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#541237 - 05/01/06 08:27 PM
BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 800
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I know there used to be a few guitar players who posted here and I have a question. I was playing an acoustic guitar but a friend gave me a 1965 Harmony Stratatone that was in his garage (I took a picture of it for my new avatar). I had to have the bridge replaced and it plays great now. My question is when I was playing under fluorescent lights this weekend I got a lot of buzz over the amp is this normal? Is there anything I can do? If I touched one of the pick-ups the buzzing was reduced but it got kind of hard to play and keep my pinkie on a pick-up the whole time. Any ideas?
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#541241 - 05/01/06 08:47 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Shemp here. Two scenarios. 1) There may be vibration in one of your strings, it is likely attributed to the string not sitting right at the top of the neck (in the groove). You can go with a thicker string. But if this is the case, you would be able to hear it without the amp. 2) With an old guitar like that you may be having issues with your pickups. Pickups are made of magnets and cones, there are many different configurations of these but one thing is constant, the older a pickup is, the less it picks up. I would take it to a tech. Pickups are not very expensive, but need to be installed properly and will likely change the sound of your guitar.
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#541242 - 05/01/06 08:51 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 800
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I was worried it being the pick-ups. I hate to replace them because they are the originals, but I guess it is not good to ground my electric guitar with my body huh?
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#541244 - 05/01/06 09:01 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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10K Club
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 10,395
Jersey Shore
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Quote:
I was worried it being the pick-ups. I hate to replace them because they are the originals, but I guess it is not good to ground my electric guitar with my body huh?
Someone who wants to take the time could completely rewind the coils and redo the other wiring, but based on experience, they'd crab at you big time when you picked the guitar once the work was done.
On the plus side, there may be new pickups in exactly the old style available now. Someone's always re-creating the old.
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#541245 - 05/01/06 09:08 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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Quote:
I was worried it being the pick-ups. I hate to replace them because they are the originals, but I guess it is not good to ground my electric guitar with my body huh?
Slub, first of all, let me disclose that I'm not an expert when it comes to electronics, but if the problem is only happening around the lights, you may not be able solve the problem without new pickups. The best solution in that case is probably to get some humbucking pickups. But it could be, as someone suggested a grounding issue.
Before you replace your vintage pickups, try lifting the ground to see if the buzzing stops. You can do this a couple of ways.
1. Get one of those 3-prong to 2-prong electric cord adapters. Plug your amp/PA power cord into the 3-prong adapter and plug the adapter into the wall. Turn on your amp and crank up your guitar volume. If the buzzing goes away, you've got a grounding issue. You can continue to play with the ground lifted, but be careful because you might experience shock when you touch something else with your body. (For example, it's always kind of a weird feeling for me to get shocked when my lips touch a microphone.)
2. A more expensive route is to try plugging into a direct box (aka DI box) that has a ground lift switch.
If the buzzing goes away when you lift the ground, you should take your instrument to a reputable shop where they can check the wiring of your pickups. Sometimes you can buy retrofit pickups made for vintage instruments. That's what I did to solve a humming problem with my bass pickups and it was worth every penny and more.
Good luck! Vintage guitars can be really fun.
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541247 - 05/01/06 09:13 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 800
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Thanks to everyone for the advice (except Builder Chick   ). Oh I meant to ask about the cell phone thing, will it pick up the call over the amp...that could be pretty interesting.
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#541248 - 05/01/06 09:14 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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Quote:
Oh I meant to ask about the cell phone thing, will it pick up the call over the amp...that could be pretty interesting.
I've never had a cell phone bleed into a PA or amplifier, but I have picked up two-way radio before. However, it's usually more annoying than interesting.
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541249 - 05/01/06 09:17 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 546
The New Loft Chamber
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I'm more of an acoustic guy (but recently got a Fender Telecaster). My brother mentioned a type of pickup called a humbucker. See Wikipedia discussion about humbuckers and buzzing noise around light bulbs and computer screens.
