Wanted: Someone to fix my SD pickup

InactiveX · March 2019

I have a Seymour Duncan SH-2N that is in a bit of a state and I'm looking for someone to fix it for me.

It has the outer tape removed, the wires are very short, and there is a stray black wire hanging off it.

Can anyone see to it?

Thanks!

Roland · March 2019

You could start by talking to a pickup maker such as @TheGuitarWeasel or @Alegree ;

Funkfingers · March 2019

Where are you located?

How many separate insulated conductor wires emerge from the outer insulation of the output cable?

Is the “stray black” wire the same thickness as the red, white and green wires in the output cable or is it skinny and protruding from the end of one of the humbucker’s bobbins?

The easiest solution to suggest is a replacement output cable. Unfortunately, this task is a pig to perform and probably unwise to attempt without confidence and experience.

Jez6345789 · March 2019

Any good pickup guy can fix this for you but dependent on labour rates and estimated time to complete you might just be better off getting a working 2nd hand one off eBay or here if anyone is selling often finish around 34-44 quid

if you have time then there are plenty of videos on fixing or putting in another output cable. Yes it’s fiddly if you are not used to soldering fine wire but if you screw it up first time there is plenty more turns on the bobbin.

just mark the pieces so they can be reassembled the correct way same with magnets etc.

prowla · March 2019

Alegree fixed a couple of pickups for me; I'll be back with a couple more which need doing when I get around to it.

Funkfingers · March 2019

Here is a Gibson '57 Classic humbucker that I re-cabled myself. (NOTE: The lumpy appearance of the black tape at the left end of the pickup, where the four soldered joints are made and, then, insulated.) I have left the 4-con + shield output cable ridiculously long in case I ever decide to try the pickup in a 335 type guitar. While I was in there, I also swapped the original polished A2 magnet to a rough cast UOA5.

https://i.imgur.com/ZVn7qWq.jpg?1

InactiveX · March 2019

Funkfingers said:

Where are you located?

How many separate insulated conductor wires emerge from the outer insulation of the output cable?

Is the “stray black” wire the same thickness as the red, white and green wires in the output cable or is it skinny and protruding from the end of one of the humbucker’s bobbins?

The easiest solution to suggest is a replacement output cable. Unfortunately, this task is a pig to perform and probably unwise to attempt without confidence and experience.

Thanks for all your replies people. Very nice.

Funkfingers, I am in Somerset, UK. I will get that profile filled in!

I solder well, so I'll fix the output cable myself. The real problem for me is how and where to reattach the black cable. It is connected to a green wire that goes back into the pup, and the connection is surrounded by a small area of electrical tape.

I'm prepared to do some dissection on this pickup, and maybe sacrifice it for knowledge's sake.

Is there anything I should try next? Can the black wire be reattached? Should I peel off the next layer of tape? Any recommended resources?

Ta!

Funkfingers · April 2019

I recommend that you post a few photographs of the offending pickup. This may clarify the problem.

Normally, on Duncan humbuckers, the connections from the start and finish of the coil on each bobbin are insulated black and white, respectively. Thus, skinny black to green is the negative conductor from the screw coil. The soldered joint between these two wires should be insulated and then tucked away in the gap at one end of the humbucker.

An unconnected black insulated wire is a bad sign. In a humbucker with single conductor and braided shield output cable, if you are lucky, the loose end of black insulated wire is the one that should be soldered to either the pickup baseplate or the output cable conductor.

Given all of the other alterations that have been made to your pickup, I would hazard the guess that the stray black wire was torn during an careless bar magnet swap.

InactiveX · April 2019

OK I see. I think I'll leave it. It's not a pickup I am using. I'll probably dismantle it for fun.

Cheers!

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Wanted: Someone to fix my SD pickup

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