-
I hate to break this to you, but arch tops with pickups buzz. That just goes with the territory. I know guys with $7500 L5-ces's that ram a broken pick down in between the pickup and the mounting ring to stop buzzing. They put electrical tape over f-holes to stop feedback. They tape up wiring harnesses, they monkey with the tune-o-matic bridge, they get their pickups potted, the replace the springs with surgical tubing... somehow the buzzes always come back.
the guitar is not defective. Archtops have quirks, and those with set-in pickups are famous for them.
You can often find the causes, but the sound of an amplified hollow-body guitar is a complex amalgam of moving factors that can from time to time produce a sympathetic vibration or buzz.
-
03-01-2016 04:13 PM
-
Lawson, you're not breaking anything to me. I have owned some fifteen archtops from 1963 onwards, anything from crummy Landolas, unpredictable Hofners and predictable Ibanezes to a vintage Levin, a recent D'Angelico (Vestax) and even a Benedetto (Bravo). Yes, a few buzzes coming and going but nothing that could not be cured with something soft and sticky. One of the least problematic is an Epi Emperor Regent from ´99. If everything has to go, that one will probably turn off the lights.
I was just telling a story of a particularly intriguing, even sympathetic case, as this old thread is about 175s. I've had four of those: one with a loose brace, one with a cracked top, one that was ok but not to my liking, and the current VOS which is my all-time favorite. I have decided to stay away from carved-tops altogether, as they're far too sensitive in my climate and built to vibrate...
-
I wasn't speaking to you, but to the OP. I only just now noticed that this was a very old thread, though, and I can see why you'd think my comment was directed at you. Sorry about that!
Originally Posted by Gitterbug
-
as long as a thread from 2009 is getting some airplay, and seeing as the original poster was banned from the site, lol, I recall buying a used piano and every time I played a certain note there was a terrible buzz. I had a tech come out at least twice to diagnose it but could not discover the cause. I eventually learned piano servicing so I could pull out the action myself and try to identify and fix the issue. Ultimately, i learned to avoid playing that A note in my chords and learned to live with it.
Some time later, I discovered it was not the piano at all but an adjacent picture frame on a shelf whose pane of glass rattled against the frame whenever an A was played. doh!
Regarding the ES-175, every new Gibson owner should be told that the pickups will buzz against the mounting rings and/or the pickup springs will too. This is the design. There are many good DIY tricks to eliminate it once you know what you are facing.
-
If it's any consolation I get a little buzz from the bridge pickup on my L-5 . I have spoken to a great jazz guitar player near me who has many many guitars and he says it is quite common. It is definitely the pickup vibrating and buzzing against the black pickup ring in my case. People often stick a bit of card in there or something to stop the buzz. However the buzz doesn't usually come therough when amplified, so perhaps it is something like the toggle switch being a bit loose or something else that would affect both amplified and unamplified sound. You should play it and try touching different parts of the guitar to see it light pressure anywhere stops it. I have experienced buzzing tuners, bridges, especially gibson bridges with wire inserts, pickguards and brackets, tone and volume controls when the nuts work loose, but more than anything else buzzing pickups. However all this buzzing is acoustic in my experience and doesn't transmit when amplified. I've never experienced a buzzing switch but there is a first tikme for everything. There will be a simple solution, it is just finding the offending part!!
-
Oh yes, old thread and banned OP, what a waste of time my previous post was!!!
-
Originally Posted by mikeSF
as long as a thread from 2009 is getting some airplay, and seeing as the original poster was banned from the site, lol,...
Some time later, I discovered it was not the piano at all but an adjacent picture frame on a shelf whose pane of glass rattled against the frame whenever an A was played. doh!...Maybe not a waste. mikeSF are you on the Pentax Forum as well as this one? I am on both. If you are on the Pentax, are you going for the full frame at some point? Originally Posted by plasticpigeon
It's an old thread and the OP was banned. I don't think that a little side track hurts.
BTW, I had a 70's era Gibson CC. As I recall it buzzed like a bee. Nice guitar but I couldn't bond with it.
-
Seriously!? Originally Posted by lammie200
You guys are on the Pentax forum?
Me too.
Definitely a K-1 in my future. You guys?
-
I am on the Pentax forum but I haven't posted much lately. I am going to get the K-1 at some point. I kinda feel like I should wait until either a year from the intro or after the first revised design. I got the original version of the K-5. Great camera but the revised designs are better. Pentax - the underdog Originally Posted by lawson-stone
-
I'm a Nikon guy but, incidentally, had a buzzing toggle switch on an EPI Riviera. Screwed off the plastic tip, inserted some silicone tubing thick enough to cover the cavity and long enough to expand a bit at the foot once the tip was back. No more buzz.
-
Buzzing in archtops is so common that I enjoy the challenge isolating the buzz and killing it (buzz killer). So far I haven't failed. I'm not saying that it's easy, but with persistence and experience you should be able to slay the dragon.
Here's a PM I recently sent to a member who asked about buzzing in the L-5CES:
.................................................. .................................................. ........................
I have wrestled with that problem manytimes. If fact I did so today.
It is much rarer in a guitar with a floating pickup, more common with a singlepickup and most common with two.
