Stuffing!

[Jeff]

The 'broomstick' that originally came to mind for me was that stupid metal bar on the inside of 60's Fender acoustics.

Yeah, that's Fender's backcountry model, plumbing gives it double duty as a water heater around the campfire.

 

[gilded]

I always thought the pickups were attached to a 'broomstick' between the neck and endblock.

Hello Kap'n,

The 'broomstick' is what the Gibson people called Les Paul's early experiments with the solid body guitar; almost as good a story as the one about the record label that turned down the Beatles because 'guitar music was on the way out'.

Anyway, the pickups on both the George Barnes AcoustiLectric and the George Barnes Guitar in F were mounted on an internal wooden bar that was going from the neck block to the tail block.

Hans, the wooden bar inside the Barnes guitars, was it round 'like a broomstick', rectangular, flat on one side and round the 'rest of the way', or some other shape?

thanks, gilded

 

[jp]

I don't know if I posted this before, but this guy has a list on his website of suggestions for stopping feedback. Apparently, he's tried a lot of things. Some of them are pretty interesting!

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Regarding the stuffed X-170 on ebay:

He didn't answer Mark's email or mine. Did he answer anybody?

Either he doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's lying. I'm afraid there's some damage or irreversible mods, and he's trying to make it sound original.

 

[matsickma]

No answers to my questions either.

M

 

[Kap'n]

I don't know if I posted this before, but this guy has a list on his website of suggestions for stopping feedback. Apparently, he's tried a lot of things. Some of them are pretty interesting!

He missed one that I've heard of that sounds pretty interesting - inflating a balloon inside your guitar. Deadens the top a bit, but not as much as some others.

 

[jp]

I don't know if I posted this before, but this guy has a list on his website of suggestions for stopping feedback. Apparently, he's tried a lot of things. Some of them are pretty interesting!

He missed one that I've heard of that sounds pretty interesting - inflating a balloon inside your guitar. Deadens the top a bit, but not as much as some others.

Wow, that's brilliant. I've never heard that one before. :wink:

 

[Kap'n]

Hans, the wooden bar inside the Barnes guitars, was it round 'like a broomstick', rectangular, flat on one side and round the 'rest of the way', or some other shape?

thanks, gilded

Can't tell from the picture what the back looked like, but the front looks flat to me.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Kap'n, I've never seen a Geo. Barnes in F. I knew 'about' them, knew about the idea behind 'em, but if George had one in '72-73, I never saw it and never heard about it from the 3 students of George's that I knew.

I saw an "F" at the New York guitar show once. I think they wanted like seven grand or something for it! :shock:

 

[jp]

No answers to my questions either.

M

Yup, matsickma. I agree with you from your other posts. First step is wax pot the pickups. I've actually considered a few patches of velcro tape on the inside surrounding the f-holes. Then inserting f-holes made out of thin plywood painted black also with velcro tape, which I would then pull up to cover from the inside--a simple reversible solution. But I think resonance of the top will still produce feedback.

I feel the only good solution is the installation of a removable soundpost. I'm going to do this on my Starfire. Here are very good instructions for soundpost installation on a violin. I feel the same theory and methods apply for f-hole archtop guitars.

 

[matsickma]

I recently noticed a cool little "sound post " idea. I picked up one of Billy Delights CE100s's over the holidays. Excellent playing and sounding guitar. (I need a seperate thread to talk about this guitar.) I noticed that inside the f-hole I see a 1/4 " to 3/8 " dowel glued to the bottom of the guitar up to and under the bridge location of the top of the guitar. This seems to be quite good at keeping the CE100D well behaved from feedback howl. I think I am going to do this to my very un-origional Aristocrat.

M

 

[billydlight]

I did not even notice there was a sound post in that one. I am glad you like the guitar. It is a real winner. Why don't you give us that thread I love to read other peoples opinions of my old stuff!!

Here is the thing about feed back. There are two kinds. Microphonic: which is fixed with proper potting. I do this to all of my guitars with Franz pup's.
The other kind from excessive volume, is easily fixed. First let me start by saying I play LOUD. I play full hollow body Guilds. I also have NO feedback problems at all. Ever. Rock and roll is supposed to be loud. Great tone of course but loud. I have a loud drummer and I like the tone that comes from playing loud. So the answer is:

Technique.

Proper damping of the strings. My strings are never just ringing. The unplayed strings, whether I am playing lead or rhythm are not left to vibrate on their own. It took a while to develop this but now it is second nature with either hand. It is really the only thing that works.

Give it a try really examine what is going on when you play.

 

[jp]

Technique.
Proper damping of the strings. My strings are never just ringing. The unplayed strings, whether I am playing lead or rhythm are not left to vibrate on their own. It took a while to develop this but now it is second nature with either hand. It is really the only thing that works.

It does depend on the type of music one plays, though. After playing a Strat for years before quieter single coils were developed, I developed good right-hand damping techniques. Messing around with Metallica and metal riffs in my youth also helped. Surf and country (especially chicken-pickin') really lend themselves to muting and right-hand damping.

However, anyone who wants to strum along open chords on a hollow body can't use this technique so much at higher volumes. That's where the wax-potting, a sound post, and careful EQing comes in handy. The most helpful advice I think is to spend a lot of time with your rig and get to know all its nuances, for your type of music, and in all types of playing situations. I don't want to belittle damping technique, though. As most would agree, developing good right-hand technique is really important for competent playing.

 

[Jeff]

I..........

Here is the thing about feed back.

Technique.

Proper damping of the strings. My strings are never just ringing. The unplayed strings, whether I am playing lead or rhythm are not left to vibrate on their own. It took a while to develop this but now it is second nature with either hand. It is really the only thing that works.

Give it a try really examine what is going on when you play.

I'm hardly in the same league with Billy but his comments reinforce what Smitty was telling me during Monday's lesson; two or three times he told me to mute the feedback from my Starfire. He was kind about it, explaining left to it's own devices hollowbody electrics want to take off & sing on their own.

The concept is starting to sink in & I'm hearing the feedback sooner, a gentle touch with the heel of your hand & she stops, Now on to learning to avoid the feedback in the first place.

Whole issue sort of giving me solid body GAS.

 

[billydlight]

Yeah but nothing sounds like a hollowbody 8)

 

[Default]

Jeff.

Think the Ted, be the Ted.

 

[Jeff]

Yeah but nothing sounds like a hollowbody

Yessir !!

Think the Ted, be the Ted

Solid body GAS is beginning stage, Symptoms alleviated greatly with stiff doses of Starfire & generous dollops of Acoustic.

 

[Default]

Ted played A Gibbie Byrdland for most of his early career.

It's not too late fot leopard-skin print leotards!