How do I test my pick ups?

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:35 am

How do I test to see if my pick ups don't work? I mean, I'm fairly sure that the pots, cap and switches are mostly dead. And, due to the fact of no miracle man & chocolate pill, I doubt they'll be comin' back to life. But, it's less obvious to know if the pups don't work. Also, there has to be a gray area, right? Like, oh, these sound weak... I needs teh noledge.

Thank you for your time.

Sorry for the subtle Princess Bride references.

boyecho · Post by **boyecho** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:46 am

Ninja Mike 808 wrote:How do I test to see if my pick ups don't work? I mean, I'm fairly sure that the pots, cap and switches are mostly dead.

have they been mostly dead all day?

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:52 am

boyecho wrote:
Ninja Mike 808 wrote:How do I test to see if my pick ups don't work? I mean, I'm fairly sure that the pots, cap and switches are mostly dead.
have they been mostly dead all day?

Yes.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:51 pm

Ninja Mike 808 wrote:How do I test to see if my pick ups don't work?

Got a meter? Check resistance?

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:45 am

I gotta multi meeter...

Do I jus touch the black end to one side and the red end to the other wire? Do I need to unconnect the puck up?

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:00 am

Ninja Mike 808 wrote:I gotta multi meeter...

Do I jus touch the black end to one side and the red end to the other wire? Do I need to unconnect the puck up?

Yes, set to ohms and see what it reads. Make sure volume controls are at max and you're not plugged into anything. If you have a pickup selector, use a position where the pickup under test is out of circuit. If you get the pot resistance (250K or higher) or more, it's probably broken. Anything under 40K (humbucker) or 20K (single coil) is probably working, at least to some degree. You can probably Google for the usual resistance if the pickup is a standard one.

If you have everything wired up to a jack socket, plug in and touch the pickup with something magnetisable like a screwdriver or other chunk of iron/steel. You should hear a clunk as you touch the pole pieces if everything's working OK.

roachello · Post by **roachello** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:03 am

plug ur guitar into a working amp, plug some earplugs into your ipod, then stick your earphones neck to your pick up and see if it comes through the amp.

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:22 pm

Yea i tried the screw driver thing, and got very little sound from my 68s neck pick up, but got no sound from the bridge.

How do I test my pick ups?

How do I test my pick ups?

Re: How do I test my pick ups?

Re: How do I test my pick ups?

Re: How do I test my pick ups?