Jorge ven
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Do you think that’s something custom service would be able to do?
- Thread starter Jorge ven
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racerx
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To my knowledge CS tries to stay out of non-local non-warranty work, but I don't want to speak as an authority for them. You could always call or email and confirm (@beej has the links in his signature). Assuming/hoping the pot and dodgy solder connections are the only issues, then a local tech is probably more practical from a cost and timing perspective. Soldering to a PCB is not rocket surgery, but probably best left to someone comfortable with their soldering skills and has the appropriate tools (don't want to risk burning the traces or worse).
Jorge ven
Well-known member
So these pickups are passive right ?? A local shop asked me if he can’t fix the problem with the PCB, another option is to just remove the board/battery/boost and just connect them straight to some 500k pots, is that possible ??
racerx
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Correct, its the board that makes them "active" however I'd strongly recommend against that if it could be avoided. If you can call around (maybe even an amp tech since its an electronics repair) it should hopefully be an easy fix. Sometimes vintage-heads automatically write-off anything (perceived) as complex.
Jorge ven
Well-known member
Definitely want to keep it stock, and play it as it was designed. I will call 3 more local places tomorrow, unfortunately I’m very limited, I live in west Texas and there’s not many options, also trying to send it to let’s say Dallas, it would run me about $250 on shipping there and back, plus labor, not sure the seller is Willing to pay that. I guess I’m just looking at worst scenarios before deciding to send it back, which more than likely I wont do.
racerx
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Yeah it’s a bummer and I’m sorry you have to deal with all that. The Luke is my favorite guitar and desert island pick if i can only have one for whatever reason. I hope your local can get you sorted and the issue is only with a bad pot replacement job. That would be best case scenario and not bang you or the original seller up too bad. I hope you enjoy it as much as I and a lot of the other folks here do too!
Jorge ven
Well-known member
Besides boosting your volume, would I lose any sound of the pickups by removing the preamp/PCB and going straight to pots ?? Looks like that’s the way I’m going, two techs won’t even touch the board, let alone try and diagnose it. Seller has agreed to do a partial refund which is nice, but it looks like that’s the only way to from here…
Low output impedance --> you don't care about cables and effects after the guitar. Level matching in between (2,4) positions. I think It is quite important for HH model to get that quack in 2 and 4 with our level drop. Also, I don't remember of the top of my head what are the pot values on the guitar as theoretically they don't necessarily need to be standard 250 or 500K with an active preamp. In that case you will need to change them. If you end up removing that board send me a PM I may help you to test it outside of the guitar.
beej
Moderator
Personally I think you'd lose quite a bit of value if you took the PCB out, unless this guitar is a keeper. But yes, you could certainly do that and they you just lose the buffer, boost, and level matching. (None of which are a huge thing, really, they're just nice to haves.)
That said, my suggestion is to reach out to MM customer service and get their expert opinion on what this could be, a resolution, or a recommendation for service.
That said, my suggestion is to reach out to MM customer service and get their expert opinion on what this could be, a resolution, or a recommendation for service.
Jorge ven
Well-known member
So after calling musicman and telling them the problem, looks like the push push pot/boost is no working so I decided to order one. Any tutorials on how to replace it? No tech in town would touch it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
It all depends what your skills with a soldering gun are. Good thing is the you will have to practice on the old one. Just be careful and use tweezers and the gun. If you feel like things are not getting unsoldered for some time better stop and think, so you don’t overheat stuff. Try to desolder the old pot and report back. We will tell you how you did and how to proceed with the installation 
