OK, more 330 growing pains
So hopefully more success on this issue:
I've noticed more and more that on the upper three strings, single notes emit a strange, pulsing, warbling sound. The effect is like playing two strings slightly out of tune on the same note. It's like it's out of tune with itself. But I get the effect when I've muted all but the string in question. The strange thing is, I do NOT notice the effect through headphones, but only through an amp's speaker.
Theories:
1) Pickup height is too high, creating magnetic interference and warble. It seems strange, though, that this would be inaudible through headphones. But then again, I have the cheapest closed-ear Sony set I could find - maybe the warble IS there but I just cannot hear it.
2) Resonance issues: The warble is caused by a strange form of feedback between the amp and the guitar itself. Obviously this would not cause a problem through headphones. Also, I can reproduce the effect on many frets of the upper three strings, so it would seem that there is not a single offending "resonant frequency" to worry about.
3) ???? Setup issues? Nut-slotting? I didn;t sacrifice a virgin properly on the night of the recent lunar eclipse?
Possible solutions:
1) Mess with the pickup height. A project for this evening.
2) Try through a different amp? (My current is just a solid state practice peavey - maybe 15 watts)
3) Take it to a luthier for a competent setup?
4) Wait until the next lunar eclipse and have a virgin handy?
5) Try a trapeze bridge?
BTW I'm using D'addario 11's with a wound 3rd, but I noticed the same issue with the factory set.
Any feedback appreciated, except the annoying, warbly kind.
More 330 stuff
Moderator: jingle_jangle
More 330 stuff
"The only worthwhile conquests are those wrested from ignorance"
-Napoleon
-Napoleon
I'll try my MIM j-bass through the amp. . . not that such a practice will reveal anything for sure.
Come to think of it, would playing a bass through a small SS combo with the distortion knob (not master volume) maxed (I was bored) cause speaker damage? Watson, you might be on to something there. . . .
Plan B - solicit volunteers for the Eclipse from my students. We'll see how many take up the offer for extra credit.
Come to think of it, would playing a bass through a small SS combo with the distortion knob (not master volume) maxed (I was bored) cause speaker damage? Watson, you might be on to something there. . . .
Plan B - solicit volunteers for the Eclipse from my students. We'll see how many take up the offer for extra credit.
"The only worthwhile conquests are those wrested from ignorance"
-Napoleon
-Napoleon
. I teach AP history and econ to juniors and seniors.Hey John,
It's very possible to damage a guitar speaker by playing a bass through it. I don't think that using the distortion knob would affect it, but bass frequencies can move a speaker too much if it's not designed for that. If you can, play another guitar through that amp or your Rick through another amp.
You may also want to check for sympathetic (sp?) vibrations causing the extra sounds, although I think those would most likely come through the phones. Check for the strings touching the back of the bridge after breaking over the saddles, or for a vibration/rattle from the tailpiece to the bridge. Also, have you tried new strings? These are some simple and cheap things to try.
It's very possible to damage a guitar speaker by playing a bass through it. I don't think that using the distortion knob would affect it, but bass frequencies can move a speaker too much if it's not designed for that. If you can, play another guitar through that amp or your Rick through another amp.
You may also want to check for sympathetic (sp?) vibrations causing the extra sounds, although I think those would most likely come through the phones. Check for the strings touching the back of the bridge after breaking over the saddles, or for a vibration/rattle from the tailpiece to the bridge. Also, have you tried new strings? These are some simple and cheap things to try.
Well, I *think* a happy ending to this soap opera. Turns out the sacrificial virgins would have been as effective as anything else.
I got home after school today and spent the last 5 hours deconstructing the bridge of the guitar, tweaking the action, adjusting the pickups, messing with the strings behind the bridge ( I do occasionally get some sympathetic buzzing back there) and generally deafening myself through headphones hunting down the elusive pulsating warble. I tried the guitar through my practice amp, my bass amp, and even my PC. All of them got me the warb. I also shot off an e-mail to Mark the MD, who responded very helpfully with a range of possible solutions to the problem. Nothing I was adventurous enough to try worked. I was thinking this guitar was cursed or something - it was getting very frustrating, trying to pinpoint the source of the warble. Every time through a speaker, but nothing obvious or even audible through phones or playing unplugged. So I said, What the heck, might as well annoy the neighbors before I take the thing to a real luthier and spend some more cash on it. So I take the amp into my bedroom, all of ten feet away, and, just like magic, the phantom pulsing warble was gone. The guitar sounded great. I tried to re-create the problem in my living room and, guess what, back to normal.
