22 (HRb/SSL-6 m&n), SoCal Style1 (Distortion set) & SoCal Style2 24 2PT (Fluence OCC); ESP LTD MH-1000HS (TB-14/Lil59n); Effects: Line 6 Helix Floor, Digitech Drop & FreqOut, ME EP-1L6,Shure GLXD16, Headrush MX5;

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                          • #28
                            Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                            I can't help but cringe at the amount of wasted money and time I've spent on projects like this. I've paid techs to install the pickup, replace the pots, and switch, when all I need was a $5 multimeter and 30 minutes reading posts on this site. I've wasted hundreds (thousands) of dollars and weeks of time on projects that could have been solved for $5 and within 5 minutes.

                            My suggestion, investigate the guitar yourself. Learn how pickups are wired, how the electronics function, and get comfortable doing your own work. Jumping in and learning this stuff has given me a whole new appreciation for music and my instruments. If nothing else, take the measurements and you'll know exactly what's going on and what needs to happen.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                              Originally posted by devastone View Post
                              If it is a broken coil it would be open in series, not 1.5 kohms, the fact that it reads 5k in parallel and 1.5k in series makes me question the wiring, I would definitely pull it out and start over, I can't come up with a scenario that would give those kinds of results. Is it hooked to a 5-way switch? Maybe there is an issue with that and it is getting put in parallel with something else, like a low power single coil. Hard to diagnose over the interwebs, but those numbers really don't make sense.
                              The guitar had a three-way blade switch, and a push-pull pot does the series/parallel switching.

                              I'm working abroad for a few weeks , probably will have the guitar in shape by the end of March, a bit after I get back.

                              Thanks for your input and patience! Nothing like SD forumites to help me keep the faith in the brand.

                              Quick note: after playing a few of my guitars with Duncans, I'm definitely not switching brands.

                              Either I had just plain bad luck, or some faulty wiring, but Duncan tones are definitely where my heart and ears lie.
                              Guitars:Gibson LP Trad ('57 Classics); Ibanez SEW761FM (TB-16/STK-S7 m&n); Charvel DK24 (TB10/SSL-6/A2Pn), DK22 (HRb/SSL-6 m&n), SoCal Style1 (Distortion set) & SoCal Style2 24 2PT (Fluence OCC); ESP LTD MH-1000HS (TB-14/Lil59n); Effects: Line 6 Helix Floor, Digitech Drop & FreqOut, ME EP-1L6,Shure GLXD16, Headrush MX5;

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Complaints regarding Duncan products

                                Originally posted by ArtieToo View Post
                                But what's even cheaper is if you can tell us what those two readings were. Were they both in the 4.5k to 5k range? If not, then swapping anything else won't help.
                                I'm currently abroad for a few weeks, GuitarDoc, and left the note with the measured results in the case. Will get back to you on this when I get back.
                                Guitars:Gibson LP Trad ('57 Classics); Ibanez SEW761FM (TB-16/STK-S7 m&n); Charvel DK24 (TB10/SSL-6/A2Pn), DK22 (HRb/SSL-6 m&n), SoCal Style1 (Distortion set) & SoCal Style2 24 2PT (Fluence OCC); ESP LTD MH-1000HS (TB-14/Lil59n); Effects: Line 6 Helix Floor, Digitech Drop & FreqOut, ME EP-1L6,Shure GLXD16, Headrush MX5;

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