Weird problem with my 360's bridge pickup

[readymade]

Okay, maybe it's not weird, but I've never experienced this. I purchased one of the Musician's Friend blowout-priced Rickenbackers last week, and it's awesome in every way--plays great, sounds great. However, after band rehearsal I decided I needed to raise the bridge pickup a bit. After doing so, I plugged the guitar in and the bridge pup was really weak--a definite loss in volume and the tone got incredibly thin, almost like it was out of phase. Where it gets slighter weirder is that I lowered the pup back down a bit and the problem disappeared. I started moving the pup up and down a bit and discovered that there's a very distinct point where the out-of-phase sound kicks in; it's not a gradual shift in tone but a very obvious and abrupt one.

So I guess my question is: what the hell is going on? Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

[beatlefreak]

Sounds like it might be a poor or broken solder connection on the back of the pickup.

[readymade]

I did pop open the control cavity and I also pulled the pickup, but I couldn't find any loose or disconnected wires. I'll take another look. . .

[doctorwho]

I think we need an expert in electromagnetism to explain this!

[windchimp]

What happens if you select only the bridge PU? Does the same effect occur when both PU's are selected?

[readymade]

When the bridge pickup is selected is when the sound is thin and abnormal. In the middle position, the bridge pup is still not right.

[rickcrazy]

I'm still scratching my head!

[windchimp]

I'm wondering if there is a dodgy connection. If you were to remove the pickguard so the wiring is accessible, gently move the pickup wire (harness) and see if that has any effect. It would be helpful if you could check the resistance of the pickup while you go through this exercise. If you do have a DVM check the resistance across the hot and ground of the pickup. If the resistance remains constant, then there is some mysterious magentic field thing going on. It could be the pickup's proximity to the strings or the bridge, but let's see what's going on witht he wiring first.

[schoolside]

I only found out my pickups were bad when I bought a 2nd 330 and it sounded so much better. I tested and found I have two faulty (open) hi gains on a new 330. I had the same problem on a toaster last year. Toasters are repairable, the high gains are not. Your weird problem is a most likely a faulty solder connection on the ground (center connection internally). The pickup should ohm out at about 10k the bad ones read 10 Meg and up or are just intermittent. When the bad connection is internal like mine is, the pickup must be unwound to repair it. I am currently awaiting a call back from customer service. Best of Luck,

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