My '79 Starcaster was just diagnosed with a neck pick up issue. I need your HELP/ADVICE. Guitar tech said it is only reading half the output, thinks it has a center coil out, and that it is acting as a capacitor, as a result sound is being read but not as it should. He says he can do it but is hesitant due to unfamiliarity with the "hallowed" pickup. Does anyone have a link to someone who IS familiar with rewinding vintage coils? Or, should I let my tech do it?

There is no such thing as a "center coil" in your HB and one of the coils in its current configuration cannot be acting as a capacitor. Construction and function wise, your pickup is certainly nothing unique in the humbucker world. Your tech is making all sorts of excuses to save face as clearly, he does not know how to service pickups and has little or no formal knowledge of electronics. Absolutely NO to him servicing this pickup! Further, premising your pickup was not abused, it is highly doubtful that you need a new coil as they just don't up and die from old age and 1979 by comparison is certainly not old. Rather, chances are there's an internal short somewhere.

Pickup servicing is a delicate art best left to the truly experienced. If you can't find someone competent locally, let me know and maybe I can be of assistance.

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You dig?

Martian

Not sure I relayed his explanation correctly. Your thoughts are more similar to his words. He is a skilled tech, whose brother played with Jack White and The Raconteurs, and was approached by Jack White's tech with a job offer. He was comfortable rewinding it, but doesn't want to disappoint me. He is drooling over the guitars mint condition, is just not sure what he is going to find inside that pickup. Not sure what I'll do. Been researching the pickup specs with success, but searching the net for anyone with experience with the vintage pickups is coming up dry. Going in to talk to him tomorrow. I may hit you up for info again after that.

Was he saying that the some of the copper/nickel magnets are no longer magnetized? Originals had rod magnet pole pieces. Magnets can become demagnetize or weaken.
I have not done anything to a real Wide Range. Go to Lollar Pickups and you will see that Jason Lollar works on original Fender Wide Range HB, according to his site the charge is 170.00

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I second everything Martian has said. The other guy doesn't seems like he knows a thing regardless of who has offered him a job, means nothing.

I would love an original version of this pick-up and I suggest you take Martian's offer of help. He's the main man in terms of pick-ups here on the fender.com forums! To the point I refer to the pick-up section here as 'Mars'.

CC

With all due respect, now I'm reading contradictions. As to celebrities, I can throw quite a few names around too (which I won't). The bottom line again, he is uncomfortable doing the job and as you've stated "He...doesn't want to disappoint me. He...is just not sure what he is going to find inside that pickup." For the sake of this conversation, I'll even concede to his abilities. However and again, he has stated that he's uncomfortable doing the job so I wouldn't pursue him to do it.

Also, it is virtually nil that you have a petered out magnet as one of the coil's DC resistance is not showing on a meter reading. If the magnet was degaussed, the coil would still fully read but there would be no sound. Here too, the odds are overwhelming that it wouldn't be limited to one coil but the pair.

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I Find that odd that you think that both Hum bucker coils are usually bad. Most times when a HB goes bad it is only one coil that makes a dead pickup. Thats been My experience and I venture to say as most who make a living rewinding which I do not do.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Martian,

Well, I am open for suggestions. Am in Southeast Washington State. Only options by car are Seattle, Spokane, or Portland Oregon. If you know of anyone in those vicinities... I'm open. If not, would appreciate any contacts you would recommend.

I Find that odd that you think that both Hum bucker coils are usually bad. Most times when a HB goes bad it is only one coil that makes a dead pickup. Thats been My experience and I venture to say as most who make a living rewinding which I do not do.[/quote]

If the magnets are petering out, one or both coils will be affected with no sound as a symptom but the DC resistance of the coil will still be there as there is nothing wrong with the coil. Apparently, my experience is quite different as depending on which coil craps out in the series link, this is what determines if the pickup in its entirety will go dead. For example, in the OP's case, those pickups had a thin, loose piece of paper tape insulating the soldered link joining the two coils in series. Back then, Fender didn't coil saturate the pickups. Rather, they gave them a quick dip and that's why they would oftentimes squeal even though CBS claimed they potted them. Based on my experience with these pickups, that thin piece of tape's glue dried up due to age and the tape itself slid to one side of the joined leads (because the wax did not fully pot) where now the link is no longer insulated and is shorting against the inside of the pickup cover. Hence, only one coil will be dead. Of course, I could be wrong but this is has been my experience with these and many a Gibson HB over many, many years.

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Could be the tech was talking about the center wraps of the coil itself being bad. I don't know if they were spraying the magnetic poles on them with lacquer before winding. At that time the magnet may very well still be in direct contact with the coil which as you know kills many old fender pickups and with the Copper,nickel,iron magnet used on them and a reaction to the coil after 30 years may damage that inner coil.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

These pickups have bobbins which were separate and apart from the coil windings just like your run of the mill HB. However, your postulation is extremely valid and makes perfect sense, shedding light on the reasoning behind his tech's statement(s) as in '79, they were indeed squirting the coils with lacquer rather than dipping them as yet another cost cutting measure. That lacquer does shrink, does get brittle and surely is more than capable of snapping and separating coil windings.

In any event, the bottom line is that pickup has to be opened up as all we can do at this point is presume, based on our experiences.

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I think the most important thing the op's tech told him was that he was hesitant, and uncomfortable. as stated above, not all techs can do it all. this really does sound like a job for a specialist, someone who is experienced with these.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hey martian I going to look around and see if I can find a Wide Range HB thats bad just to dissect. They were the same pickups used on the Telecaster Custom and Thinline in early 70's and I thought they were just flatwork and magnets wrap like the old fenders single coils. I do know the newer MIJ and MIM (W.R.HB's) are not made anything like the originals.
I seen the old ones at shows selling for 250. and 300. but one of the locals may have a dead one around that could be had or at least looked. at. Curiosity can be a pain in the arse sometimes.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Hey martian I going to look around and see if I can find a Wide Range HB thats bad just to dissect. They were the same pickups used on the Telecaster Custom and Thinline in early 70's and I thought they were just flatwork and magnets wrap like the old fenders single coils. I do know the newer MIJ and MIM (W.R.HB's) are not made anything like the originals.
I seen the old ones at shows selling for 250. and 300. but one of the locals may have a dead one around that could be had or at least looked. at. Curiosity can be a pain in the arse sometimes.[/quote]

Yep, those repros are totally different animals. Unfortunately, in my circles, I haven't seen any originals floating around for years; hopefully, you'll be able to score one. Just don't tell whoever that chance are, you can get it functioning properly or they'll want to charge you 'big time' for it, working or not! Good luck!!

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Pickup issue is not an issue anymore; all it needed was to be rewound, problem solved. Local tech did it, was headed Lollar if it was going to be a deeper issue. Sound is perfect. Nice to get it back!