Pickup (selector) problem on JP6

[eegor]

Ok, so, I was playing my JP today, just soloing, messing around, and when I do this, I like to switch pickups (as I'm sure nearly all of you do), and suddenly, I switch to the neck pickup and it doesn't work, or at least it's only about 5% as powerful as it normally is. Now, I have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to this guitar since I have had it. The only thing I've done is take of the trem plate, but seriously, would that really be the cause?

Anyway, I'm extremely worried right now, because the same thing happened a little while ago when I replaced the pickups (myself) on my Ibby 7-string. I took it to a music store and the guy said all he had to do was "clean out" the pickup selector. The thing that puzzles me is that this is the second time for this to happen.

If you guys have any idea what is going on or what I should do, it would be much appreciated!

 

[Dead-Eye]

How old is the battery?

 

[BetaCAM]

Hi,

I have a friend with a JP6 that had an exact problem, it seems that these pickup selectors tend to fail for some reason... strange...

Contact Ernieball's support... they're the greatest!

you can be rest assured that the trem plate has nothing to do with your problem.

 

[beej]

This is on a non-piezo JP?

Sounds like something is grounding out. Could be a wire has come loose on the switch, a poor solder joint or the switch itself needs to be cleaned or replaced. Not a big deal to fix.

If it's under warranty, take it to the shop you bought it at or call EB. If not, open 'er up and have a look at it to see if anything is mechanically wrong with it. Replacing the switch isn't tough, but if you're not confident doing it you probably want to take it to your local tech. Either way, not a big deal and the part is inexpensive.

 

[pjc812]

Unless they've changed something, the switches on these guitars are mounted to PC boards. You don't want to go screwing with those.

Get ahold of Dan in CS. He took wonderful care of me when I had issues with my JP7. He went above and beyond the call of duty.

 

[eegor]

How old is the battery?

Fairly new... they're not active pickups though, are they?

This is on a non-piezo JP?

No. It has a piezo.

I don't think it has to do with the battery, because they're passive pickups and the problem is with the neck pickup only.

Get ahold of Dan in CS.

What's the number?

 

[Dead-Eye]

Fairly new... they're not active pickups though, are they?


I don't think it has to do with the battery, because they're passive pickups and the problem is with the neck pickup only.

They are passive, but both the piezo and the mags run through the preamp which needs the battery - you'll notice that the mags start to sound distorted when the battery runs low. But you're right, if only the neck pickup is affected it's unlikely to be the battery.

 

[marduke]

on my JP w/piezo i can run the mag p/ups without a battery. tried it when playing with the piezo on the A string was very crackly.. so i decided to try the mags without the battery and it worked fine.

 

[eegor]

I tried a number of things, nothing worked, so I took it over to a music shop and the guy said he couldn't figure out the problem, so it looks like I'm going to have to exchange it. I'm just really baffled as to why this happened.

 

[puppyonacid]

I didnt have a battery in on my jp6 for months. It went dead and the amp ir un everything through is too big for our new house so I knew I wouldn't be using the piezo for a while. The mags wil lwork without a battery.

 

[beej]

I tried a number of things, nothing worked, so I took it over to a music shop and the guy said he couldn't figure out the problem, so it looks like I'm going to have to exchange it. I'm just really baffled as to why this happened.

I'd look for an authorized MM shop in my area, if they're not one.

Shouldn't really be a huge issue- it's very likely a loose wire or solder joint, bad switch or (not very likely but possible) a bad pickup.

A call to MM customer service should be able to fix you up

 

[evolvedmb]

I have the exact same problem with my brand new JP6 but in the bridge
position! Mine is equipped with the piezo bridge and I just replaced
the battery with a brand new one, so I know for sure that the issue
stems from somewhere else. When I switch into the magnetic/bridge
only my guitar sounds extremely weak. I would say that the output
level is around 10% or less in my estimation. Every other position on the guitar
works great though, which confuses/agitates me for a "new" guitar. My guess
is the wiring is off or there is interference, because the D-Sonic works fine in split
and piezo mode. I guess I'm going to have my local builder look at it and resolder
the guitar, then work from there. Any other ideas?

 

[D.K.]

I have this problem with my original JP6 every now and again. In my view, the problem is that the switch sometimes just does not work correctly, leaving you a totally thinned out sound. I had exactly the same problem with my 3 way-switch in my Morse - there the switch was pretty much worn out, and it would only rarely switch to a correct position.

The solution was very simple - I've just bought an original 3-way switch and installed it instead of the old one. And I'm pretty much sure I will do that with my JP6 someday, when the switch is completely worked down. It just seems that those 3-way switches need changing once in 7-10 Years. No biggy!

BTW, the 3-way switch on Steve Morse's Nr.1 has been changed too - that seems to support my theory.

Dmitry

 

[phatduckk]

http://www.ernieball.com/contact/

the good thing is that just about everything can be repaired. dont worry to much - like beej said its probably nothing horrible.