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ravindave_3600 · October 21st, 2007, 03:04 AM

I was playing my tele the other day when suddenly the bridge pickup got BRIGHT

Piercingly bright. I backed down the tone knob, and that squelched it, but when I turned it up again... OUCH!

I turned the treble completely off my amp, and it was still there. I plugged into another amp... still there. Turned off that amp's treble... still there.

Very weird. Any ideas on why my p'up would suddenly become an ice pick? Pot failing maybe?

Darcy Hoover · October 21st, 2007, 04:35 AM

Please don't laugh, and I'm sure this isn't your problem, but the same thing happened to me about a week ago. I was going nuts, figured I had fried a tube or something. Turned out, my true-bypass wah pedal that I leave in the loop but never actually use somehow got clicked on. Took me an embarrashingly long time to discover.

blacklinefish · October 21st, 2007, 11:48 AM

Well, unless you use a no-load tone pot, that capacitor is always in the circuit having a minor effect. Maybe that's your culprit. (Although your post does mention that you were successfully able to use the tone control...)

--gh

Alamo · October 21st, 2007, 01:36 PM

The only thing that could explain it - you changed the pickup while sleepwalking, err - sleepworkin' ;)

ravindave_3600 · October 21st, 2007, 08:32 PM

Thanks, guys. I don't use a wah pedal (although that sounds like the kind of mistake I'd make) and my circuitry is original from 1973, so it's probably not no-load. It's weird, either no treble or STAB!ME!IN!THE!EAR!, even with the amps' treble knobs at 0.

Maybe I need to have my hearing checked.

Vizcaster · October 21st, 2007, 09:27 PM

Did the output drop at the same time it got brighter? If there's a short in the coil inside the pickup, you'll get lower resistance and a brighter sound with lower overall output. If you can measure the resistance of the pickup winding (I guess you could try it with a VOM connected to the pickup leads and the pickup selector switched OFF for that pickup so the other pickup doesn't fool you? I bet Deaf Eddie knows how to do this...) you might find it has dropped and there's a short in there. If so it's time to rewind the pickup.

And that wah pedal thing has never happened to me. I make the mistake of leaving it heel-down and then it takes even longer to figure it out.

boneyguy · October 21st, 2007, 09:38 PM

Since the problem comes and goes depending on turning the tone pot 'off or on' perhaps your tone pot is just shot. I mean it's been in there since 1973 and they do wear out.

It sounds like your pot has become a 'no load/all load' pot with the way you've described the problem.

That's my guess. And of course it's an easy and inexpensive thing to check.

ravindave_3600 · October 22nd, 2007, 01:59 AM

Viz, I didn't notice that, but I'll pay attention. Boney, your suggestion is my best guess too, but I'm really non-techie and thought I'd ask people who actually know something!

Guran · October 22nd, 2007, 02:37 AM

I've had a similar experience. Turned out it was the first string bridge saddle that was slightly tilted. The string must have left it in a way that, when pluck, made it hit in a way that induced a slight buzz. It was hardly accoustically audible, but plugged in... Yikes!

All it took was about 1/4 of a turn at the height adjustment screw. It was on a six saddle bridge though. I reckon you got the three saddle? Still, it's worth trying,a s it only takes a couple of minutes.

Vizcaster · October 23rd, 2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravindave_3600

thought I'd ask people who actually know something!

Then you don't want my advice, I'm just thinking out loud. I'm curious, too, if there's an accurate way to check the resistance of a pickup winding without removing it from the circuit.

PhatTele · October 24th, 2007, 11:24 AM

You've got to isolate the problem. You've done part of that by making sure it wasn't the amp or your pedals. Does it happen when it's just on the neck PU also? If yes, then that means it's happening on both PUs which in turn means might not be the PUs at all...it could be the switch, volume pot or tone pot. If the neck PU behaves normally and the pots and switch work properly with that PU by itself, then you've narrowed the problem down a bit and can focus on the bridge PU as the issue. It may also be a loose wire on the switch which is tied to the bridge PU. I've seen that happen before. Do you hear the same problem when it's in the middle position?

