Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

M

Mystery

New member
C-1+ was on my watch list for few years.
One showed up at good price and I got it.
PO mentioned bridge pickup has issues (cuts in and out).
Neck pickup works great.

I cleaned the middle pot with DeOxit but still no sound.
It was cutting in and out but now it's dead completely.

I checked the wires and they seem okay but saw some old looking ones.
Is the bridge pot bad or the pickup?
What's the resistance of Duncan Designed pickup?
Thanks

Schecter.jpg
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Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Multimeters quickly solve those mysteries. They're really a must if you're buying PU's (especially used one) and doing your rewiring. It can be hard to tell whether it's the PU or a pot or the wiring; a MM verifies a key part of that.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

blueman335 said:
Multimeters quickly solve those mysteries. They're really a must if you're buying PU's (especially used one) and doing your rewiring. It can be hard to tell whether it's the PU or a pot or the wiring; a MM verifies a key part of that.
Click to expand...
I have multi meter.
Just want to see what value I'm supposed to see on the pickup reading?
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

honestly a multimeter won't help much. What are we going to get 0k in the bridge? That tells us about as much as the color socks the person who originally owned the guitar wore.

cutting in and out can be a few things.

if it's a 2 volume guitar
Check and see if the pot the pickup is soldered to is loose if the contacts on the pot touch the internal shielding of the guitar it can cause the volume to cut in and out. If so tighten the pot and if the problem keeps reoccuring use a piece of tape on the wall near the guitar. Electric to packaging tape.

a common issue
make sure the bare wire and green wire (SD color code) aren't too long. If they are put some heat shrink over them. Only the bare minimum of the pickups bare wire should be exposed. I had a pickup cutting in and out problem because of this

last but no least
make sure the red and white wires are soldered, especially if it's a connection such as parallel.

hope i could help
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Fixed it. The problem was with old looking wire connection as I suspected.
The problem was on the green wire solder.
Someone soldered it with a glob of lead but the wire was not touching the pot correctly.
Removed all the solder.
Resoldered but volume was very low.
Figured out there's some lead between the wire and contact.
I suppose lead is not as conductive as I thought.
Soldered again making sure wire is in contact with the pot.
This time it worked and it bites.
Taped and closed up as best as I can.
Hopefully, it doesn't move much in there to break loose.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

If it happens again just replace the pot and resolder. Cheap and easy permanent fix
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

shadowfire90 said:
honestly a multimeter won't help much. What are we going to get 0k in the bridge? That tells us about as much as the color socks the person who originally owned the guitar wore.
Click to expand...

I guess you're not very honest then.
A multimeter could have diagnosed this problem in about a tenth of the time it took you to type your post. (That is, IF you know how to use one).
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

A problem such as described by the OP is nearly ALWAYS a bad connection/solder joint. Those rare times when it is not, it can be a broken wire or a "hot" wire touching a ground.

This type of problem can either be diagnosed with a multimeter or by trial and error. The trial and error method can take 10 times as long and may even still leave you scratching your head.

I am glad that you were able to see and correct the issue.

Just for info...solder (lead + tin) is very conductive. Even if you had a glob of solder 1/2" thick, you wouldn't be able to tell any conductivity issues. What you described in your solution tells me that either your first solder joint was not very good (a "cold" solder joint), or you could have had an excess of rosin flux between the wire and the pot. In any case you finally got it fixed. Great.

Oh, and by the way, the Schecter C-1 is really a super good guitar. Great playing and superb quality at a reasonable price. Congrats on the new horse in your stable.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

GuitarDoc said:
...
Oh, and by the way, the Schecter C-1 is really a super good guitar. Great playing and superb quality at a reasonable price. Congrats on the new horse in your stable.
Click to expand...

Yes, it had great reviews so I was watching local sales.
When I saw one at 2 bones, I grabbed it.
I have few other electrics.
One is 80's Aria Pro II Fullerton strat that feels great and build quality is great but pickups are not that good.
Another is Ibanez RG3EX that sounds good but C-1+ feels better so I'll have to decide which one to keep.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

BTW, youtube shows C1 plus has coil split on the tone knob but mine doesn't do anything when I pull up.
Tried pushing and pulling pretty hard but nothing happens.
Did some of these come without coil split?
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Gtrjunior said:
If it happens again just replace the pot and resolder. Cheap and easy permanent fix
Click to expand...

That I may have to do.
I still hear some cracking when I move the pot.
Dousing in DeOxit didnt' help so maybe something inside is messed up.
It works pretty good now and pots are cheap so if it acts up, I'll replace it.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Spin the pot back and forth a bunch of times. If the crackling changes, keep trying to clean it. If not, replace.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

What size pot do I need to get?
I read that some are little big and need to make the hole bigger.
Do those big ones fit the same cover or cover also needs replacement?
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Mystery said:
What size pot do I need to get?
I read that some are little big and need to make the hole bigger.
Click to expand...

Yes. Asian-made pots have a smaller diameter shaft. American pots like CTS are slightly larger and require the hole to be reamed out slightly.

Mystery said:
Do those big ones fit the same cover or cover also needs replacement?
Click to expand...

By "cover" are you referring to the control knob? If so, the size (diameter) is the same, but the knurl on the split shaft is different. The knobs for Asian pots will not fit the CTS pots and vice versa.

Also, some pots come with solid shafts. You need to use knobs (no knurl, but with a set screw) specifically designed for those.
 
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Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

GuitarDoc said:
Yes. Asian-made pots have a smaller diameter shaft. American pots like CTS are slightly larger and require the hole to be reamed out slightly.



By "cover" are you referring to the control knob? If so, the size (diameter) is the same, but the knurl on the split shaft is different. The knobs for Asian pots will not fit the CTS pots and vice versa.

Also, some pots come with solid shafts. You need to use knobs (no knurl, but with a set screw) specifically designed for those.
Click to expand...

I see thanks.
I suppose the existing ones are Chinese 500k so replacing with Asian pot would not be a downgrade.
I want to keep the chrome knob so it matches.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Mystery said:
I see thanks.
I suppose the existing ones are Chinese 500k so replacing with Asian pot would not be a downgrade.
I want to keep the chrome knob so it matches.
Click to expand...

CTS makes an Asian sized pot too...you could look into that as well. You’d be able to upgrade the pots without having to ream out the holes.
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

Gtrjunior said:
CTS makes an Asian sized pot too...you could look into that as well. You’d be able to upgrade the pots without having to ream out the holes.
Click to expand...

So what should I search for size wise?
What's their size in mm?
 
Re: Schecter C-1+ bridge pickup no sound...

It's been a while.
I haven't done anything yet on my C1+.
I want to hot wire the bridge pickup to full volume so no need to use the volume knob.
I see there are three lugs/pins on the pot.
Green wire on the left.
White wire on the middle and
White and ground on the right.
To bypass the volume, do I join green and white together or green and the last one?
The white wire lug and the last one looks connected already with the pot's ground.
Does anyone has wiring diagram of C1+? Mine doesn't have coil split.
thanks
Schecter-c1-plus-wiring-IMG_20200423_142941218-s.jpg
 
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