What was happening, I think, was that I was getting sound reflections or sympathetic vibration from something in the livingroom - maybe the windows. The soundwaves, so the theory goes, were reflecting out of phase, creating the pulse. This would explain why the Amp speaker seemed to be the problem initially, but the problem reoccurred through any speaker.
Sometimes we overlook the simple solutions when they are literally right in front of us
The acid test will be to try again tomorrow when my ears and my brain are not fried.
I got home after school today and spent the last 5 hours deconstructing the bridge of the guitar, tweaking the action, adjusting the pickups, messing with the strings behind the bridge ( I do occasionally get some sympathetic buzzing back there) and generally deafening myself through headphones hunting down the elusive pulsating warble. I tried the guitar through my practice amp, my bass amp, and even my PC. All of them got me the warb. I also shot off an e-mail to Mark the MD, who responded very helpfully with a range of possible solutions to the problem. Nothing I was adventurous enough to try worked. I was thinking this guitar was cursed or something - it was getting very frustrating, trying to pinpoint the source of the warble. Every time through a speaker, but nothing obvious or even audible through phones or playing unplugged. So I said, What the heck, might as well annoy the neighbors before I take the thing to a real luthier and spend some more cash on it. So I take the amp into my bedroom, all of ten feet away, and, just like magic, the phantom pulsing warble was gone. The guitar sounded great. I tried to re-create the problem in my living room and, guess what, back to normal.
What was happening, I think, was that I was getting sound reflections or sympathetic vibration from something in the livingroom - maybe the windows. The soundwaves, so the theory goes, were reflecting out of phase, creating the pulse. This would explain why the Amp speaker seemed to be the problem initially, but the problem reoccurred through any speaker.
Sometimes we overlook the simple solutions when they are literally right in front of us
The acid test will be to try again tomorrow when my ears and my brain are not fried.
"The only worthwhile conquests are those wrested from ignorance"
-Napoleon
-Napoleon
John, I hope that you were able to solve your problem without asking any embarrassing questions of your students, such as "Do any of you know how to fix this?".
I found this to be interesting: on page 23 of the December 2003 Guitar Player Gary Brawer is reviewing the set up of Bill Frisell's Telecaster and makes the following comment when describing the distance between the pickups and the strings: "The bass side is backed off because the pole pieces on Tele neck pickups can really pull on the bass strings, causing an out-of-tune, warbly sound that gets worse as you fret up the neck. (This is true for any guitar that has magnetic pole pieces, as opposed to having magnets under the coils.)"
I don't know if Ric pickups are constructed the same way, but it must be of some comfort to you that your use of the word "warbly" has placed you at the cutting edge of the musical lexicon.
I found this to be interesting: on page 23 of the December 2003 Guitar Player Gary Brawer is reviewing the set up of Bill Frisell's Telecaster and makes the following comment when describing the distance between the pickups and the strings: "The bass side is backed off because the pole pieces on Tele neck pickups can really pull on the bass strings, causing an out-of-tune, warbly sound that gets worse as you fret up the neck. (This is true for any guitar that has magnetic pole pieces, as opposed to having magnets under the coils.)"
I don't know if Ric pickups are constructed the same way, but it must be of some comfort to you that your use of the word "warbly" has placed you at the cutting edge of the musical lexicon.
-
spencer
Hey John -
Just reading about your problem here and thought I would mention that I make it a point to turn off ALL fans when I play in a room. Even when strumming an acoustic, not plugged in at all. I'm very sensitive to things like that, I even used to unplug my fridge while recording.
Also, try different rooms in the house.
I know I have my favorites...
Just reading about your problem here and thought I would mention that I make it a point to turn off ALL fans when I play in a room. Even when strumming an acoustic, not plugged in at all. I'm very sensitive to things like that, I even used to unplug my fridge while recording.
Also, try different rooms in the house.
I know I have my favorites...
Yeah, the bathroom, annoyingly, sounds the best so far.
I did have a sense that my 12-string accoustic was sounding a little strange on the upper strings as well - I'll have to try it without the ceiling fan.
Somewhere else on this site, Mark the MD explains that hi-gains don;t have magnetic polepieces, which is good to know.
I always try to stay on the cutting edge of everything, except the sharp ends on my trimmed strings.
I did have a sense that my 12-string accoustic was sounding a little strange on the upper strings as well - I'll have to try it without the ceiling fan.
Somewhere else on this site, Mark the MD explains that hi-gains don;t have magnetic polepieces, which is good to know.
I always try to stay on the cutting edge of everything, except the sharp ends on my trimmed strings.
"The only worthwhile conquests are those wrested from ignorance"
-Napoleon
-Napoleon