There are false and true localizing signs. The false ones come from the area ofthe body. The buzzing may seem loudest near the bridge but really be comingfrom almost anywhere in the region of the body. Listening for the source can befrustrating.
The true localizing signs come from tall frets and can be logically deduced.
The bridge saddles can be cut improperly and cause rattling, even when thestring involved is sympathetically activated. If your eliminate the noise byputting the string outside of the notch when at full tension, that's it. That'seasy to check.
Buzzing from wiring is usually positional. I pull the wires away from the bodywhile the body is in the playing position and immediately try to reproduce thebuzz by plucking the strings. That can help sort this out.
Toggle switches can vibrate even when snug to the body if the leaf springtension is loose. You should pick that up by jiggling the toggle switch andfeeling the loose play. Also, play the guitar with the toggle switch indifferent positions to rule that switch out as the source of the problem.
If the buzzing persists with a capo on the first fret, the nut isn't it.
I've once seen a strap button cause mysterious buzzing. And twice I've seenshirt buttons do it.
It's possible that the nuts or the washers on the volume and tone pots areloose. I've personally not seen this the source of the buzz. It's easy to checkthe tightness by reaching into the f holes and by watching the surface nutswhile you jiggle the knobs.
At this point, you need tools and to pull out the pickups. It is not uncommonfor the buzzing to come from the pickup ring/pickup vibrations. Some people cuta pick into pieces and wedge a piece between the pickup ring and pickup on allsides. I've used note cards cut into strips. The pickup springs need to havedecent tension also so they don't rattle. When you put the pickups back on,make sure the rings are tight and don't vibrate on the top.
Sometimes the ground wire to the tailpiece is too long and needs to be bundledup. That may require a mirror and something like a hook to capture it.
A thin foam sleeve that is used in electronic and be cut into half inchsegments. These can be put over long wires that would otherwise vibrateinternally against the body. The are basically foam tubes with a long slit thefull length of the tube. They usually say in place over the wires without tapeand won't vibrate.
http://www.amazon.com/Duck-1285250-I...787D04CTGB24SV
With the pickups out, I put tie bands on the wiring with the excess bandmaterial trimmed as much as possible. I also wrap the wiring, as much as I can,with soft tape like painter's tape.
Here’s one other consideration. Thecapacitor sometimes will buzz against the top, as can the wiring from volume totone pots. These short connections can be felt by your finger. If they aretouching the top, they can be gently moved a few millimeters away by yourfinger.
One of my guitars was buzzing on the bridge saddles. This to my knowledge hasonly been seen with ResoMax bridges. They recommended some red Loctite, whichdid the trick. I mention this only for the sake of completeness. It is notrelevant to your situation.
That's all I can think of. I've never notbeen able to get the buzzing out of a guitar so far, but I've had luthier'sfail.Last edited by Marty Grass; 03-02-2016 at 09:36 PM.
-
Originally Posted by lammie200
Wait, are you kidding me? Yes, I'm the same mikeSF on PF. Thank goodness for this old thread. What are your handles on PF, gents? I just found you, both same handles as here. Originally Posted by lawson-stone
Lawson, I recognize you also from either JJG or RMMGJ, or both.
re: K-1, dang that looks sweet but I shooting the 645Z for my landscape work and the K3II for my handheld events and commercial shoots. I think that is the best tool for the job at this point, but I applaud Ricoh-Pentax for launching a feature-packed FF at a sweet price point. I hope I don't ever see it in person or I may be tempted, haha.
Seriously, nice to run into you both here.
my website is: Mike Oria PhotographyLast edited by mikeSF; 03-04-2016 at 03:55 AM.
-
Very cool, Mike & Lawson. I am sure that we will cross paths many times on these forums. I will eventually put some clips up of my playing for critiquing. Originally Posted by mikeSF
Great photos, btw.Last edited by lammie200; 03-04-2016 at 02:05 PM.
-
I'm lawsonstone on PF, and plan to pre-order my K-1 sometime in April. I travel with students every year to Israel for 6 weeks of study in historical geography and archaeology, and I have to be constantly raising money for scholarships and funding, so a great camera is a must both academically and in the fund-raising arena. Originally Posted by mikeSF
-
thanks and looking forward to it! Originally Posted by lammie200
wow, that sounds great and keep us posted when you get it. I sure am curious to see how the FA77 and FA31 look on the K1. Do you have either?? Originally Posted by lawson-stone
-
A shout out to forum members Marty Grass and Vinnyv1k. It turns out that my Gibson L5's buzzing problem was caused from wires vibrating inside the guitar (item #2 Marty Grass' list). Vinnyv1k recommended a luthier in San Jose, CA who had the problem diagnosed and fixed in under 10 minutes. He had me reproduce the problem (buzzing fretted G string) while he checked out various parts of the guitar (e.g., tuners, tailpiece, bridge, etc.). At one point he thought it might be the springs that adjust the pickups. Then he grabbed a tool and from the f-hole pushed a wire or two away from the face of the guitar. Presto, no more buzz! Months of aggravation solved today in an hour (50 minutes of driving and 10 minutes with a pro). I love this forum.
Cheers,
Joe
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos