Help with reverb purchase? Pickup is DOA

[the rossness]

So, I bought a guitar off Reverb an Ibanez AZ47p1qm and it arrived with a malfunctioning bridge pickup. There’s little to no output in the bridge position, but every other pickup option on the 5-way selector switch seems fine. I included a video of the issue. Is this a bad pickup or bad pickup selector or bad wiring? I asked the seller (a big box store) to pay for a repair. Besides the pickup, the guitar plays great! Is that appropriate? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[japetus]

Open up the cavity and check the wiring...do you see anything loose? Do you feel comfortable soldering?

 

[scriptphase]

Probably something simple like japetus wrote, related to the soldering. If the seller balks at a repair, I would talk to a local tech and explain the situation that you’re on a limited timeline for a potential return, then for a bench fee (around $40) you’d know whether this is just a soldering issue (that would be fixed on the spot) or a pickup with an issue.

 

[the rossness]

Open up the cavity and check the wiring...do you see anything loose? Do you feel comfortable soldering?

No. Not at all. I bring all my guitars to a local shop for wiring and pickup replacement. I suck at soldering.

 

[OUTLAW1969]

Open up the cavity and check the wiring...do you see anything loose? Do you feel comfortable soldering?

Do this with the guitar plugged in, and gently "wiggle" the wires going to the pots / switch, to see if the problem reveals itself. The sound could get better, worse, or cause major static, when wiggling the wires.......if so, it is probably a simple soldering issue.

 

[scottosan]

Do you own a multimeter?

 

[Sway304]

So, I bought guirar off Reverb an Ibanez AZ47p1qm and it arrived with a malfunctioning bridge pickup. There’s little to no output in the bridge position, but every other pickup option on the 5-way selector switch seems fine. I included a video of the issue. Is this a bad pickup or bad pickup selector or bad wiring? I asked the seller (a big box store) to pay for a repair. Besides the pickup, the guitar plays great! Is that appropriate? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Probably had cold soldered joint and sometimes they break in transport.

 

[glpg80]

If it’s just a single pickup issue on the guitar and absolutely nothing else is wrong with it, I’d eat the cost of repair and give a positive review anyway. Guitars are nowhere near the complexity or weight of amplifiers and I wouldn’t put a store through that.

With that said I own a multimeter and could diagnose/repair it easily.

Pick your battles - this is not one I’d fight.

 

[zendra]

dont they have a certified dealer that could look at it and then they would pay him,a trusted bussines contact, for fixing it ?

+ stop showing off with your multimeters and stuff !!!

 

[scottosan]

dont they have a certified dealer that could look at it and then they would pay him,a trusted bussines contact, for fixing it ?

+ stop showing off with your multimeters and stuff !!!

Showing off? Every guitarist should own one. Paying someone for something a teenager an do with the right tool is literally throwing money away. You can buy a basic one for $20 and it pays for itself the first time you need it.

 

[OUTLAW1969]

Taking it to a dealer is a waste of money, if it is something simple like a cold solder joint.

 

[Chubbs]

Are they stock pickups? Are they coil tapped and or split? Stock pots? A pic of the control cavity would be helpful. Doubt it’s the pickup though

 

[Geo]

A solder iron is about $20, this is a good excuse to learn to use one.

You are going to have to sooner or later anyway.

 

[chumbucket]

Was this sold as new? I would defintely get them to knock some money off for your trouble. It's probably an easy fix. I bought a new Ibanez AZ and it arrived with the nut just floating loose probably from a shock in shipping.

 

[zendra]

Showing off? Every guitarist should own one. Paying someone for something a teenager an do with the right tool is literally throwing money away. You can buy a basic one for $20 and it pays for itself the first time you need it.

...are you completely devoid of 'skills' to get humor ?

on top of that.....its little pedestrian to suggest that a 'person with a problem' that posts about the problem...fixes the problem themselves ... (surely they haven't though of that first...they needed you to tell them that they can do it themselves....and still decided to write to a forum for help ??? )

same goes for those fans that gave u 'like' after reading posts and pondering their action...'i think im going to click like....multimiter is not showing off....eeeeeeverybody should have one...wait, thats NOT what we're talking about...never mind .... LIKE!

 

[japetus]

...are you completely devoid of 'skills' to get humor ?

on top of that.....its little pedestrian to suggest that a 'person with a problem' that posts about the problem...fixes the problem themselves ... (surely they haven't though of that first...they needed you to tell them that they can do it themselves....and still decided to write to a forum for help ??? )

same goes for those fans that gave u 'like' after reading posts and pondering their action...'i think im going to click like....multimiter is not showing off....eeeeeeverybody should have one...wait, thats NOT what we're talking about...never mind .... LIKE!

Sometimes people overlook things and the simplest thing could be the problem. It happens. And having a multimeter is good advice. I don't see where you are getting buttblasted over any of this.

 

[scottosan]

...are you completely devoid of 'skills' to get humor ?

on top of that.....its little pedestrian to suggest that a 'person with a problem' that posts about the problem...fixes the problem themselves ... (surely they haven't though of that first...they needed you to tell them that they can do it themselves....and still decided to write to a forum for help ??? )

same goes for those fans that gave u 'like' after reading posts and pondering their action...'i think im going to click like....multimiter is not showing off....eeeeeeverybody should have one...wait, thats NOT what we're talking about...never mind .... LIKE!

1. Sorry I could not read your body language through my iPhone screen and couldn’t gauge your sarcasm level. I’ll try to do better

2. If someone is asking on a forum rather than going to a tech, it’s safe to assume they are trying to do some level of troubleshooting.

3. I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t going to offer more detailed help. Not only have I repaired pickups for forum members for free, to include return shipping, I’ve also helped over the phone troubleshoot various issues.

4. Should the proper response to the OP be to have him take it to tech, we don’t want to help?

I know you may be new, but this forum is far more community based and helpful regarding technical issues than most.

 

[zendra]

im a little disappointed that you didn mention multimeter once...

 

[japetus]

im a little disappointed that you didn mention multimeter once...

If you are looking for a decent inexpensive one...https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Digital-Multimeter-Voltage-Tester/dp/B01ISAMUA6?tag=cnet-buy-button-20&ascsubtag=fd56c5bd8445448f855e000ea5e389be%7C___VIEW_GUID___%7Cdtp

There are obviously much better ones but this one will do a simple job.

 

[zendra]

If you are looking for a decent inexpensive one...https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Digital-Multimeter-Voltage-Tester/dp/B01ISAMUA6?tag=cnet-buy-button-20&ascsubtag=fd56c5bd8445448f855e000ea5e389be%7C___VIEW_GUID___%7Cdtp

There are obviously much better ones but this one will do a simple job.

i dont need a multimeter...i have a community full of....multimeters !
......................................................................................................................................................................................

+(didn't notice your earlier post)...nobody on the net can help that guy with a problem...bought new thing, its broken, after 'jiggle the wires at the back' all advice is redundant...
if he touches it, warranty is gone...'go to the top of the mountain, there, underneath a thousand year old tree, there you will find multimeter that knows....dont ask how...IT just knows...paaaaleeeeeaseee !

...and instead of helping, it turns into 'smart guitarists own multimeters' topic...'i know my stuff with multimeter' ....its not a degree in tech...he obviously doesnt own one, doesnt use one...WTF are we talking about multimeters ?

but: go to a dealer...thats out of question ?