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I just picked up a 62 Duo on craigslist. I'm in love, but she needs some help. The Neck pickup works great with the 3 way switch in the "neck" position. The other 2 positions nothing...silence in the "both" and "bridge" switch positions. I tried some high quality electronics cleaner/lubricant on the switch. Any ideas on likely problems, or troubleshooting? Bridge pickup or the switch? I'm afraid to tinker because she's in great shape otherwise. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Rich

If you have a multimeter, switch it to the bridge position, then measure the resistance at the coil to make sure the pickup hasn't broken a wire. If that checks out, check for continuity at the switch on the lugs for that position to make sure the switch is still good. It's one of those things, the switch or the pup.

And welcome to the forum.

yeah, definitely a continuity a problem, and if it's silence in the middle position, likely the issue is there. have you removed the switch from the pickguard yet to examine the connections? it's a 50 year old guitar, and who knows what's gone down with it in that time.

Sounds like the bridge pup is shorted to ground.

Thanks guys, opened her up. The connections look untouched. I'm only getting resistance from bridge pup @ coil when the switch is in the neck position.

Is the three way switch only to neck when testing bridge pup?

Correction to earlier post, I am getting resistance from bridge pup only when switch is in "neck" position, and looking at the wiring diagram that somebody else posted it's wired correctly. Checked the switch with the meter, and looks like that's the problem. Thanks.

are there any shorts at the three way switch? like are any of the solder blobs touching or bent over solder pegs? did you keep any strings attached. some times when trouble shooting stuff like this i like to take all but one string off. that way you can put the guard on and off again with little problems and still have a string to strum to see if you get a signal. you could jumper the post on the three way switch to see if that over rides the bridge pickup problem.

Are these Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity pickups?

Thanks for the help. I just got a good multimeter retested and confirmed with my local tech.... broken wire in the bridge pick-up. Switch was a little dirty but is working now. Who do you guys recommend to rewind the pup?

We have a guy on the forum that makes duo/master/stang pickups... I dunno if he does rewinds though.

Years ago it was hard to find anyone doing rewinds, but now-a-days it's alot easier.

pretty much all he does is rewinds, actually.

those pickups he makes, he just uses old/cheap strat pups and puts new magnets/pole pieces and rewinds them!

world be free wrote:Thanks for the help. I just got a good multimeter retested and confirmed with my local tech.... broken wire in the bridge pick-up. Switch was a little dirty but is working now. Who do you guys recommend to rewind the pup?

the guy you want to drop a pm to on this forum would be toez10. you can't see his thread in the whorehouse yet since you're not quite to the 50 post mark, but he's a quality guy from what i've seen at shortscale. the post minimum is for our membership's protection (there have been issues with opportunists in the past), so toez10 can decide if he's into helping you out. good luck!

Thanks, she'll be flying solo for a while. Already the best 400 bucks I ever spent.

thats a beuatifull guitar!!!

did it come with its case?

This guy is great - for rewinds or anything else.
http://www.catfishguitars.com/

Ya, It came with the case in good shape, all latches working. Luckily I saw it posted within 15 minutes. He sold it cheap because it was a gift that he had never played in five years, and it was "broken." (Bridge pup) He needed money for rent....I would rather courageously face homelessness myself.

Nice Duo!! It's got that rare burst (idk what it's called) that you don't see often. Reminds me of Dean Ween's Duo.

woweyyyy..what a nice lady..
for the connection problems, I would unsolder both pickups and test them with the multimeter. When they´re ok go on with checking the switch and jack (!) soldering..

cheers

That is a great looking Duo. Definitely a weenburst. It might actually be what Deaner was talking about.

I replied to your PM, thanks for getting in touch with me about the pickup, and if you find yourself in need of repair, I'd love to take a look at it.

Welcome to SS.