74 grayback pickups

[csiniawski1]

I've got a 74 strat with grayback pickups in it and in recent months ive noticed that the bridge pickup is significantly weaker than the other two, to a point that I can't really play it anymore.

I spoke with guy who makes pickups and he told me to test the pickups with my multimeter by checking the ohms at the leads. Well it seems like I can't get any sort of reading on the bridge or middle pickup and my bridge gets some reading but its all over the place. From what I've read this means that there is a possiblilty of broken winding, which is possible with the guitar being 35 years old.

Is there anything else I can do to test further to isolate the problem?

Also, is there a process for just fixing your own pickups or is it something best left to a professional...espcially since these pickups go for some 500 dollars a set on ebay?

If I should just get them done professionaly, does anyone have recommendations on where I can go or send them? I live in a south suburb of Chicago, so if there was a quality tech that is local I wouldn't mind doing so. Any help there would be appreciated.


I'm also putting up another post about this guitar needing fretwork, so if you know anyone out in the Chicago area who does good fretwork I would be greatful, espcially given the nature of the guitar. Or if anyone here does quality work I would consider working with you as well!

Thanks.

Chet

[SandovalPDV]

If you have a break in the winding the only way to fix it is to rewind the pickup. That will kill the value of it. You might want to check the selector or wires for a bad connection. Check the pickup with a volt meter you might have to disconnect the two wires to get a good reading if you are not getting one.

[csiniawski1]

Thanks. I tried that out and it still wasn't getting a good reading, so it looks like its just in bad shape. Oh well, the guitar is a player so I'm gonna get it fixed up and back to full working condition.

I was talking to the guy at the shop and he has an olympic white 74 that still has the tags on it, all of the paperwork, and its basically like you would go into guitar center and bought a 2009 strat. He got it for 1500 bucks. I'm jealous!

[flieger67]

Instead of re-winding the pickup, have you considered going pickup shopping and/or maybe putting together a new pickguard for your strat, especially if you consider your guitar to be a player? Lots of options out there these days when it comes to pickups.

[basile865]

If the bridge just happens to be weak and not actually broken, and youre trying to boost the output, I think lindy fralin sells whats called a base plate. I think it solders up to the base of the pickup and boosts output. You could also adjust the pickup height closer to the strings for a little more volume.

Otherwise, if you're going to change pickups I most definitely would get a separate loaded pick guard with fresh pots and switch. I swapped fender custom shop 69's into my strat and was really happy with them. You can buy preloaded pickguards on ebay for around 220+ I believe. That way you just have to resolder the ground and jack wires. If you dont, it can sort've become a pain in the ass and become a bit of a rats nest under there if you dont know what youre doing/take your time.

Plus, considering you're not going to rewind your original pickups I assume you're looking to maintain originality of the guitar.

If youre going for the original strat sound - dont get any pickups that are too hot. Nothing much over 6.2 I'd say.

My vote is to take out the original pick guard - store it in a nice big zip lock bag and buy a preloaded one. You can save yourself the time and buy something that is neatly assembled for not that much more. It'll sound like a totally fresh new guitar. The 69's really added clarity and a new fresh sound to the strat for me. Other guys on here really dig the Callaham H/SRV pickups. Look into what Lindy Fralin has to offer too. His vintage hots would probably sound great.

Hope that helps some man