Question about Bluesboy pickup selector

[mikemjr12]

Just bought a tribute semi hollow bluesboy. Noticed that the middle position on the pickup selector doesn't sound right. It sounds like it's only taking sound from the bridge pickup and not the neck. The neck pickup works on it's own though. I tried spraying the solder joints on the knobs and switch with contact cleaner, and no dice. I'm not very experienced with soldering, but I do have a soldering gun and could attempt to fix a minor issue. Anyone know what the issue might be? Thanks

[FZTNT]

I am not familiar with the functions of the switches on a Tribute Blues boy but what I can tell you is that spraying solder joints with contact cleaner would do nothing. It's like spraying a weld with WD40 to strengthen it. It's a solid connection. If it does do something, you have an odd problem on your hands. Perhaps if you post a few pictures of the wiring harness someone here might see a clue as to what the problem is.

Good luck,

Tom

[Danley]

The inexpensive import switches can definitely fail beyond repair or service with contact spray. My bet is you need a new quality switch; but check the wiring first.

[Tooslowhand]

Try tapping the pole pieces of the pickup, or in the case of the humbucker, the metal cover, with a screwdriver to see if you get a sound from your amp when the appropriate pickup is selected.

[mikemjr12]

I tried the contact cleaner after reading a few reviews online fwiw. I tapped on the neck pickup in the middle position and there is sound coming from it so that’s promising. Gotta figure out how to post pics. Thanks for the replies

[DanDoulogos]

I'm not familiar with the wiring for that particular guitar, but you have a Humbucker in the neck, and a single coil in the bridge with a three way switch between them, and the two knobs (a master volume and treble cut (i.e. a tone).

You should notice (when in the middle position) that the hum is being canceled just as it is canceled in the neck position. Is that the case? If not there might be a phase issue if one of the pickups was installed backwards (if the humbucker) or upside down (either). I wouldn't expect that to be likely - but if there is noise in the middle position, it may mean that the pickups are out of phase when combined.

Also, is one pickup notably louder than the other when played individually? Perhaps you just need to adjust pickup height?

I'm just throwing darts to see if anything sticks.

[mikemjr12]

It sounds to me like a phase issue. When it's in the middle position, it does sound like something is being cancelled out. It's a thinner sound then even just the bridge pickup by itself. I recently sold another bluesboy, but I had both of them at the same time, and the middle position on the one I sold sounded correct. Full sound, good combo of the neck HB and bridge SC. I'll probably just take it to a shop and have them look at it, but it would be nice to avoid the bench charge.

[DanDoulogos]

If you have a spare pickup laying around you can check the polarity by hovering the pickup (in hand) over the bridge pickup. The poles on the pickup on your guitar will either attract or repel the poles on the pickup in hand. Then do the same over the poles on the neck humbucker. They should be the same (either repelling or attracting). Note: on the humbucker, there are two coils and two sets of magnets - but only one set of magnets has adjustable screws over the poles (used for fine tuning volume discrepancies between strings). Your pickup in hand should have the opposite effect on the other coil in the humbucker.

Thinking of the humbucker as two coils with opposite poles, when your pickup selector is in the middle, you have three coils whose magnet polarities should either be oriented as:

Neck (N-S ) + Bridge (N), or
Neck (S-N) + Bridge (S)

In either case, if the polarities are good, you should get the same effect (either attraction or repulsion) hovering the face of a your in-hand pickup over first neck and then over the first coil in the bridge pickup (the coil closest to the neck, which has the slotted/adjustable poles).

If you don't have a pickup on hand, you can use a magnet.

If one of the pickups is out of phase, that's not a wiring problem - its an orientation problem, and depending on whether you bought it new or used you might want to go one way or the other with it.

[mikemjr12]

Awesome, thanks! I do happen to have a spare 57 classic plus lying around. I'll definitely give that a try when I get home.

[mikemjr12]

FYI - I tried the pickup trick and it seems like the pickups are oriented correctly. The top half of the humbucker and the single coil bridge are pulling in the same direction. Gonna to bring it in this week for a pro.

[Craig]

I tried the contact cleaner after reading a few reviews online fwiw. I tapped on the neck pickup in the middle position and there is sound coming from it so that’s promising. Gotta figure out how to post pics. Thanks for the replies

See: Tutorial: Posting photos.

Hope this helps.

[Craig]

FYI - I tried the pickup trick and it seems like the pickups are oriented correctly. The top half of the humbucker and the single coil bridge are pulling in the same direction. Gonna to bring it in this week for a pro.

I suggest you show the pro this from our Gallery: http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... temId=6523 so that he/she can verify the correct wiring and required factory mod to the bridge pickup.

Hope this helps.

[mikemjr12]

Thanks on both Craig!