_________________________
J. Bruce
"A man in a kilt is a man and a half!"
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#541250 - 05/01/06 09:19 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 800
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sorry I did not see the last responses, some very good advice there too. It doesn't happen at home and I wasn't using my amp either. I played bass guitar a long time ago and I seem to remember some places having more buzz than others, but it sure seemed extreme the other day.
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#541251 - 05/01/06 09:23 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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Quote:
sorry I did not see the last responses, some very good advice there too. It doesn't happen at home and I wasn't using my amp either.
What were you plugged into if it wasn't your amp?
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541253 - 05/01/06 09:33 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 800
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It was someone else's amp, I only have a small peavey rage practice amp.
I meant it does not happen at home on my amp but it did somewhere else on a different amp. This other amp is used a lot so I don't think the problem was with it.
Last edited by slubgob; 05/01/06 09:35 PM.
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#541255 - 05/02/06 12:33 AM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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Quote:
I'm more of an acoustic guy (but recently got a Fender Telecaster). My brother mentioned a type of pickup called a humbucker.
Hey J. Bruce, what model Telly did you get? I debated long and hard between a Telecaster and a Stratocaster when I got my first electric a couple of years ago. I ended up with a "Fat" Strat (Mexican). I really like it a lot, unfortunately I don't get the time to play it too much.
BTW I am finally going to post some of that background music I was telling you about. I haven't had a chance to record anything more, but I will want to get your thoughts. (I'll send you a link when it's ready -- hopefully within the next few days.) Also, I listened to some of the music from the links you gave me. Good stuff, I need to listen some more.
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541256 - 05/02/06 12:34 AM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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Quote:
Oh how I wish I could play the guitar! I just don't have the patience to learn. :-(
It does take some patience. Have you ever tried to learn?
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541258 - 05/02/06 03:51 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,245
US of A
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JWB, I'm not the biggest Taylor fan in the world, I usually prefer Martins over Taylors when I play them. However, I got to play the new GS model from Taylor last week and was very, very impressed. This is a guitar I could see myself owning. The tone was so much more rich and full and loud than anything Taylor has made in the past. It's also a very nice playing and visually beautiful intrument. I played the rosewood/cedar model -- I love the sound of a cedar top. The store was listing it for around $2,100 (without electronics), but I think that's an introductory price. The normal price will probably be around $2,500. If you want a factory pickup installed it's about $300 more. What Taylor model do you have?
_________________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ Oscar Wilde
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#541259 - 05/02/06 04:27 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 546
The New Loft Chamber
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Homestar, I understand your point about Martins vs. Taylors. You'll get no debate out of me  . I've played some really nice Martins. I thought long and hard about getting a Martin, but a couple of years ago I was visiting my brother in Chicago. He has guitars stacked up like cord wood (a Collings, a couple of Gibsons, a Guild and several vintage electric Gibsons and Fenders). Anyway, he talked me into going to a little guitar shop to find me a new guitar (all I had at the time was my really old classical and a factory second 12-string). That's where I ended up buying my Talyor (310) -- it had a sound and tone that I really liked and the price was right -- worth every penny -- I've spent alot of time playing that guitar late at night when the wife and kids are in bed. Not being the best guitarist, I used to say that I was playing for three -- me, my dog and the Lord...we got along Ok...the dog was deaf and the Lord is pretty forgiving. The GS model Taylors look great, but way out of my price range...at least until I get my kids out of school!
_________________________
J. Bruce
"A man in a kilt is a man and a half!"
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#541260 - 05/02/06 09:16 PM
Re: BOL Guitar Gurus
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Gold Star
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 466
the good ole south
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Quote:
Quote:
Oh how I wish I could play the guitar! I just don't have the patience to learn. :-(
It does take some patience. Have you ever tried to learn?
Well, sort of, just by myself with a guitar and a little "instruction" book 
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