axis sport silent circuit malfunction?

[steveneudy]

I bought this guitar used, thinking that the battery slot was for an active pickup. I've since then learned about the "silent circuit".

Anyway, when I crank up my amp, I can hear the "hum", but when I add a new 9v I hear no difference at all. Is there an easy way for me to go about seeing if the silent circuit is working at all? Are there any common malfunctions known?

99 Axis Sport w/tremelo

 

[TonyEVH5150]

Could be interference from a bad lead/guitar cable. My amp has a little bit of hum to it when I've got the tubes cranked up.

 

[Astrofreq]

You should definitely be able to tell a difference. turn on your distortion with a TON of gain. If you can't tell a difference with the battery in, something is wrong.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

Doesn't the silent circuit only work when the HB's are split???

 

[mbgreene]

Doesn't the silent circuit only work when the HB's are split???

He's got the mm90's

Do you have a standard single coil you can A/B it against??

Could also be the ambient environment - flourescent lighting? computer etc. Cranking the amp may be picking up other interference or the circuit may be eliminating most but not all of the hum and at hery high vol/gain what is there is being exaggerated. Hard to diagnose on line.

 

[beej]

Yeah- as Mike said what pickups does it have? MM90s? Or an older one with single coils?

The silent circuit will only be engaged when you have one single coil/mm90 pickup only. In a position where it's combined with another pickup you won't have it on. So you can toggle back 'n forth between those positions and see if the hum gets better/worse/same. You're always going to get some hum, so keep that in mind.

Next up, pull the battery in and out when you're in single pickup config. Do you hear any difference or noise? Make sure to push the battery all the way in- sometimes the terminals at the top of the battery box get bent back and don't make contact.

If you are still convinced it's not doing anything at all, you should contact MM customer service and they can help you out.