TL-volume when in middle position

[RocknRolf]

Hi All!


After routing my bridge cavity on my TL last week, I must've pulled too hard on the pickup as it stopped working mid-week.
Now I soldered everything back in place, but... I have the feeling the middle position is not doing what it's supposed to do.

>Should the middle position produce less volume than the neck and bridge position alone?

Much appreciated,

Rolf

[McCreed]

Should the middle position produce less volume than the neck and bridge position alone?

I notice a slight volume drop in the 2 & 4 positions of a strat (this is normal) but not in position 2 with any of my teles. I think this is due the extra loading that occurs in a strat (3 pups; 2 tones) vs a tele set up.
However, any difference in volume may be noticeable but should not be drastic. This is a result of the pickups operating in parallel and there is a decrease in output.

If you de-soldered and re-soldered everything, make sure you didn't accidentally switch one of the pickups hot & ground. If you did, it would put them out of phase and there would be a definite tonal change (thinner) that could be perceived as a volume change.

The only other thing I can think of is reflowing the solder joins on the switch. A cold solder joint could be impeding the output signal.

That's all I got...

[RocknRolf]

Thank you McCreed,

I just plugged in my guitar and checked again and I still have the feeling the positions 1 and 3 are ok. But position 2 is just the bridge pickup, but then on a slightly lower volume.

I will go over the soldering joins and see if it fixes the issue.

Cheers!

[McCreed]

Thank you McCreed,

I just plugged in my guitar and checked again and I still have the feeling the positions 1 and 3 are ok. But position 2 is just the bridge pickup, but then on a slightly lower volume.

I will go over the soldering joins and see if it fixes the issue.

Cheers!

Have you tapped on the pieces with a screwdriver (or other steel implement) while switching between positions?
This can give you a more obvious sound to judge the output by.

If you're only getting the bridge in pos 2 but with lower output, we'll have to look in a different direction to suss the issue, but it could still be a dodgy solder joint or ground problem.

Report back with what you find. Interested!

[RocknRolf]

So in the meantime, I found one solder join that was somewhat poor and redid that one.
Then checked with a screwdriver while switching positions.

Successful!
Way better volume distribution between the positions.
Thanks!


I will probably in a couple of weeks attach a quick-connector for the neck pickup position, allowing for quick pickup changes.
Currently, I have a GFS gold foil 5.6 alnico in the neck but would like to swap to a tele-pickup.
Basically having fun and keeping myself busy before committing to that second build

And also I do not want to keep touching the guitar with a soldering iron every 6 months or so.

[McCreed]

Excellent! Great result.