Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

[Kamanda~SD]

Do I have terrible luck? Am I an idiot? Should I throw all my Duncans in the garbage? I just don't know.

Just had a JBJ delivered to me. Was packed well, seller claimed it worked great before he took it out of his Kramer etc. Well I go to measure it before popping it in and...8.06k. Half of what it should be. I can only get a reading off the red, not the white. W T F. Dead coil?? The cloth tape is nice and tight and still seems factory.

So I wire it in (but don't install it just wire it in to the back) and I can't get my multimeter to read anything. Solder the older pickup, BAM 16+k, put in the JBJ, nothing. Run a screwdriver over it, I can tell its outputting something, but no reading whatsoever, VERY similar to what happened with my Custom that became completely useless.

Between these 2 duds and the cracked bobbin on my other one, I have a 30% fail rate as I own 10 Duncans total.

I think I am just about done throwing my money at Seymour Duncan products.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

A bit hasty to judge Duncan by a pickup that's at least twenty-five years old and has gone through who-knows-what, but I assume there's a bit of sarcasm here somewhere? I'd demand a refund/return.

I've broken lesser pickup's coils by accidentally dropping them on the floor a couple feet.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

This one is more understandable as it is old, yes (however I do have old Duncans that are just fine). But this may just be the last straw for me either way. My other 2 that are broke are <10 years old and I bought them brand new.

Cannot get a reading from black/white still.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

If you're unable to coax a return out of the seller, I'd disassemble/unwrap it to see if there's any visible issue. Could be an easily seen break that you can solder/wax in if you're careful, or otherwise some issue with the hookup wire.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

I can only get a reading off the red, not the white.

this is a warning sign to me.


black and white are screw coil. red and green for the slug.

for full series humbucker, tie off red and white and test black and green.


is that what you are doing???

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Complaining about second hand products bought online or elsewhere is patently unfair and defamatory to the manufacturer.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

this is a warning sign to me.


black and white are screw coil. red and green for the slug.

for full series humbucker, tie off red and white and test black and green.


is that what you are doing???

First off was hoping you would be here! Your website was super valuable in my decision for this hah. And yes it was what I was doing. I just retested:

(Red+White) + Green = 8.06 to 8.16
(Red+White) + Black = nothing

Red + Green = 8.16
White + Black = nothing

Complaining about second hand products bought online or elsewhere is patently unfair and defamatory to the manufacturer.

Please see above. This is just the straw that may break the camels back. The threads purpose is to try and get some advice to see if I am maybe overlooking something or being an idiot...which I am hoping.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

^ +1. Lunacy to blame the maker for issues in a SH pickup
.

 

[Artie]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Red + Green = 8.16
White + Black = nothing

This is all you need to know. The "screw" coil is good. The "stud" coil is open. :disappoin

That, of course, isn't SD's fault. Just a bad deal.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

You can unwrap the pickup and go in and test the slug coil at the point where the start and finish leads are soldered to the black and white wires of the 4 conductor. If this doesn't work, you can go in further and test the actual start and finish directly at the fine gauge coil wire itself to determine if the coil is beyond repair.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Yeah I decided to unwrap and go in...unfortunately I don't get a reading doing that either so I guess I'm screwed...where do I 'go in further' to test? I'll gladly try this on another

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Follow the start and finish for the 1 coil all the way back to where they meet the fine coil wire itself and test those.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

First off, thanks for the kind comments

Yeah I decided to unwrap and go in...unfortunately I don't get a reading doing that either so I guess I'm screwed...where do I 'go in further' to test? I'll gladly try this on another

Did the seller send you a photo of the pup wires attached to a meter before it was shipped? Anything to confirm it did work?

So....you tied off the red and white, not touching any probe. Then attached the green to one probe and the black to the other probe? And nothing?

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Unfortunately no meter hooked up in picture no....I didn't even think about it. I assumed by working great he knew what a humbucker sounded like.

That is correct I did that, I went all the way down to the fine wires and nothing. She's dead. Just my luck.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Well you still have 1 good coil, a mag, a baseplate, and some 4 conductor cable that you can use for projects in the future.

 

[RoteGitarre]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

First off was hoping you would be here! Your website was super valuable in my decision for this hah. And yes it was what I was doing. I just retested:

(Red+White) + Green = 8.06 to 8.16
(Red+White) + Black = nothing

Red + Green = 8.16
White + Black = nothing




Please see above. This is just the straw that may break the camels back. The threads purpose is to try and get some advice to see if I am maybe overlooking something or being an idiot...which I am hoping.

You seem to be using the meter correctly, so it sounds like you have an open coil. If it was packaged properly, and you didn't damage it during unpacking/testing, then all that's left is that it was faulty when it was sold to you. Return it, get a refund, work with the seller if you're so inclined. But, as has been said, blaming Seymour Duncan for this is more than a bit ludicrous. It's like boycotting Ford's products because the radio in your fifth hand Pinto crapped out. For less than $100, it's fantastic that you can get 10, 20, 30 or more years out of a pickup. How many other electrical devices, at that price, would you expect to have that kind of service life? How many can be sent back to the manufacturer and repaired to new specs at any price, much less for what Duncan charges?

You can obviously do whatever you please, but I think dropping Duncan entirely is a bit extreme.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

Please see above for the explanation, like I said, this may have just been the last straw.

Thank you for all that helped. I think I am going to bite the bullet and send this off for repair due to it's age, although that will bring my total to more than I wanted it to...I guess that's what I get. 1 For the price of two!

I am assuming by sending it back for repair only the one coil will be re-wound?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

It's just like buying a used condom.

 

[Artie]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

I am assuming by sending it back for repair only the one coil will be re-wound?

Don't forget forum bro Zhangliqun. He does excellent work for a reasonable price. He's rewound a couple different pups for me.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Do I have another Duncan Dud? Help Needed.

I think buying a 35-year old pickup is an incautious decision in the first place, even if you have made sure that it's in working order. It's like buying used electronics.