Faulty pickup

[LeeO]

Hi, I'm a newbie on here. I have just acquired an Alembic Epic and the bridge pickup does not work. I've cleaned the electrics carefully and checked the connections are secure. I've only just noticed there is a crack in the bridge pickup casing. It looks like it's had quite a knock at sometime. Could the pickup be metered and what reading should it give. Thanks in advance. Lee

[lbpesq]

Lee, welcome to the club.  The damage doesn't look all that bad - I've certainly seen worse and the pickup still worked.  The easiest way to test it is to swap it with the neck pickup and see if the trouble stays in the bridge circuit or migrates to the neck circuit along with the pickup.  Unless someone has been messing around with the electronics, you should be able to just unplug the pickups (solderless), to try the swap.  (you don't have to physically move the pickups, just swap the leads and see if the one that doesn't work comes back to life and vice versa.

Bill, the guitar one 

[LeeO]

Hi Bill, just tried that and it worked ok.  I have a friend who is an electronic wiz, I'll get him to have a look. I'm relieved that the pickup isn't faulty, just a matter of finding the fault in the electrics. Thanks for your suggestion, I'd never have thought of that. Cheers and thanks again.                                         

[bigredbass]

LeeO, you might also post pictures of the electronics cavity:  More than a few people here can LOOK and see if any, ahem, 'improvements' have been made, or we could point out which electro-widget to test.

Congrats on your new axe.  However, consider yourself warned:  Most of us here started with a used Alembic  . . . . then look what happened !

Joey

[LeeO]

Here is a pic of the electrics.

[edwardofhuncote]

Just a suggestion- rotate the pan knob fully a couple dozen times. Be very deliberate and thorough about it. (this often works on other pots with noise issues... may be to no avail here, but worth a shot)

[LeeO]

Just want to say a big thank you for all your suggestions and advice. The bass is now up and running as it should and sounding awesome. In fact it might just knock my Wal bass which I've had for 35 years into second spot.

[lbpesq]

Lee:

WARNING!  Alembics are most definitely habit forming.  They also have another side effect you will likely encounter - because they are so clear and responsive, your playing inevitably improves as they are terrible at hiding bad technique.  All you warts and buggers are right out there on display!  As a result, most of us notice that our playing improved post-Alembic.

Bill, tgo

[edwardofhuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments Lee, Welcome to The Club. :0