Rigel pickup question

[Harry H]

Today, a friend of mine was checking out a two year old Rigel A+ mando,
F-hole model (with a serial no of about 2100). He was looking for
an acoustic/elec mando.

Plugged it in an amp and it was completely dead. Not a 'bad jack'
intermittent buzzing, or a big hum or a faint sound, just dead,
deader than Vaudeville.

The seller, the original owner, was somewhat embarrassed, but he'd never
plugged it in and had no idea about the problem.

My bud wants to know if any of you Rigel-heads out there could lay out the
possibilities of repair, as in is the pickup up replaceable from the outside,
does the jack plug come loose from the outside, is there a battery, stuff like
that? I mean, what kind of pickup does Rigel use (besides 'internal piezo')?
Does it need a battery?

Oh, in terms of contacting the dealer who sold it, well, ah, guess what Mando was purchased from Folk of the Wood? Plenty of recourse there, eh?

Thanks, Harry

[MrTidy]

I am no expert, but I have a Rigel A+ Deluxe, so here's what I know....
I took a tiny mirror to my Rigel and I saw (with a tiny flashlight!) just a small Nickel sized, black plastic thing stuck to the inside face. Not a lot there to break... maybe it just came unstuck from the mandolin, #although I would guess it would still make some noise.
It might be removeable from an F hole, but I can't imagine reinstalling one using that method...
I would contact Rigel about the repair, might be simple for them...

by the way, it's a nice sounding pickup, I use mine all the time... but it sounds much better acoustically, as most mandolins do IMHO

[Bradley]

Did you try a pre-amp to make that signal hot enough to amplify http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[MrTidy]

I plug mine directly into an electric guitar amp, I've never used a preamp...

[John Flynn]

You don't need a preamp to get a strong signal out of a Rigel pizeo. Mine blasts through my amp. I own a good preamp, but I don't use it anymore with the Rigel, because it just isn't necessary and it really doesn't improve the tone that I can tell. I would use a continuity tester to see if you have a full circuit through it. If there is an open on it, I would sent it in to Rigel.

[JohnD]

If you use an ohm meter (plug a patch cord into the jack and check across the end that would plug into the amp) and find you do have continuity, you are looking at a short. #The pickup is a piezo and should not show any continuity at all. #There is no battery and the device itself should last practically forever unless it somehow got damaged (cracked).

You can look at the connections to the jack by loosening the strings so there is no tension, then use a 1/8" allen wrench inserted through the jack, twist a few turns counter clockwise, and the jack should slip right out. #If the wires are connected you will only have about an inch of slack. #Resolder if there is a bad connection. #Any loose connection or damage at the piezo end would probably require a trip to Rigel. They are very good people and I'm sure would have no problem taking care of that repair under their lifetime warranty.

JSims

[JohnD]

Whooops, I belive the required allen wrench for removing the jack is 1/16", not 1/8

[Harry H]

You guys are the best. Thanks so much.

[Bob DeVellis]

I contacted Rigel about a similar problem and the first thing they recommended was being sure that I used an American-made cable. On some of their earlier instruments, the jack required a fairly long-tipped cable. Some of the imports were a bit too short. If that happens to be the issue, it's an easy fix.

It turned out that that wasn't the problem in my case. I sent the mando back to Rigel and they fixed it up under warranty. Great and speedy service.

[JohnD]

Good point Bob. One of my cables (which was supposed to be of good quality) will not work with the angle end plugged to the Rigel. When I reverse it, straight end to the Rigel, angle end to the amp it works fine. Another cheaper cable I have works either way - strange. My A+ is a 2002 model so it must be one of the earlier units requiring the longer tip.

John

[Pete Braccio]

This place is great! I have a stereo set up on my Rigel and I thought that one wire came loose from the jack. It turned out to be the plug length issue though. I would have never thought to look at this.

Thanks,
Pete