Guyatone Lap Steel Pick up Question

[brunopietoso]

Hi there!

I've recently purchased a Guyatone HG 92 on Ebay a bit like this one:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1773660453

However, I noticed that the neck pick up doesn't seem to be working. The bridge one along with the switch when on and off work fine. The neck one and switch do nothing.

With the current situation with most guitar techs not operating and me not being a very techy electrician or very knowledgeable about guitar electronics was wondering if anyone thinks this may be an easy fix? Or have experienced this themselves?

I will look into bringing it in to be assessed by an expert at some point but not sure if any guitar tech is qualified to deal with these more "vintage" instruments?

Any input would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

[nevada150]

Hi Bruno,
Can you access the control panel of your Guyatone? If so, check that the wiring to the switch is still OK first. If it is, check the resistance of the pickup to see if it is open circuit. It should measure somewhere in the kOhms range.
Resoldering wires on the switch is quite simple, but an open circuit pickup will probably require a rewind. It’s also possible that the switch itself has broken down!
Hope this helps,
Keith.

[brunopietoso]

Hi Keith,

Yes, there seems to be a couple of screws around the switch system which I may have access to but I don't have the tools to measure the k0hms so would have to look into getting one as well as a little soldering kit but let's see.

Your input does help in case I get someone else to look into it so I kind of have an idea if their assessment is in line with what you said as well!

Appreciate it! Will let you know what I discover.

[brunopietoso]

Hi Bruno,
Can you access the control panel of your Guyatone? If so, check that the wiring to the switch is still OK first. If it is, check the resistance of the pickup to see if it is open circuit. It should measure somewhere in the kOhms range.
Resoldering wires on the switch is quite simple, but an open circuit pickup will probably require a rewind. It’s also possible that the switch itself has broken down!
Hope this helps,
Keith.

Hi Keith,

I've opened the switch board messed around a bit but didn't see much wrong with it and put it back and suddenly they started working. So there we go! I'll keep an eye out as it may be that one of the wires may be a bit loose or might need resoldering at some point if it keeps disappearing but at least I know that the pick ups are working!

Thanks again for your help.

[nevada150]

Well done Bruno, but you should get all of the joints re-soldered as soon as you can. For sure it will go open circuit again at some point.
You could also try to get some contact cleaner into the switch, if that’s possible.
Enjoy your guitar.
Keith.

[mick hearn]

Just a word about any guitar pickup. The coil windings are enamel covered wire and the ends do not have the enamel removed. The only thing that makes contact with the rest of the circuitry is the lump of solder connecting the coil to the pickup cables. As such there is only point something of a millimetre making contact. I you find your pickup has suddenly gone dea, then it is worth while just popping a hot soldering iron on the joint until it melts and then removing thus allowing the solder to cool and set. Hey presto - with a bit of luck your pickup could be working again. I had this happen recently and that was the solution.