“My pickup reads “open”. Can I get it rewound?”
The answer to this question is a resounding….”it depends”. This is not the answer you may have expected. But, the good news is that the pickup may still be viable and does not need a rewind, even though it measured “open”.
Rewinding a hand crafted JBE pickup can be expensive for you and even for us. So we want to be sure that everything possible, short of a full rebuild and rewind, have been considered.
You may not need a rewind!
Contrary to what may have been told to you, a rewind is NOT ALWAYS THE RIGHT FIX. Also, do not assume that if the fine coil wires visible around the base of the pickup are frayed, that this is smoking-gun evidence of the problem. NOT NECESSARILY! (There is a long explanation as to why, but we need not concern ourselves with that here.) Before assuming anything, let’s first try a simple at home fix. It may just do the job, cost you nothing, and bring your JBE pickup back to a full and glorious life.
The fix? Reheat the Solder Terminals.
Reheating often works because the internal solder connection between the hookup wire and the coils may have been compromised. It can happen with any pickup. So don’t freak out (at least not yet).
- Reheat the solder terminals by placing the hot tip of a low wattage soldering iron on each solder point. These are the 4 points on the underside of the pickup where the black, green, white and red wires of the hookup cable connect to the pickup.
- Keep the tip of the soldering iron on the connections only long enough to allow the solder to emulsify…this is generally about 3 to 5 seconds. Do not overheat.
- Add a fresh dab of solder to the connection. Let it cool for 10 seconds.
- Measure the resistance using a multi-meter at the Black and Green wire connection points to see if you get an appropriate resistance reading for the pickup.
- OR, if you don’t have a multi-meter, tap lightly on the pickup’s blades with a small metal screwdriver. Try not to scratch the pickup’s blades (aka rails) with the screwdriver. So, tap at the end of the blade or place a small piece of masking tape over the blade and then tap on it with the screwdriver.
- If you hear a solid ‘click’, Congratulations! It indicates the pickup is active and passing signal and should be OK. How does the pickup sound thru your amp?
- No click or resistance reading, or poor sound? You may need to send your pickup back to JBE for further analysis.
Is your pickup still under warranty?
JBE offers a generous 5 Year Limited Warranty on our products that protects you from defects in materials or workmanship. Please, read the Warranty Terms and Conditions found here on our website. These conditions must be met for warranty coverage. Send your pickup to us. Upon receipt, JBE will inspect it and either repair or replace it if it is covered under the warranty.
If we determine that the pickup is not protected by the warranty, we will advise you of any charges before doing any further work. If you want us to proceed with a quoted repair, great! Otherwise, if the defect is so critical that you decide that it is not worth the expense or repair, we will stop here , and you are not charged…unless you want the defective pickup returned in which case we will charge only for return postage. Again, our Warranty Terms and Conditions apply, so please read the warranty first.