October 21st, 2007, 03:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
ravindave_3600 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boise, USA Posts: 1,230	Suddenly Treble... I was playing my tele the other day when suddenly the bridge pickup got BRIGHT Piercingly bright. I backed down the tone knob, and that squelched it, but when I turned it up again... OUCH! I turned the treble completely off my amp, and it was still there. I plugged into another amp... still there. Turned off that amp's treble... still there. Very weird. Any ideas on why my p'up would suddenly become an ice pick? Pot failing maybe? __________________ Want my guitar to sound like BBQ tastes!

October 21st, 2007, 04:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
Darcy Hoover Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 666	Please don't laugh, and I'm sure this isn't your problem, but the same thing happened to me about a week ago. I was going nuts, figured I had fried a tube or something. Turned out, my true-bypass wah pedal that I leave in the loop but never actually use somehow got clicked on. Took me an embarrashingly long time to discover. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/darcyhoover

October 21st, 2007, 08:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
ravindave_3600 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boise, USA Posts: 1,230	Thanks, guys. I don't use a wah pedal (although that sounds like the kind of mistake I'd make) and my circuitry is original from 1973, so it's probably not no-load. It's weird, either no treble or STAB!ME!IN!THE!EAR!, even with the amps' treble knobs at 0. Maybe I need to have my hearing checked. __________________ Want my guitar to sound like BBQ tastes!

October 21st, 2007, 09:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
Vizcaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Glen Head, NY Posts: 874	Did the output drop at the same time it got brighter? If there's a short in the coil inside the pickup, you'll get lower resistance and a brighter sound with lower overall output. If you can measure the resistance of the pickup winding (I guess you could try it with a VOM connected to the pickup leads and the pickup selector switched OFF for that pickup so the other pickup doesn't fool you? I bet Deaf Eddie knows how to do this...) you might find it has dropped and there's a short in there. If so it's time to rewind the pickup. And that wah pedal thing has never happened to me. I make the mistake of leaving it heel-down and then it takes even longer to figure it out. __________________ "Why don't you just make 10 louder, and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little louder?"

October 21st, 2007, 09:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
boneyguy Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: victoria b.c. Age: 51 Posts: 4,325	Since the problem comes and goes depending on turning the tone pot 'off or on' perhaps your tone pot is just shot. I mean it's been in there since 1973 and they do wear out. It sounds like your pot has become a 'no load/all load' pot with the way you've described the problem. That's my guess. And of course it's an easy and inexpensive thing to check. __________________ "Science doesn't prove, it probes." Gregory Bateson

October 21st, 2007, 11:48 AM	#3 (permalink)
blacklinefish Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Northwest Missouri Age: 41 Posts: 1,554	Well, unless you use a no-load tone pot, that capacitor is always in the circuit having a minor effect. Maybe that's your culprit. (Although your post does mention that you were successfully able to use the tone control...) --gh

October 21st, 2007, 01:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Alamo Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Berlin, Germany Age: 52 Posts: 1,585	The only thing that could explain it - you changed the pickup while sleepwalking, err - sleepworkin' ;)

October 22nd, 2007, 01:59 AM	#8 (permalink)
ravindave_3600 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boise, USA Posts: 1,230	Viz, I didn't notice that, but I'll pay attention. Boney, your suggestion is my best guess too, but I'm really non-techie and thought I'd ask people who actually know something! __________________ Want my guitar to sound like BBQ tastes!

October 22nd, 2007, 02:37 AM	#9 (permalink)
Guran Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sweden Age: 42 Posts: 601	I've had a similar experience. Turned out it was the first string bridge saddle that was slightly tilted. The string must have left it in a way that, when pluck, made it hit in a way that induced a slight buzz. It was hardly accoustically audible, but plugged in... Yikes! All it took was about 1/4 of a turn at the height adjustment screw. It was on a six saddle bridge though. I reckon you got the three saddle? Still, it's worth trying,a s it only takes a couple of minutes.

October 24th, 2007, 11:24 AM	#11 (permalink)
PhatTele Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 819	You've got to isolate the problem. You've done part of that by making sure it wasn't the amp or your pedals. Does it happen when it's just on the neck PU also? If yes, then that means it's happening on both PUs which in turn means might not be the PUs at all...it could be the switch, volume pot or tone pot. If the neck PU behaves normally and the pots and switch work properly with that PU by itself, then you've narrowed the problem down a bit and can focus on the bridge PU as the issue. It may also be a loose wire on the switch which is tied to the bridge PU. I've seen that happen before. Do you hear the same problem when it's in the middle position?

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