Hello everyone,

I bought an American Deluxe HSS 10 days ago and yesterday the middle pickup suddenly went dead. I do not know whether it is a snapped connection or cold solder or the pickup is dead. Some questions for the Fender experts here:

1) I want to rule out the case of a snapped connection or cold solder before sending it to the repair shop (which is not in my city). If I open it and realize that the pickup is dead and close it without touching anything (just measure the pickup voltage), will the guys at the authorized service see that? Will I have voided the warranty?

2) How possible do you think it is that the pickup went dead? I strongly believe that it is a connection/soldering issue. Is this a reasonable deduction? Are pickups dying often? Are broken connections and cold solders usual?

3) In case the pickup is dead, I understand that the Deluxe HSS Strat has a modified version of the SCN pickup ("hot"). The Fender catalogue does not list Hot SCNs. Will they replace it with the normal (lower-output) SCNs? I cannot find Hot SCNs for sale anywhere on the Internet. I don't want them to replace the Hot SCN with a normal one, since that would break the balance of the pickups (along with the "stock-ness" of the guitar). Do authorized dealers have access to different parts and accessories than the catalogue that Fender gives to the general public?

4) Can I demand the replacement of the whole guitar, so as to not already have a repaired guitar which I only bought a week ago?

Lots of questions! Thanks for your time.

It depends on the tech. If you mess with it, you can void the warranty. I'd just return it and look for another one. I know a friend of mine had a problem with the S-1 switching system.

was it giving you small issues prior, like volume drop and then back to normal?
or did it just die?

No issues. It just suddenly died.

Hi mikevas: do I understand right that it is a brand new guitar? If so, it is way within its warranty, so just take it back to the store and let them figure it out. They have to either make it work properly or replace it, simple as that.

Far as pickups "dying": well, (depending what we mean by that word) it can happen - but it is amazingly rare. Far more likely to just be a short or a broken connection.

Oh, welcome to the Forum, by the way.

Cheers - C

hey ceri,

i did notice yesterday that on my am deluxe vneck, the mid pu had volume drop issues twice on the g dec, im not sure if it was due to amp settings, gain delay maybe a certain modeling amp problem.
then i plugged in to my bassman, and no noticable issues.

i bought mine off a gc store, i wlii try to replicate the problem.
im still taking it back so they can check it out.
i dont want to replace it, or return it, as im loving this axe.

im thinking maybe it was the g dec.

sorry man, i didnt mean to hijack your thread, i just feel this is pretty relevant on am deluxe middle pu.

No problem, mate. Do what you got to do

Aren't the Hot SCNs on sale from Fender as parts? I cannot find them anywhere...

on the hss models the neck and mid pus are overwound compared to the scns.
i dont think they sel those pus.
by the way the neck and mid pu sound awesome on a marshall amp.
cleans are impressive, and gain stuff is sweet.
good luck with yours.

Do not open the pickguard and just bring it back and they will fix it Yes I bought a new Strat 10 years ago and the bridge pup died within a week. I would say the odds of that happening are like hitting the pick four though, it is very rare as Fenders are built like tanks and I never have any problems with my guitars but coming out of the factory things like this happen at times.

I also like your thinking of not starting off with a new guitar that needed repair work. So I would throw the pitch of Cmon I spent all this money and I have to get the one lemon I would rather have a new ax. I dont know what they will do but it just might work. Even if you have to slip the salesman a $20 I think you would sleep better. If not it will be fixed proper.

A dead pickup is unusual, though of course not unknown. As the pickup cover is sealed into the body of the p/up (and can't be removed from it) I would imagine that physical coil damage is almost impossible.

As far as I'm aware, the SCN p/ups you can buy from the Fender Mod Shop are the same (electrically and probably in appearance) as the ones in the Deluxe. The Fender Mod Shop SCN pack have the pickups rated as follows:

Bridge - DC Resistance 11.5k, inductance 3.8 Henries

Middle - DC Resistance 6.5k, inductance 2.4 Henries

Neck - same as middle.

This makes them hotter than vintage actually for a single coil pickup. Especially the bridge. (Haven't got a clue what "Henries" are all about..)

Incidentally, you can measure a pickup's resistance without having to disassemble the guitar to reach it. It may be measured at the guitar's output jack with an appropriate test meter. Just use the pickup selector to identify the pickup you want to test. But If you do this on your 'dead' p/up, I'm assuming you'll get no reading and it can't therefore be used to diagnose if the coil is dead or if there is just a broken internal connection.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

The specs of the Deluxe HSS say "Hot Samarium Cobalt Noiseless" whereas the specs of the Deluxe say "Samarium Cobalt Noiseless". As tone said, the pups in the HSS are overwound (I measured the resistance of the neck pickup at 10.5k). And this is what is troubling me. I fear that they are going to replace the hot SCNs with normals. I'll try to get a replacement, just to be sure.

I may be getting paranoid, I know. It an authorized Fender dealer after all. But you know (some of you at least) how it is when you spend all this money and need to hit the repair shop right away!!!

The most common scenarios I run across are:

- The bottom of the selector switch is bottoming out on the guitar's body underneath it. The terminal which the middle pickup is soldered to (at the very bottom of the switch) may be touching the shielding paint. This would cause the pickup to short right out. Sometimes just moving the pickup's hot wire at the terminal is enough to restore necessary clearance. Other times, just a piece of electric tape on the body at the affected area provides the required insulation.

- The contact in the switch itself isn't mating to the rocker track when the middle pickup is selected. The contact needs to be bent just a little bit to closer to it.

- Fender's Noiseless series pickups are VERY frail and fall apart rather easily.

FYI: Even if only one pickup craps out, the whole set will have to be sent back to Fender.

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You dig?

Thanks Martian.

I couldn't resist and I opened it! I measured the pickup resistance at its poles and its infinite. The pup is definitely dead. So, it will have to go back and I will push for a complete replacement of the guitar. If they don't accept it, I now know that the resistance of the Hot SCNs is 10.5kO. So when I get it back, if the resistance is 6.5kO I will have proof that they put in the normal SCNs and not the hot ones.

Thanks everyone for the help! I hope I will have my baby back soon!!!

You're welcome.

Put it all back together like you NEVER took it apart. There is always the potential that you'll run into some hardass who will claim you voided the warranty because you took matters into your own hands.

Again, (IIRC) as part of the warranty procedure, Fender will mandate the shop to send all three pickups back, not just the one, premising that if one is bad, the other two can't be far behind; and I surely agree with you about getting a whole new guitar. Check if your state has a, "Lemon Law". If it does, they HAVE to exchange the guitar for you or give you your money back.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

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You dig?

I've heard the S-1 switching system is faulty and they are replaced often. I'd avoid the fancy electronics. Look at Gibson's Robot Guitar, they'll failing left and right. I went to a Guitar Center and was looking at a Robot SG, they sent that guitar in six times to be fixed because its robot tuning system kept messing up. Stick to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Avoid the Deluxe strat, buy a signature strat, but avoid the S-1 stuff.