Weak/No Sound on 1 string on 1 pickup?

[jrowan]

I picked up a 1966 Harmony Silhouette from Reverb the other day, and although I'm really digging the sound of the guitar, I've noticed that the neck pickup seems to barely be detecting the sound from the fifth (A) string. It's not that obvious when strumming chords, etc., but it's pretty obvious when arpeggiating or doing leads- although there is some sound (if you stop and listen), it more or less sounds like the string is cutting out. All of the other strings sound about right on that one, and the bridge seems fine.

The pickups in question are the Goldfoils with the visible screw poles (pic below- sorry I don't have a closer shot at the moment). It's worth noting that there's no appreciable difference in pole height for that string.

I have a feeling that the answer to my question is going to begin and end with a visit to http://curtisnovak.com/pickups_repairs.shtml, but I'm just curious about: 1. what the cause may be, and 2. if there's any other possible remedy that I should look into that might be less intrusive than a full repair. Being an old Harmony, this guitar has a date with a tech in the near future t get some stuff ironed out, so I'm curious.

Any thoughts/comments/etc. would be appreciated- this kind of issue is new ground for me, so even if I wind up leaving it to the professionals, I still want to have a better idea of what's going on.

[Rasalrew]

Not an expert on pickups but curious about the outcome...few things to consider!...

Did you check to see if the pickup pole itself is working? You can tap with something metal to hear a signal come through if you're plugged into an amp. You can also check the magnetism this way as well.

Is it possible to adjust the screw pole height and see if that makes a difference?

If you're interested in really getting a good look inside, you could disassemble piece by piece and document along the way.

Similar issues possibly: https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=248647

Nice find, & best of luck!

[timtam]

You possibly already know this but goldfoils are rather unusual pickups with rubber magnets and steel screw pole pieces (adjust overall pickup height not each screw height) ...
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... ups?page=7

I assume you have new strings ? Does the A also have fret buzz ? How is its nut slot ?

[jrowan]

The pickup pole is definitely responsive to metal tapping- this was one of the tests that I did. The tapping was less loud than on other poles.

It's also definitely a problem with the pickup itself- everything sounds good unplugged, and all 6 strings sound good and more or less even through the bridge pickup. I'm not having issues with buzzy strings, etc.

The poles are screw in and thus could theoretically be adjusted- I don't have a ton of experience (well, I don't have any experience, actually) with pickups, so have been a bit reticent to play around with them until I know that they're meant to be fussed with.

[effmylife]

That pole-piece must be slightly demagnetized. If the rest of the pickup works it's not the coil.

[timtam]

AFAIK goldfoils don't have magnetic pole pieces. Harmony pickups ...
https://sites.google.com/site/h804h802/ ... anti-foils

[HH1978]

Maybe that screw is not in contact with the bar magnet?
Or the issue comes from the string, did you try to change it?