PRS CE 24 Neck PU problem

[Francesco Landi]

Hello fellow guitar lovers!
I've bought a PRS CE 24 about 6 months ago, never had a problem with it, till some days ago.
I was in rehearsals and I had to play, I plugged the guitar (with the neck Pu se into the first amp available (Fender Deville through a Mooer Red Truck pedalboard) but it sounded flat and really low in volume, I tried to raise both the amp volume and the pedalboard setting but nothing really changed. I then tried another amp through another pedalboard (Fender Champion) but still, nothing. I then started tweaking on the guitar and as soon as I changed PU position the guitar came back from the dead

 

[AP515]

Hard to say without more information. First try it at home. Switch from Neck to bridge many times and see if it sounds muted on the neck every time. It might be the switch needs cleaning.

 

[Black Plaid]

It might be the switch needs cleaning.

This is the absolute thing to try first, start with some rubbing alcohol and carefully clean the contacts for the neck pickup. If you have electrical contact cleaner, it's even better. In a pinch, you can use some fine (>500) grit sandpaper and slide it between the contacts facing both ways.

If that doesn't have any effect, you can start measuring resistance between the various wires coming from the pickup to verify if it is, in fact, the pickup.

 

[shimmilou]

It would be better to start with a meter, verify pup continuity first.

 

[Black Plaid]

It would be better to start with a meter, verify pup continuity first.

Most people don't have access to a meter, or know how to use one.

 

[jvin248]

Most people don't have access to a meter, or know how to use one.

Go to harbor freight and find the <$10 volt-ohm meter. Typically red case. Look for youtube videos 'how to use ohm meter' and maybe add 'to check guitar pickup'.

Most often the problem order:
-dirty switch
-dirty volume pot
-broken lead wire
-broken solder eyelet joint where the lead wire is soldered to the bobbin wire (fix is reflow solder)
-broken bobbin wire (sometimes this is actually beneficial, Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat and Roy Buchannan's Nancy guitars had broken pickups)

.

 

[LedZeppelin]

I’m guessing it’s the switch or a cold solder joint.

 

[pauloqs]

This is the absolute thing to try first, start with some rubbing alcohol and carefully clean the contacts for the neck pickup. If you have electrical contact cleaner, it's even better. In a pinch, you can use some fine (>500) grit sandpaper and slide it between the contacts facing both ways.

If that doesn't have any effect, you can start measuring resistance between the various wires coming from the pickup to verify if it is, in fact, the pickup.

I would like to add that if you service/maintain the guitars yourself, it's always good to have Deoxit around. I've had that happen to one of my LPs. A little spray of Deoxit on the pickup selector toggle switch and moving the toggle up and down did the trick for me (literally fixed the guitar in a matter of seconds). You don't even need to open the control cavity. Just use the precision nozzle to spay a bit of Deoxit at the base of the switch. Do NOT even think about using WD40 instead of an appropriate electric contact cleaner. The only acceptable use for WD40 on guitars is to clean the strings, but at that point you might as well just get new strings.

 

[BMiller]

Go to harbor freight and find the <$10 volt-ohm meter. Typically red case. Look for youtube videos 'how to use ohm meter' and maybe add 'to check guitar pickup'.

Most often the problem order:
-dirty switch
-dirty volume pot
-broken lead wire
-broken solder eyelet joint where the lead wire is soldered to the bobbin wire (fix is reflow solder)
-broken bobbin wire (sometimes this is actually beneficial, Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat and Roy Buchannan's Nancy guitars had broken pickups)

.

This! A Centech meter from Harbor Freight will cost you $5.99. If you grab a coupon, it will be $2.99. I use these meters a lot at home and at work. I'd rather have one of these stolen or damaged than one of my expensive Flukes. They aren't fancy, but they are more than good enough to check continuity, measure voltages, verify outlets, check resistors and diodes, and bias amps. If you get the coupon deal, buy several. It is easier to just grab another one than replace the battery in them.

Using a meter is easy. If you have questions, do a Google search or ask.