P-44 backplates/circuit board issues... Help!

[visualrocker69]

Good evening, fellas!

I recently had a friend send me a Parker P-44. Took it to the shop for a setup and maintenance (no output was coming out). A battery swap fixed the output for the magnetic pickups, but they couldn't seem to get the piezo system working. Either the piezo pickups themselves are damaged or, because I'm missing the back plates, the exposed circuit board got damaged.

So 1) Is there anywhere I can buy P-44 back plates (for both the tremolo and the circuit board sections)
2) What channels can I pursue to get the piezo issue investigated and repaired?

The shop I took it to is NOT a Parker dealer (I'm in Pittsburgh). I called up a Parker dealer (closest one is in Ohio) but they said Parker no longer has U.S. distributors??? Between that and the fact that the P-44 (and P series in general, I think?) is out of production... this does not bode well for my situation.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[billy]

welcome.  Unfortunately, Parker has ceased operations.  We're all waiting on pins and needles to see what they have planned for 2017, per parkerguitars.com.

You should be able to do a quick inspection to rule out damage to the circuit board.  Also, you're getting mag output after battery swap, so the circuit board is likely fine.

It would be extremely unlikely that all the piezo saddles would fail at the same time.  Possibly, one failed and became noisy, so someone removed them from the circuit?  Anything is possible with an old guitar.

Anyway, for the piezos, the most likely issue is with the connections from the piezos relative to the circuit board, switch, or jack. 

If you can post some clear pics (need to host elsewhere and then link to it here) we might be able to see what's going on.

Backplates might be hard to find but you can try ebay, there's a guy selling stuff from the factory, wiguitar.

What shop did you visit in pgh?  (I used to live there, I miss it.)

[visualrocker69]

Pianos n Stuff. Where'd you move to btw?

I can mention that to them but it's not like I can tell techs how to do their jobs.

They're a Musicman dealer, but they said they're still not qualified to do work on circuitboards. They advised me to reach out to Parker directly. -shrug-

I mean worst case scenario I still got a working electric, but I really want to get that piezo working. From what you said it sounds like it should be something easily fixable in the signal path.

[billy]

I moved back to my hometown, rochester ny for family reasons.  But Pittsburgh is a great city!

There was a shop on bab**** that was selling the pdf parkers a couple of years ago, but I don't think they have a tech- seems their focus is on lessons to beginners/school band.

N'stuff music is a pretty great store, nice to see higher end stuff that the chain stores and mom/pop shops don't carry.  Some of the guys there are awesome, but a few I didn't really care for.

Can't speak to the quality of the tech, I do all my own stuff.  But, based on the response that you should  "contact Parker"- that seems to me that they're either not interested or its beyond their ability and you should go elsewhere.

This isn't that complicated, almost definitely signal path related.  I'm not familiar with the P-44, I think it has the fishman power chip?  If so, even worst case, replacing the power chip should be within the ability of a competent tech.  My money is on the switch or the jack.

You might try jason at backstage guitars on butler st in lawrenceville, or maybe pittsburgh guitars (never went there but heard great things).

edit:  just saw i got censored!  B a b c o c  k

[jb63]

I get censored all the time tend that's the only reason I never use my last name. P-44 was indeed the Fishman power chip.

[billy]

lol

I may not agree with what you (sic) say, but I'll defend your right to say it!

[visualrocker69]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

No luck so far...

I called every shop in town, nobody wants to touch that piezo with a 10 ft pole.

As for the back plate, PNS offered to make me a custom one...... for $50. Jesus. haha

Any recommendations on a DIY solution @_@

[billy]

huh, that's strange. 

DIY, you could download the wiring for the fishman powerchip from their site and visually make sure everything matches up. 

If you have a multimeter, its a lot easier to check continuity.  Failing that, some wire can help you troubleshoot.  You can jumper the piezos right to a cord into your amp.  Won't sound great, but at least you'll know if they work.  You can jumper the switch too to see if that's not working.  The jack is a little trickier but at that point worth trying to shotgun. 

Post some clear pictures and maybe we can spot something, though not likely.

As for diy backplates, you could get two "blank tremolo" covers for less than $10 ea.  One for the trem, and the other to cut up by hand for the control cavity.

[visualrocker69]

HAHahha yeah I was only talking about back plates as far as DIY goes.... not lookin to fry myself alive, thanks 

Goddarn... how far is Rochester from NYC? I'm gonna be up in the city regularly starting next month for band stuff. You seem super knowledgeable and I'd love if you could take a look at it, honestly.

[billy]

Unfortunately, Rochester is about 5 hours west of NYC and it would be about 4 hours out of your way from PGH.

I would be happy to look at this for you if you wanted to make the trip.  I don't think I have any trips to pgh coming up anytime soon.  There may be a trip to NYC area in mid june, but too soon to tell.

Failing that you can send it to me, but really if you send some pictures it may be something easy to spot.

[visualrocker69]

Interesting. Let's take this to PM...