Epiphone Esonic2 - Shoulda Known Better

[Fran Guidry]

We travel to Hawai`i a lot these days (my 10 year old car in California only has 40,000 miles on it because we're in the islands so much) and I've been leaving a couple of Epiphone Masterbilt EFs with friends in Kane`ohe so I don't have to risk the airline baggage handlers or pay the extortional fees for extra baggage.

All those Epis were 2nds without factory electonics, but I took a flyer on a new one last June and even though the reliability of the Esonic2 pickup system seemed spotty based on various forum reports, I was intrigued by some of the reports of good performance so I went for it. And honestly, I was pretty impressed with the sound out of this dual source setup. Went back to Cali and figured this one was one of the good ones.

What a dumbass.

We're back in Kailua, jamming with buddies and getting geared up for some new slack key videos. I plugged the Epi into the Zoom H6 for a little test recording and "crackle spit click pop crackle." I changed the cable and "crackle horckkk crackle." I took out the little watch battery stack, cleaned the batteries, put them back in.

That fixed the noise. Too bad the mag pickup no longer worked. Push the blend knob over to the mag side - dead silence. Back to the middle and the undersaddle kicks in, so I still have something to plug in, although I can't really trust it to work next time I'm playing out.

Interestingly, the mag still puts out a weak and noisy signal through the second output jack, but nothing through the blend output. So it looks like the preamp has given up, which seems to be the very common failure mode.

If I can get this thing fixed under warranty I hope I'll be able to dump it without too big a loss. I'm thinking it's time to find another candidate for Hawai`i guitar. Hmmmm, maybe that red CA OX that Macnichol is showing on their site ...

Fran

[hank alrich]

This reads to me that salty humidity might have gotten either to the mag
pickup itself ot to some point of connection in the preamp. Open it up
and look for push-on connectors linking something(s). If you find one,
pull it off and push it back on. If that fixes the problem find some
Caig DeOxit and apply to the contacts.

--
shut up and play your guitar * HankAlrich.Com
HankandShaidriMusic.Com
YouTube.Com/WalkinayMusic

[Steve Hawkins]

walk...@nv.net (hank alrich) wrote in
news:1lheqww.3zv8d61tpkew0N%walk...@nv.net:

I second that emotion and keep in mind any guitar with the trapdoor
electonics could have the same problem.

Steve Hawkins

[David L. Martel]

Hank,

There's a 5 yr. warranty on this almost new guitar. DIY Deoxit may not be
wise. Let Epiphone and Shadow sort this out.

Dave M.

[Fran Guidry]

Thanks for the advice, folks.

The cheapskate who bought this thing chose a "refurb" so there's no warranty. I'll try the connection checking routine, can't hurt anything at this point.

Fran

[David L. Martel]

Fran,

Ok go with the deoxit. Give the blend slider a hefty squirt and then
slide the slider back and forth.

Dave M.

[Fran Guidry]

I didn't find any Deoxit in my first couple of shopping trips, but I got a set of small screwdrivers to try to pull the preamp out ... no go, the wiring is too short and the preamp housing too deep.

But I pulled the strings and started feeling around inside and discovered to my surprise that the mag cable is attached to the preamp with a threaded connector of some kind (working by feel, can't see inside) so I screwed the connector back to a tight condition and yippee the mag works again.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Fran

[Tom from Texas]

True, sincere thanks would be followed by a hefty donation to The Fund. Upon receipt, The Fund will dispense appropriate compensation after discerning that the proper person(s) have secure addresses and are not themselves behind in donation schedules.

Tom (Fund Comptroller and Altruism Director) from Texas

[Fran Guidry]

(Un)fortunately I'm semi-famous for my insincerity otherwise the offer of your intermediary services would be compelling, Tom.

Fran

[Al Evans]

In article <a39a613c-007a-4639...@googlegroups.com>,

Tom from Texas <tris...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> True, sincere thanks would be followed by a hefty donation to The Fund.

Does the fund take partial bitcoins? Here are some parts that I'm sure
come from some bitcoin or other: 0 1. Enjoy!

--Al Evans--

[hank alrich]

If Tom can do arithmetic he could turn that into a fortune!

[Tom from Texas]

Oh, bitcoins!! I remember when people used to bite down on coins to make sure they were real coins. Is that a bit coin? The Fund only takes items that are easily liquidated in the material world. Virtual value in cyber space only confuses and irritates Moose and Spike. Bruce and Percy in Oz land may give ye a bite if ye try to deal them bitcoins.

And btw, Hank, I don't do arithmetic; I only do mathematics.

Tom (no accounting for me) from Texas

[Tom from Texas]

Not donating to The Fund could cause Moose and Spike or Bruce and Percy to compel you over a volcano cliff in Hawai'i.

Tom (no responsible for the impulsive reactions of The Fund employees) from Texas

[hank alrich]

Tom from Texas <tris...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> On Sunday, February 23, 2014 6:24:36 AM UTC-6, Al Evans wrote:
> > In article <a39a613c-007a-4639...@googlegroups.com>,
> >
> > Tom from Texas <tris...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > > True, sincere thanks would be followed by a hefty donation to The Fund.
> >
> >
> >
> > Does the fund take partial bitcoins? Here are some parts that I'm sure
> >
> > come from some bitcoin or other: 0 1. Enjoy!
> >
> >
> >
> > --Al Evans--
>
> Oh, bitcoins!! I remember when people used to bite down on coins to make
> sure they were real coins. Is that a bit coin? The Fund only takes items
> that are easily liquidated in the material world. Virtual value in cyber
> space only confuses and irritates Moose and Spike. Bruce and Percy in Oz
> land may give ye a bite if ye try to deal them bitcoins.
>
> And btw, Hank, I don't do arithmetic; I only do mathematics.
>
> Tom (no accounting for me) from Texas

We laugh. Meanwhile, a couple of youngsters hereabouts jumped on it when
it was easy computing and have been able to cover much of their living
expenses for the last two years with Bitcoin-derived money.

[Fran Guidry]

Even without encouragement from the Fund staff I took a hike down such a cliff last year. All I needed for inspiration was my own weak mind. Wound up bleeding and bruised, with my pants ripped up the butt and my iPhone screen shattered.

But since I didn't need a stretcher or a helicopter to get me out I counted it as a victory.

Now I spend my time on the bottom of the caldera on the windward side of O`ahu, can't fall down when you stay on the bottom.

Fran

[David L. Martel]

can't fall down when you stay on the bottom.

A good description of my music.

Dave M.

[Rick Ruskin]

>
>Not donating to The Fund could cause Moose and Spike or Bruce and Percy to compel you over a volcano cliff in Hawai'i.
>
>Tom (no responsible for the impulsive reactions of The Fund employees) from Texas

I'll take my chances.