microphonic feedback/musical feedback?

O

olfunk

New member
hi there,

when i play live, i would like there to be some lovely feedback now and then, like some guitarists seem to achieve. but with my epi les paul i only seem to get nasty squeaking feedback on the bridge pickup, and none on the neck. my friends guitar feeds back beautifully, not even with much gain. he has a very low action, so this may be why. i am getting a big muff pi soon as i want a fuzz box and i played thru one and its great. i only played at store volumes, and was wondering if this will help my feedback. i just want to know really how to stop crap feedback and get nice feedback.

cheers
 
Not likely, a guitar pickup feeds back in a much more controlled way, since it is only somewhat sensitive to acoustic noise (microphonics) but much more to string vibration. A microphone feeding back tends to "runaway" and clips very badly and in an ugly manner. If you're looking for more feedback from your guitar, try a wah pedal to boost some of the high frequencies. Set the pedal full forward/treble and do a dance in front of your amp to the feedback gods :D.
 
Try a graphic EQ in your signal chain. Then you can attenuate those nasty frequencies that feed back and leave only the ones that you like.

I use a compressor/sustainer and I love the way that it allows me to produce controlled feedback. Of course it also tends to cause its fair share of uncontrollable low-frequency feedback.

Also the room that you're playing in has a lot to do with the feedback. Different room sizes/dimensions will cause different frequencies to feed back.
 
And, yes, lower action can lead to increased feedback, since there is an increased magnetic field strength between the strings and the pickups. You might try raising your pickups if you don't want to lower the action. Don't get them so close that the strings are rattling on the pickups, though.
 
The microphonic feedback can also be due to the pickup not being properly wound or potted. Wax potting a pup will generally get rid of the microphonic feedback, as the wax prevents the windings of the pickup from feeding back uncontrolably. The other option is to replace the pickups with some better after market replacements. Good luck!
 
Zaphod B said:
And, yes, lower action can lead to increased feedback, since there is an increased magnetic field strength between the strings and the pickups. You might try raising your pickups if you don't want to lower the action. Don't get them so close that the strings are rattling on the pickups, though.
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If you raise your pickups and the skinny strings start to have kind of a warbly sound, especially when you play up the neck, then you've raised them too much. If you get them too close, then the magnetic fields of the pickups start to pull on the strings as they vibrate, and that will introduce weird and usually unpleasant harmonics. This usually happens well before the strings start to actually rattle against the pups.
 
ggunn said:
If you raise your pickups and the skinny strings start to have kind of a warbly sound, especially when you play up the neck, then you've raised them too much. If you get them too close, then the magnetic fields of the pickups start to pull on the strings as they vibrate, and that will introduce weird and usually unpleasant harmonics. This usually happens well before the strings start to actually rattle against the pups.
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Agreed. There is a sweet spot to be found, but damned if I have any methodology for finding it, except experimentation.
 
SteveK said:
The microphonic feedback can also be due to the pickup not being properly wound or potted. Wax potting a pup will generally get rid of the microphonic feedback, as the wax prevents the windings of the pickup from feeding back uncontrolably. The other option is to replace the pickups with some better after market replacements. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Don't soak your Epihone pickups in wax as the bobbins are most likely plastic and will melt at the temps necessary to properly pot the pickup. Replacement pickups would be a good choice for that guitar as the pickups are one of the few weak links on the Epi LP's. You would then have a much easier time searching for that 'sweet spot'.
 
I guess another question might be, what amp are you using? My experience has been that some amps just don't do feedback well. My Peavey Classic 30 doesn't sound good at all in feedback. My Tech21 Trademark 120 (solid state) doesn't sound all that great, but still better than the Peavey. My Orange AD30 sounds better feeding back than it does when I'm playing it! :D. Not really, but it does sound absolutely amazing.

Maybe the next time you get together with your friend, could you try your guitar through his amp, or his guitar through your amp, just to try and find out what's causing the problem?
 
thanks very much for the replies!!!! i am using an old vox amp - a vox lead 100 watt. its not a valve amp, but it is like one in that, on clean, it can be overdriven with the right frequencies. its one of those amps that, though it can be set to clean, its doesn't do clean like modern amps do. so i use a sansamp for solos. tonight it is our weekly practise, so i'll try that with my friend's guitar. it could well be his amp, which is an older marshall valvestate, which is a looooovely amp.
 
im also getting a no-name strat soon, which has the best neck ive ever played, and a beautiful sounding body. im going to change the pickups (which arent that bad really) and stuff and make it much nicer. im going to buy a set of 57/62 pickups, now when you say dip them in hot wax, do you actually mean unsolder the pickups from the guitar and just dip them in hot wax, or just a certain part of the pickup?
 
The entire pickup, minus the plastic covers, is soaked not just dipped in a bath of melted wax. The idea is to have the wax penetrate the windings of the pickup to prevent winding vibrations that can contribute to nasty feedback. The problem is that in order to be effective, the temps and time required will melt plastic bobbins and covers, effectively destroying the pickup. Just about all but the cheapest of pickups are wax potted or sealed in epoxy resin to some degree. I wouldn't recommend wax potting to anyone who doesn't have the experience or knowledge. The risk of destroying your pickup, or worse yet, starting a fire, is just too great. Replacing cheapo pickups is a much better option.
 
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