Fender American Pro Jaguar pickup crackle

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Fender American Pro Jaguar pickup crackle

Post by stats » Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:53 pm

Hi all,
This is my first post. My new Fender American Professional Jaguar arrived today. As I was putting it through the paces, I noticed that when I was in positions 2 and 3 (neck and both pickups together) I got a loud crackle and then the volume seemed to spike up so that even gentle picking was really loud. It didn't last long and then went back to normal volume. I thought, that was odd, so I kept going and while strumming hard again, I heard the crackle again and the volume dropped out quickly and then came back. I plugged in my Strat and strummed hard but could not reproduce the crackle, but no crackle with the Strat. I changed cords, plugged in my new Jag again, and bypassed my entire pedalboard and was able to reproduce the crackle again. I tried a different amp and I got the crackle again. Any thoughts what might be causing this? Thanks in advance!

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gringopig
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Re: Fender American Pro Jaguar pickup crackle

Post by gringopig » Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:53 am

A crackle doesn't sound good on a new instrument. Can you return it as faulty? Unless you can't or really like it, I would suggest pinning it down.
Does it happen only in positions 2 & 3?

4-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups (In Parallel), Position 3. Neck Pickup, Position 4. Neck and Bridge Pickups (In Series)

If I'm correct in that assumption then I would check the switch first and use some de-oxit to clean the contacts. Then check the wiring. It's weird that position 2 and 4 employ both pickups but in a different configuration. No crackle in position 4?

The volume spiking seems to suggest maybe that the tone circuit is being bypassed perhaps?

Maybe you have some poor wiring in there and if not return it then take the pickguard off and give some connections a wiggle.

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Embenny
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Re: Fender American Pro Jaguar pickup crackle

Post by Embenny » Sun Jul 15, 2018 9:14 am

Sounds like either a cold solder joint or faulty component with an unreliable contact somewhere. Either way, should be covered under warranty. Your options are to take it to a Fender authorized tech for warranty repair, or to return and get a new one given how it just arrived. Your call.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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