Eastman AR605CE Feedback

[Logand0404]

I play an Eastman ar605ce, the one with the Kent Armstrong floater. I’ve had it for over a year and have crazy feedback issues with it. I’ve tried F hole covers, cutting bass from the amp, different positions relative to the amp ect and nothing works.

I’m thinking the top may be too thin but I haven’t heard of anyone having issues this bad. It’s quite a boomy guitar even with no bass in the amp so idk what I can do to help feedback, I’m fighting the instrument everytime I play.

[2bornot2bop]

Stuff it.

[ccroft]

Parametric EQ or notch filter cutting most likely around 165. That's the hot frequency on my Pisano 880 anyways. Yours may be different due to mahogany box.

I've also found that flats can help cut 'boominess'.

But if you've already tried plugs, then 2b's rude remark might be best :-)

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Welcome!

A ittle more info might help generate ideas. It's unlikely that your top is actually "too" thin. Is the feedback across all strings and all notes? Is it specific to certain notes, note ranges, and/or strings? Do you get it equally regardless of the amplifier and the room in which you're playing? What kind of music are you playing, through what amp(s), and at what volume levels - bedroom, loud, or in between? Are you playing with pick or fingers?

Squealing feedback is usually from the pickup. Potting pickups (filling them with wax) is done to minimize this, and some pickups are more prone to it than others. Eastman uses decent pickups, and I've never had this with the floater on my 810. But your pickup may be different from mine.

Depending on the cause, some of the remedies you've tried may work better together. F hole plugs are effective for many of us in many different guitars. I use foam plugs in my 2 carved Eastman archtops and my laminated Ibanez, and they really cut any general tendency toward feedback. Foam wedged under the strings and tailpiece between bridge and rim can help, both by damping any sympathetic resonance in that portion of the strings and by gently damping the top. I don't know what finish your 605 has, and some of their earlier finishes were a bit fragile. My 810 is French polished, so I woudn't do this to it. If you decide you want to try that, check with Eastman first to be sure you won't damage your top by wedging foam there. I'd think that their new thin poly should hold up fine, but I don't know that for sure.

I've seen a lot of guitars with some kind of stuffing in them to fight feedback. It must work, or no one would leave it in there. But you'd have to be very careful not to cause any injury to the pots, wires etc if you're really pushing a lot in (or removing it).

Gentle palm muting works for some, and there are string dampers and wraps that help. GruvGear and Chromacast are examples of the many different kinds of dampers that are sold to reduce resonance and feedback. If you're playing through an open back cab, you might try a closed back. My Quilter BlockDock 10 is less prone to feedback with my archtops than my open back BD12 with the same 200W head. My RE closed back 10" is less prone to feedback than my Princeton, and my Blu 6 has been entirely feedback free with all of my guitars on any gig.

Some guitars feed back at specific frequencies or in narrow ranges, and graphic EQ can really help with this by letting you dial back the offending frequency / ies. If your problem is limited to the lowest string(s), this may help. Try a damper and add f hole plugs if the damper alone isn't effective enough.

FIrst you diagnose, then you treat.

[Logand0404]

This is great thank you! I play in many different settings but I tend to experience feedback most in small practice rooms with low notes. I play through a DV mark 12. What type of foam is ideal for behind the bridge? Also how can I go about potting my pickups?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

This is great thank you! I play in many different settings but I tend to experience feedback most in small practice rooms with low notes. I play through a DV mark 12. What type of foam is ideal for behind the bridge? Also how can I go about potting my pickups?

If the problem is mainly low frequency in small rooms, there's probably nothing to be done beyond simple physical measures (and/or to play at lower volumes). The Jazz 12 has a pretty full bottom end and an open back cab, both of which contribute to feedback. Your best bet for reducing this is to get the amp away from floor and walls. Elevate it on a chair, amp stand etc sitting well away from walls and especially corners. This is the kind of feedback that palm muting helps. If you have trouble doing that, try a damper lke this one ($10 from Amazon). Start with it over the nut, and move it further onto the strings as needed.



Foam between the top and the tailpiece & strings behind the bridge can help with this kind of feedback on some guitars with trapeze type TPs. I use polyurethane foam that I get in sheets from Amazon for most guitar elated padding, damping, etc. This is the same foam from which I cut f hole plugs.



Yes, you can pot your own pickups. But if your feedback is low frequency, it's almost certainly not a pickup problem. Doing this is both tedious and a lot of work. You have to be very careful not to damage a pickup. Here's a page from Premier Guitar on how to do it. I do a lot of my own work, but I wouldn't bother with this myself. There are so many great pickups available now that I'd replace mine if they were microphonic enough to annoy me, unless they were really special and I absolutely loved their tone. Most better pickups are potted when made.