I just got a AC30 with blue alnicos. the new fangdangled chinese ones, but despite that it was expensive and sounds great. My x-50 with the franz is best at getting the best bark/growl out of it. but of course I cant ever gig with my x-50 because of the awful feedback. I'm about to order f-hole plugs from dougsplugs.com but I get a feeling that wont cut it. I remember reading somewhere about wax-potting the pickup. I cant find it but, is that really effective? if it is is it worth doing? sounds like a hassle.
Help me bust my feedback
- Thread starter legato72
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I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that wax potting pickups is to prevent squeal, not feedback.
A sound post can help. I put one in a thinline hollowbody peerless. It cut down feedback somewhat, still not enough for higher volume romps. I've been meaning to order f-hole plugs for it ... between the two, that should make things way better.
It's not hard to put a sound post in, if you can pull the pickup, and if you're careful. Never tried it on a thicker body guitar however, so perhaps you could get a skilled tech to advise on this.
MD
It's not hard to put a sound post in, if you can pull the pickup, and if you're careful. Never tried it on a thicker body guitar however, so perhaps you could get a skilled tech to advise on this.
MD
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Describe the feedback you're getting - if it's a high pitched whistle, squeal, then yes, potting your pickup will take care of that.
You almost have to pot most Franz pickups to get them to work at band volume. They're 99% of what I play onstage, and all of mine are potted - and I play 40/50W Fender amps turned up to about five or six with a 17" wide, 3.5" deep Guild archtop, no problems with feedback.
Potting pickups is something you can do yourself if you know what you're doing, and not too big of a hassle. I rewired one of my X175's yesterday night, not thàt's what I call a hassle!! :|
You almost have to pot most Franz pickups to get them to work at band volume. They're 99% of what I play onstage, and all of mine are potted - and I play 40/50W Fender amps turned up to about five or six with a 17" wide, 3.5" deep Guild archtop, no problems with feedback.
Potting pickups is something you can do yourself if you know what you're doing, and not too big of a hassle. I rewired one of my X175's yesterday night, not thàt's what I call a hassle!! :|
Steve Hoffman
Member
I'm sorry but a Vox AC-30 runs in pure class A. That means the signal is nicely compressed and full tilt from the get go. I think you need to change guitars!
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
yettoblaster
Member
Steve Hoffman said:
I agree. Vox AC30 is loud and compressed, with a lot of harmonic content present within that compression at a lot of requencies a guitar (or pickup) can be sensitive to. Trying setting it up "cleaner," or "drier." or get an EQ and notch out the sensitive frequencie(s).
I have stuffed F-holes with some success, but usually a feedback prone setup requires comprehensive treatment to get it up to band spl's.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Meh - played one of those Chinese AC30's only a couple of weeks ago in Norway for one show, and it's not any louder or gainier than what I usually play - just a little different. Hollowbodies into an AC30 don't feed back any more than into a different amp.
yettoblaster
Member
Fair enough.
I seem to struggle most with any "Fender" sounding amp, when it comes to feedback on hollowbodies, especially if there's some distortion present. I just noticed that the AC type Vox tube amps distort quickly. I like that strident Vox sound sometimes. It seems "urgent." But my friend's (non-Chinese) AC 15 will make my archtops howl at dining room conversation volume levels. :shock:
It seems to me that amps with more fundamental, or "drier" timbres (like Polytones) cause me less trouble when it comes to feedback prone archtops. Not every archtop I've had has been problematic, but the ones that have been were hard to deal with using "Fender" style amp designs (or Vox). :|
I seem to struggle most with any "Fender" sounding amp, when it comes to feedback on hollowbodies, especially if there's some distortion present. I just noticed that the AC type Vox tube amps distort quickly. I like that strident Vox sound sometimes. It seems "urgent." But my friend's (non-Chinese) AC 15 will make my archtops howl at dining room conversation volume levels. :shock:
It seems to me that amps with more fundamental, or "drier" timbres (like Polytones) cause me less trouble when it comes to feedback prone archtops. Not every archtop I've had has been problematic, but the ones that have been were hard to deal with using "Fender" style amp designs (or Vox). :|
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
If it's a very resonant little stage, and/or the P.A.'s bass bins are standing on it, I get in trouble sometimes, otherwise, it's not really a problem with the guitars I have.yettoblaster said:
This clip : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_V86ETyeVw is two blackface Super Reverbs turned up to about five, six, for example.
