hi, could anyone help me please. I've recently upgraded the pickups in my strat. I now have 2 dimarzio fast tracks and a paf pro in the bridge. My problem is that the paf pro isn't working properly. it just isn't giving me enough output. the 2 fast tracks are working perfectly and scream brilliantly but the paf just plays really quitely. even with distortion it sounds like i've selected a clean channel and turned the volume down. I did have to extend the pickup wire to the selector switch so that could be the problem. i've never extended a wire before so if any body could give me tips on that or if they think they have the answer to my problem i would be most grateful.
thanks
andy
Is the pickup you used one intended for the bridge position? The string vibrations there are lower amplitude than up toward the neck, so you need a "hotter" pickup to be as loud.
Did you adjust the pickup height properly?
Check the solder joints where you extended the wire. Make sure the CLEAN metal was in good contact, then well wetted with solder. Didn't solder it? Uh-oh, that won't work. And magnet wire may look like bare copper, but it has lacquer on it that must be scraped off before soldering.
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"Ditto" on what Ricochet said; good advice.
All I can add is to maybe check all your connections for continuity (that soldering stuff Ric mentioned), and see if something's choking off your signal someplace. Best bet for checking continuity is a multimeter, which you can also use for one other suggestion I have: plug a cable into the guitar's output jack, and use the meter on the plug on the "free end" of the cable, to see what each pickup is showing for DC resistance. (If you've never done that before, here's how: crank the meter to a high range on DC ohms, 20K or so. Put one lead on the "tip" part of the plug at the other end of the cable, and the other lead on the "sleeve" of the plug.) When you select the PAF Pro, it should be showing about 8.4K ohms.
What did you have in there for pickups originally? (Singlecoils, or humbuckers?)
EDIT: You didn't mention whether those other pups are Fast Track 1â„¢ or Fast Track 2â„¢, but if they're FT2, that'd be why they're way "hotter" than a PAF Pro: 17.53K!
You should get some of those knobs that "go to 11." :wink:
You might be shorting out too. make sure your connections are taped or shrink wrapped.
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There are two things to consider. Firstly, is that the official blurb for the PAF Pro states "....it's an exceptional bridge pickup when high output isn't required.", so it's going to get drowned out by the two other pickups. Secondly, the PAF Pro is a 4-connector pickup, to allow for coil shunting. If you haven't got the wires connected correctly you're not going to get the pickup's full potential.
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