supro supreme - help needed

[andrew]

My supro supreme had an intermittent fault whereby the output would drop to a very faint signal. The fault has now become permanent. Anybody have any ideas what the problem might be and how to test it/fix it? I have opened it up and there is nothing obvious in the wiring. Any help would be greatly appreciated - this was a great sounding lap steel and I would dearly love to have it back in working order.
thanks, Andrew

[Bent]

Andrew, start with the pickup and work your way to the other end. If you have an ohm meter, check the two outgoing leads from the PUP. It should give you a reading. If not, you'll have a faulty coil.

[andrew]

Hi Bent
thanks for the reply and apologies for the very late response. Wasn't really sure what I was measuring at first as there is only one wire coming from the pickup, but I'm guessing the other probe of my multimeter needs to go to ground? Anyway I tried measuring from the one lead from the pickup and the other probe on the control plate and there is nothing, so I guess the pickup is dead.

[Bent]

Andrew, maybe just double check on a different spot. If you have both contacts of the jack available, measure there. The plate might be a poor connection.
If You get no reading there..well then the coil is likely dead...

[richard37066]

Andrew -

Give the whole assembly a good visual inspection. Everything connected (supposedly?). Nothing looking out of the ordinary?

I'd then take Bent's suggestion. Measure across the terminals on the jack. If there is a reading then perhaps the jack is at fault. If no reading at all, then perhaps the coil, itself, has come open. Do not discount the fact that wires can become open INSIDE the insulation. It does happen.

Richard

[Fixngittrs]

Andrew

If your not used to working on instruments or amps, there's a lot of directions to go in! On any guitar I always check the jack and the switches first. Could be the pickup too. Back check like Bent told you to see if you get a reading on your ohm meter. The volume fading sounds like a resistor going out of your amp??? Did you try another amp, another guitar cord, wiggle the input jack with the guitar cord...see if it makes any noise. Lots of possibilities....most simple, cold "bad" solder joint, bad jack, bad switch, bad guitar cord.

Intermittent fading sounds like the amp to me. (????) Lost ground or lead, dead (broken coil) pickup...your guitar will more than likely be dead in the water! Crackling and popping is a good sign. Means you need to hunt down a faulty solder joint or part and resolder or replace or repair the part that's causing the problem.

I don't want to step on any toes here...if you can't figure it out, take it to a tech you trust. Having a good tech you know and trust is a whole other discussion. It's like the old song goes... No Ones Knows What Goes on Behind Closed Doors!! Never be afraid to look under the hood before and after... and count your fingers and your toes!!! LOL