No Sound on 1st string on Hot Rodded set

[J.P. Tosca]

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great day.

A few months ago, I bought a set of Hot Rodded SD for my guitar. I just noticed that on the Bridge pickup, there is absolutely no sound on the 6th string unless the volume is all the way up 9 to10 or unless the tone is above 6 to 7. Is this normal on these pickups? I have another guitars and I have tested the same amp but I don't have these issues, the neck pickup also works fine.

 

[Chistopher]

Sounds like a cold solder joint. Can we see the wiring?

 

[GuitarStv]

I don't see how a solder joint would only impact a single string - all the strings, sure. The string spacing on gibson spaced humbuckers is narrower than F-spaced bridges . . . I've seen some instances where this, coupled with a slightly mis-routed bridge humbucker position where it places the 'bucker either above the high e string, or below the low e string which makes that string quite a bit quieter sounding. Maybe check that the string is going over the screw first to see if this is the problem.

 

[jeremy]

that is a very odd issue. string to string volume should be pretty much the same regardless of volume/tone settings. its only the one string?

 

[J.P. Tosca]

I been playing with the distance of the pickup and the strings, and that seemed to be the issue, it seems that the bridge pickup was just too far.

 

[J.P. Tosca]

that is a very odd issue. string to string volume should be pretty much the same regardless of volume/tone settings. its only the one string?

Yeah this happened only on the bottom string, increasing the volume was the only way to get any sound or a balance between tone/volume the lower the tone, the higher the volume had to be...

 

[Artie]

It's almost impossible for the pup to cause this problem. I'd replace the string. Or the whole set.

P.S. I'm not sure how the string could cause this problem either. It's simply the more likely culprit than the pickup.

 

[Mincer]

I suppose the string could be the problem if it was made of a different material....but unlikely that would happen. I can't imagine it is the soldering or the pickup- all strings work or they don't.

 

[Chistopher]

Cold soldier joints will sometimes not have noise unless you hit a specific frequency. I no longer think thats what it is though

 

[ehdwuld]

Can we get an image of the pickup as it is mounted

I would think that the pickup is offset to one side and not under the string

Or
The pickup is slanted so as to not be under the string

Or you have a plastic pole piece

Or a short magnet that may have shifted to one side

 

[beaubrummels]

Are we sure these are legit Duncan pickups? If they are some knock off pickup with magnetic slugs and no bar mag, then one of the slugs could be demagnetized.

 

[Mincer]

Are we sure these are legit Duncan pickups? If they are some knock off pickup with magnetic slugs and no bar mag, then one of the slugs could be demagnetized.

No way to know without seeing the top and the bottom.

 

[Sam SG]

Try new strings.
I loaned a guitar out for 6mo. I told my freind it needed new strings when I gave it to him. 6mo later he still never changed them.
When I got it back the high E and B actually sounded like stratitus...you know that wavy up and down weird osilating thing. I though there was sonething wrong but a string change was it.

 

[freefrog]

Reminds me a topic about rails pickups, a few weeks ago, where the idea of inconsistent volume between magnetic poles of traditional humbuckers had been brutally denied...

Yes, strings do strange things sometimes.

But no, IME, it's not impossible for a pickup to have this problem, albeit it's extremely rare.

In most guitar pickups, magnetism is basically inconsistent: slide the Hall probe of a magnetometer at the surface of the poles or on each side of a bar magnet and you will see the Gauss/Tesla readings going up and down. Some magnets are stronger or weaker in the middle. Or on one end or side only*. And the magnetic field at both ends of the coil(s) is always different, even with the most consistent magnet(s).

In most cases, it can't be heard.

In some rare situations, it creates some kinds of "dead spots" magnetically. That's where setting the height of pickups and of their screw poles becomes useful. ;-)

*Below is a graph borrowed to Manfred Zollner from the GITEC and showing measured variations of magnetism on two A5 bars... I've comparable results stored in my own data. I share this pic just because it's easier for me.

 

[J.P. Tosca]

Are we sure these are legit Duncan pickups? If they are some knock off pickup with magnetic slugs and no bar mag, then one of the slugs could be demagnetized.

Purchased at https://www.seymourduncan.com/

 

[J.P. Tosca]

Strings are these: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...slinky-cobalt-electric-guitar-strings-008-038

Set is new

 

[J.P. Tosca]

 

[beaubrummels]

If it's within the 21-day return window, I'd first call Duncan and see what they say and exchange them if that's what they recommend.

 

[GuitarStv]

From the pics we can rule out the string not being over the pole. It seems to line up perfectly on the low E.

 

[ehdwuld]

Plug in the guitar
Turn the volume up

Touch each pole with the tip of a screwdriver

Should hear an audible thump as the tip pulls to the pole piece

Do this on all six poles

If it sounds the same on each one it probably ain't the pickup

I still think the magnet may have moved to one side