Really Muddy Tone

[mjharrison7]

Hello,

I have a set of Seymour Duncan Supra Distortion pickups in my Jackson KVX10 and I hadn’t played it in awhile and when I went to plug in the guitar and play it sounded painfully muddy out of nowhere without any ability to adjust on my tone selector or tone knob.

is there a possibility that the tone selector went out or even just need to replace the pots? I had it checked out and the tech said it was giving good signal so I’m looking for suggestions on what it might be.

Thank you!

 

[Mincer]

So the tone knob had no effect at all? Like it didn't make it even darker?

 

[Securb]

If it has sat for a while, the pots are likely oxidized. I would hit them with some contact cleaner, but it seems they need to be replaced.

 

[mjharrison7]

So the tone knob had no effect at all? Like it didn't make it even darker?

Yeah it’s weird. The tone knob does nothing. The tone selector switch, if anything will change the muddiness of the current tone, so almost no change at all.

 

[mjharrison7]

If it has sat for a while, the pots are likely oxidized. I would hit them with some contact cleaner, but it seems they need to be replaced.

That’s kinda what I was thinking as well.

 

[Artie]

When you say "tone selector switch", do you mean the pickup selector switch?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Pots don't need to be replaced. They don't go bad from just sitting. Plus you say your tech checked it and said it has a good signal (I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that) . But, depending on the environment, they can get a little oxidized or dusty. Perhaps some deoxit could help

 

[hamerfan]

Deoxit and a dozen full sweeps

 

[Mincer]

Is it possible the tone knob is sending the entire signal through the cap all the time, no matter where the pot is set?

 

[Securb]

Pots don't need to be replaced. They don't go bad from just sitting.

No, they don't. But if sweeping/rolling the pots and spraying doesn't work, what would be the next logical move? Replacing the pots. Pots have moving parts, moving parts fail over time for a magnitude of issues.

 

[mjharrison7]

When you say "tone selector switch", do you mean the pickup selector switch?

Yep, my apologies. It would be the pickup selector. That’s the thing is that t seems like it’s switching between the neck and bridge pup but each selection is super muddy.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I agree, sounds as if the tone pot may be shunting everything to the cap/ground.
Deoxit would be the first thing to try. Or old style contact cleaner, if you have that.
But Deoxit is better.

 

[Artie]

Yep, my apologies. It would be the pickup selector.

No apologies required. There are some people who use Varitone, or switchable tone caps. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

 

[Securb]

I would wire the pickup directly to the jack just to get a baseline tone. That is just me being me.

 

[Mincer]

I would wire the pickup directly to the jack just to get a baseline tone. That is just me being me.

Yeah, that would be a good first step. See what that pickup sounds like without any pots or cap.