Pup output extremely low

R

Russtopher

New member
Let me preface this with this statement - I am a drummer. That'll probably explain a lot :D

I just picked up an older Yamaha Pacifica 112 in a trade. It plays wonderfully, and the bridge humbucker sounds fine. The issue is with the middle and neck single coils - when I select them with the switch, I can hear them, but just barely. They're getting sound out through the amp, so they're connected but the volume difference is huge. Even with the guitar's volume on 10, you can barely hear them.

I want to open this sucker up and see if I can figure this one out on my own for a change :) Any ideas on where to start? I plan on opening it up and checking the connections on the selector switch, as my small feeble drummer-brain thinks that might be the culprit. Any other things I should look at when I pop it open?

TIA!!
 
Russtopher said:
Let me preface this with this statement - I am a drummer. That'll probably explain a lot :D

I just picked up an older Yamaha Pacifica 112 in a trade. It plays wonderfully, and the bridge humbucker sounds fine. The issue is with the middle and neck single coils - when I select them with the switch, I can hear them, but just barely. They're getting sound out through the amp, so they're connected but the volume difference is huge. Even with the guitar's volume on 10, you can barely hear them.

I want to open this sucker up and see if I can figure this one out on my own for a change :) Any ideas on where to start? I plan on opening it up and checking the connections on the selector switch, as my small feeble drummer-brain thinks that might be the culprit. Any other things I should look at when I pop it open?

TIA!!
Click to expand...

Yes, the switch may well be the problem but you might also look for a bad or corroded ground for the 2 single coils to the volume & tone pots. And one of the three pins on the volume should be wired to the pot's body and grounded out-I had a Tele that had that problem and the sound was terribly weak and fuzzy sounding-after I resoldered the connections it worked great.
If you are careful and use a non-corrosive contact cleaner spray you may be able to clean the switch and work out the dirt and junk in there without removing the pickguard, maybe also cover the pickguard with a rag or old towel to keep the cleaner off the pickguard and guitar body. But it would be best to open it up and see what soldering was done previously and redoing the connections will usually save more time than just redoing what you might think the problem is.
And if it needs a new switch, get a good quality Fender style-not the rectangular ones that don't last very long!

Here is a stewmac link..
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electro...hes_and_knobs/Lever-action_Pickup_Switch.html
 

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Much thanks! I'm ok with soldering things so I plan on opening the guitar up the first chance I get to check things out. To be honest I'm having so much fun playing it (I'm not used to such a thin neck) that I might wait a bit :-) If I need to clean/re-solder it won't be a big deal. It's just the first time I've ever attempted a guitar repair beyond, oh, changing strings so it's a bit daunting. I've pulled up some different wiring schematics from the tubes here on the Internet to help out.
 
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