Have to say I don't use any overdrive or distortion boxes, and I don't use master volume amps if I don't have to, and I don't turn up the bass on a typical Fender amp above "three". I usually just turn the amp up until it gets on that sweet spot where I get "almost squeaky clean" if I play with a really soft touch, and I get "blues" when I hit the guitar harder.
yettoblaster
Member
Walter Broes said:
Yeah, that's the "zone."
Room matters, and amp placement.
I tried playing a Heritage Eagle (floating pickup on resonant box) at a Holiday Inn once with the amp behind me. Terrible idea. Even at low volume if I took my arm off the body it would instantly moan and start to howl almost before I could get it under control. The orchestra leader would turn at the piano and look over at me, and in turn I would have to then
glare at the bass player! :wink:
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Ha! Solid top archtops are a completely different animal indeed - wouldn't work at all standing next to the drummer I usually play with.
yettoblaster
Member
Walter Broes said:
Oh yeah. I learned.
Went to Telecasters for decades on those kinds of Showtunes/Bigband jobs.
Now that I currently only play very quiet restaurants I can get away with almost any kind of guitar, but I think I might still shy away from that particular Eagle, even now! :shock:
adorshki
Reverential Member
Yeah I had a girlfriend like that once. Earplugs helped.yettoblaster said:
yettoblaster
Member
adorshki said:
When 3M invented "Duct Tape," it wasn't really for ducts.
Hey legato72,
Make your own plugs. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on something you can make yourself (though Doug does a nice job).
I made two sets of plugs for myself, one for my X-400 which also fits my ES330 and a set for my Hopf Saturn 64.
I made them years ago in the mid 90's. I used the foam from computer keyboard wrist pads.
We used to play this basement pub in Denver with low ceilings. Seemed like you had to turn up loud just to get the sound 10ft off the stage and my X-400 used to just run away howling from the first note :x so something had to be done. The plugs work well when you need them to work.
My rig at that time was my X-400, Jazzmaster or Tele and my blackface Super. Tone from the Gods, but that room could be quite the beotch!
skinny
Make your own plugs. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on something you can make yourself (though Doug does a nice job).
I made two sets of plugs for myself, one for my X-400 which also fits my ES330 and a set for my Hopf Saturn 64.
I made them years ago in the mid 90's. I used the foam from computer keyboard wrist pads.
We used to play this basement pub in Denver with low ceilings. Seemed like you had to turn up loud just to get the sound 10ft off the stage and my X-400 used to just run away howling from the first note :x so something had to be done. The plugs work well when you need them to work.
My rig at that time was my X-400, Jazzmaster or Tele and my blackface Super. Tone from the Gods, but that room could be quite the beotch!
skinny
It's a deeper feedback, not squealy. The kind that moans and rattles the whole guitar. Its usually fine when I'm practicing with the band, because our equipment is sprawled out. but usually the stage is cramped and then it'll be problematic. anyways, sounds like a pain in the butt. I don't want to change guitars, it has the sound I want. but I guess if the f-hole plugs fail then I'm pretty screwed.
btw skinny you have REALLY awesome guitars. I envy your collection
btw skinny you have REALLY awesome guitars. I envy your collection
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
legato, a handy tech should be able to fit a soundpost in your guitar, and it doesn't have to involve permanent modifications. A friend of mine had one put in a single pickup Harmony H-6-something, and it worked great for reducing body feedback, a low howl like you describe.
krysh
Guildarist in the mod squad
I had it done a few times and it helped against feedback a lot, esp. in my former sf-4 with hb-1's.GAD said:
adorshki
Reverential Member
:lol: :lol: :lol:yettoblaster said:When 3M invented "Duct Tape," it wasn't really for ducts.adorshki said:
If you pull it off really fast will it fix moustaches? Or maybe a cheap alternative to the notorious "bikini wax"?
OK end of veer.