Author Topic: Skylark Issue (Read 123 times)

strangerones · « **on:** July 27, 2010, 10:23:50 AM »

Hey now,

Recently my Skylark has been sending clicks and pops when it's plugged in to my amplifier. It plays fine, and it's not real noticable while I'm playing, but it's real noticable between songs/jams.

The clicks and pops also occur when the pickups are turned off and when the volume is turned all the way down on the guitar.

Another issue that I suspect is related is that when I have the pickups turned off and the volume turned down, a distortion/static is still making it to the amplifier when I strum.

Does anyone have any advice on what the issue might be or how to go about resolving it? Would it require shipping the guitar to Alembic, or can my local Alembic dealer be able to fix it in house?

mica · « **Reply #1 on:** July 27, 2010, 01:45:02 PM »

If the clicks and pops happen with the guitar is entirely stationary (like on a bench), then it's likely an integrated circuit. You can test which one by unplugging the 3-pin connector to each filter individually and noting when the clicks and pops cease.

Skylarks usually have a side-mounted jack. If yours is front-mounted, make sure the nut holding the bushing is not loose. Don't worry about the jack if it's side mounted if it look like this one. If you have a barrel jack, it might need replacing.

There's also the chance that there is some component barely making a contact with the silver shielding. With the back cover off, you can lightly wiggle each board and see if you can make the offending sound get better, cut the signal out all together or stay the same as it was.

strangerones · « **Reply #2 on:** July 28, 2010, 08:41:41 AM »

Thanks a ton Mica! I'll give your suggestions a try this weekend.

If it's the integrated circuit, is the solution a simple matter of ordering a new one and switching it out?

mica · « **Reply #3 on:** July 28, 2010, 01:34:59 PM »

If it's an IC you can probably obtain a TLE2022 locally and pop the defective one out and insert the new one - no soldering.

It's much easier to do with the board removed from the guitar - just make sure you line up pin 1 on the chip to pin 1 on the socket. Don't go by the printed words for alignment. Pin 1 will be marked with a molded dot or a molded 1 or a notch. Likewise on the socket.

If you do manage to plug it in backwards, it will burnout the chip, but nothing else will be harmed.

strangerones · « **Reply #4 on:** August 17, 2010, 05:23:14 AM »

Hi Mica,

I finally had an opportunity to check this out. It seems to be the one component in the Skylark that's not actually secured to the guitar. It's the larger of the circuit boards that sits on top of the pots for the bright switches.

Whenever I touch that particular component or gently jiggle it, the guitar gets very noisy at times and occasionally make sounds similar to what it makes when at rest.

Is this the same TLE2022 you mentioned above, or is it something else? When I unplugged the connector pins to this board, the signal cuts out from the guitar entirely. None of the other connector pins on the other components seemed to make a difference in the noise.

I can e-mail a picture (albeit a fuzzy one) if that would help.

Thanks,

James