Majesty 6 – Extremely Weak Bridge Pickup / Possible Electronics Issue

[MartyG]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping some of the experienced Majesty owners here might be able to offer some insight while I wait to hear back from Music Man Customer Service.

I have a Music Man Majesty 6, serial number M014924, and I've developed an issue with the magnetic pickups. The neck pickup appears to have normal output, but the bridge pickup has become extremely weak. The difference between the two is dramatic.

I've eliminated the rest of my gear as the cause. The problem is still present through a completely empty signal path with no effects, EQ, compression, or other processing involved. Switching from the neck pickup to the bridge results in a very substantial drop in output.

As part of troubleshooting, I plugged a cable into the guitar with the other end disconnected, removed the batteries, and left it that way for approximately an hour. I then installed fresh Duracell batteries. There was no change.

Something else that may or may not be related: before the bridge pickup became this weak, I had been having a surprisingly difficult time getting the rear electronic controls dialed in—particularly the Mag Boost, Mag/Piezo Mix, Piezo Treble, and Piezo Bass. I originally assumed I simply hadn't found the right balance, but with the bridge pickup issue now occurring, I'm wondering whether that may have been an earlier symptom of something going on in the electronics.

I've searched through the forum and found posts from other Majesty owners who appear to have experienced similar pickup/output or electronics-related issues. That's actually one of the reasons I decided to join and post here.

For those of you who have experienced something similar, what did the problem ultimately turn out to be, and what fixed it? Was it traced to the pickup itself, the active electronics/preamp, the switching system, a circuit board, or something else?

I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone who noticed unusual behavior from the Mag Boost or Mag/Piezo controls before experiencing a significant loss of output from one of the magnetic pickups.

I'm also curious about a more drastic option. Has anyone eventually gotten fed up with the factory electronics and completely gutted a Majesty—removing the circuit board and active electronics and replacing everything with a more conventional setup using dependable pickups, pots, switches, and traditional wiring?

If you've done that, what components did you install, what functionality did you retain or lose, and most importantly, did it result in a guitar you felt you could depend on long-term?

That's really my biggest concern: reliability on stage. It would suck to have the guitar suddenly fail in the middle of a show. Once you've experienced an intermittent electronics problem twice, it's difficult to have complete confidence that it won't happen again at the worst possible time. I'd rather address a potential weak point now than find out the hard way during a gig.

The guitar has previously been back to Music Man in California for service for a different issue. I've already contacted Music Man Customer Service about this current problem via email and am waiting to hear what they recommend.

I absolutely love this guitar when everything is working correctly, which is why I'd really like to get to the bottom of this and have confidence in using it live.

Thanks in advance for any information or firsthand experiences you can share.

— Marty

 

[MartyG]

UPDATE — Problem Identified on BOTH Pickup Connections / Looking for a Permanent Solution

I wanted to update this thread because I believe I have now identified the source of the problem, and I've discovered that it is affecting both magnetic pickup connections, not just the bridge pickup.

The pickups themselves do not appear to be the problem. The issue appears to be the quick-connect connections between the magnetic pickup wiring harnesses and the electronics.

On my Majesty, these connections appear to rely entirely on friction fit. There is no positive locking tab or retention clip that actually locks the connectors in place.

The bridge pickup connector had backed out enough to cause the dramatic loss of output I described in my original post. After reseating it, the bridge pickup returned to normal output.

While investigating the problem, I discovered that the neck pickup connector was also working its way loose/out. So this does not appear to be limited to one defective bridge pickup connection.

That is what concerns me.
Reseating the connectors restores proper operation, but if both pickup connections are capable of backing out, I'm looking for a permanent and reliable solution, particularly because I'd like to have a dependable guitar.

Has anyone else with a Majesty encountered this with both magnetic pickup quick-connects?

More specifically:

Have either or both of your pickup connectors worked themselves loose?

Did Music Man provide a factory-approved solution for securing them?

Has anyone had the connectors, pickup harnesses, or circuit board replaced because the friction fit was insufficient?

Has anyone successfully added some form of removable strain relief or retention to keep the connectors seated?

Has anyone used a small amount of adhesive or glue to secure the connector/harness, rather than permanently modifying the board itself?

If you found a solution, has it remained reliable over a long period of playing, transporting the guitar, and live use?

I'm hesitant to use tape because, after looking closely at the connection and available space, I don't have much confidence that tape will actually prevent these connectors from moving and will leave sticky residue.

I'm also not going to permanently modify anything until I hear back from Music Man Customer Service. I've already contacted them and am waiting for their recommendation.

At this point, however, my biggest concern isn't getting the guitar working again—I can do that simply by reseating the connectors. My concern is making sure they stay seated.

For a guitar being used on stage, "remove the electronics cover and reseat the pickup connectors whenever one loses contact" obviously isn't an acceptable long-term solution.

If anyone has dealt specifically with these friction-fit pickup connections on a Majesty and found a permanent, dependable fix, I'd really appreciate hearing what you did.

I'll update this thread again when I hear back from Music Man so their official recommendation is documented here as well.
— Marty