Guitar is microphonic?

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Blitzie

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I just got my amp set up in my new place and I plugged in my Carvin and it is CRAZY microphonic. I thought it was weird so I replaced every cable in my rig and it was still not working. When it's plugged in if I touch the standby switch on the amp, the buzzing stops. If I touch the input jack on the Carvin, it stops. Otherwise, there's an insane amount of weird hiss/feedback.

I pulled out my ESP and plugged it in and no issues whatsoever. It's definitely the Carvin. Any ideas? It's just so bizarre, I'm not sure what to make of it.
 
Bob Savage":1xp86qb9 said:
Anyway, it does sound like the pickups may need potting.
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Yes, so they can grow new pickup flowers and bear pup fruit.
 
Or a bad ground on the guitar. Does the hum go away if you touch strings or bridge?
 
Blitzie":30t2z2si said:
How do I do this? I have NO idea.
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Do you like the sound of the pickups? You may want to just swap them out.

I'm surprised Carvin pickups would not be potted. What year was the guitar made?
 
I haven't even gotten to hear them yet. I just got this on Friday morning and plugged it in tonight. I'm unsure of the age. I know it's a DC127m and it has the phase inverters and coil splitters and such.

No, it only goes away when touching the input jack on the guitar or the standby switch on my amp. So weird.
 
Most pickups *blatant generalization* have the inner workings of the pickup set in "wax". This wax can be a number of different materials, but it's called "wax potting" a "pickup", and some pickups actually come "unpotted" to open them up to more environmental nuances and behaviours.

Google is your friend. If indeed these pups need re-potting, any capable tech can do it. Sometimes too, it's just a reheat of the goo that's in there to have it re-settle.

Good luck,
Mo
 
The jack is fine. The rig is fine. The other guitars I own are okay. I notice a deep decline in volume of the guitar too. I'm gonna look further into it.
 
Blitzie":3kqkuazs said:
I haven't even gotten to hear them yet. I just got this on Friday morning and plugged it in tonight. I'm unsure of the age. I know it's a DC127m and it has the phase inverters and coil splitters and such.

No, it only goes away when touching the input jack on the guitar or the standby switch on my amp. So weird.
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Makes me wonder if you don't have a grounding issue, and possibly the bridge isn't grounded either.

I'd rewire it to make sure it's right, perhaps even replacing the pots and ask the seller for credit to do it.
 
If it was grounding, wouldn't touching the strings and the bridge do the same as when I touch the input jack?

The seller is Zack...he is a great dude and I trust him 100% that this wasn't happening when it left his house. I just don't want to have to replace pickups that are so special. And I certainly don't want to ask him to pay for the repairs.
 
I love Carvin guitars......but their wiring leaves a lot to be desired. They do not ground to the back of the pots.......rather to the thin wire bridging the pots. I had one of mine come loose soon after I received it. They also ground the bridge to the thin conductive cavity lining rather than a pot. I would start by checking ALL of your ground connections.....pickups, bridge, and pots.
 
Blitzie":orsqsmpn said:
If it was grounding, wouldn't touching the strings and the bridge do the same as when I touch the input jack?
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Not if the bridge ground is disconnected/broken. Your pickups are not microphonic if the noise goes away by touching a piece of metal.
 
Microphonic = squeeling and feedback. What you're saying is the guitar is buzzing. Thats different and sounds like a bad ground... Actually the fact that the buzzing goes away when you touch the strings, or bridge proves there's a bad ground.
 
This may sound dumb bro, but did you change the battery? The more I thought about it, that battery has been in there forever and a day. I have never swapped it, as honestly, the thing might have 1 1/2 -2 hours of playtime total. That might explain it.
 
Changed the battery. Didn't fix it.

Did find out that it's the ground. It must have come unattached to whatever it was attached to because when I touch it to certain surfaces inside the control cavity, it stops the buzzing. Will be getting some solder and fixing 'er. Thanks guys!
 
Code001":ej6rsp1r said:
Blitzie":ej6rsp1r said:
If it was grounding, wouldn't touching the strings and the bridge do the same as when I touch the input jack?
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Not if the bridge ground is disconnected/broken. Your pickups are not microphonic if the noise goes away by touching a piece of metal.
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That's exactly what I'm thinking based upon his comment that touching the input jack quiets it but touching the bridge/strings doesn't.
 
Blitzie":ob18tazu said:
Changed the battery. Didn't fix it.

Did find out that it's the ground. It must have come unattached to whatever it was attached to because when I touch it to certain surfaces inside the control cavity, it stops the buzzing. Will be getting some solder and fixing 'er. Thanks guys!
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They solder that wire to the thin coating that they line the cavity with. I could see it easy getting knocked loose. I have no idea why they do that.
 
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