Microphonic or just very sensitive?

[Sollipsist]

First post here, sorry if it's been covered before. I swear I searched for it!

I got a Jackson JS22-7 a few years back to test out the 7-string thing before spending a lot of cash, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the guitar.

But the stock humbuckers were a little blah so I put in a set of SD Black Winters. Great improvement in tone... but now every little movement on the guitar gets picked up. I can tap very lightly on the wood or metal anywhere on the neck and body, and hear it clearly through the amp.

I can only guess that it's pickup microphonics - but there isn't any of the usual "squeal" that you'd hear from old or bad pickups.

I'm coming from a background of EMGs and "only" slightly overwound humbuckers - do all super high gain pickups do this and I'm just not used to it? Or did I do something wrong in the install and am hearing a cold solder joint or something like that?

 

[bostjan]

Tapping the wood on the guitar should not make much, if any, noise in the pickups. I believe there is a good chance that they have indeed gone microphonic. If I were you, I would contact Seymour Duncan straight away.

 

[mnemonic]

I dunno, all my guitars, if I tap the body I can hear it through the amp. Tap body, vibration travels though the strings, vibration is picked up by pickups, then amplified by the amp. I’m talking on a high gain setting, and I generally don’t use a noise gate.

I only have one guitar with a microphonic pickup, it squeals loudly if the pickup is pointed at the speakers of a loud, high gain amp.

 

[NateFalcon]

Does your guitar hum or hiss when you stop touching it?

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Sounds like it's just normal noise from a high gain pickup/amp combination without a gate I wouldn't say it's a microphonic pickup unless it continues to ring/sing/squeal when you tap the body or pickup itself

 

[Sollipsist]

Does your guitar hum or hiss when you stop touching it?

Nope, it's actually a pretty quiet guitar other than the extreme sensitivity. That's why I didn't think I messed up the install, no ground loops or buzzing.

 

[NateFalcon]

Well it’s not a ground issue...if both pickups have the same sensitivity, then I doubt BOTH pickups are microphonic as well...Might be just more sensitive than you’re used to...?

 

[Sollipsist]

That's probably it. What I should do is get another guitar with equally high output pickups to compare the two on the same rig.

It's as good a reason as any to get a new guitar...

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

For science!

 

[Mike]

Pretty sure that's just the black winter's nature. I have one in a Jackson as well as the other Duncan high gain offerings and I'm a firm believer that there's just something about the way that SD winds and pots compared to say DiMarzio that makes their high output stuff squeal at a lower gain/volume level.

I think it's why I've been gravitating towards SD over DiMarzio lately is the feel and increased sensitivity, but I think that also translates to not having as high of a tolerance for a lot of gain being thrown at them since they're more sensitive. Of course I'm probably just talking out of my ass.

Anyway if you can hear your voice through the amp if you talk into the pickup then they're exhibiting some microphonic behaivor. Also try lowering the BW quite a bit. That helped me cut some unwanted extra junk it seemed to be picking up.

 

[jarledge]

a pickup is considered microphonic when it squeals or feeds back even at low volume/distortion. What you are describing just sounds like a high output pickup. You'll more than likely KNOW when a pickup has gone microphonic. They will usually put off squeals and feedback at any volume especially when distorted. Also they tend to be treble heavy.

 

[Zoobiedood]

I generally don't notice any squealing on modern sounding potted pickups with proper gain staging. I don't get any microphonics or squealing of any kind. I'd guess enough volume and preamp gain would make any pickup squeal, though.

 

[RobPhoboS]

I know it's a bit of an old post now BUT I've just put my Black Winter bridge into my new RG421EX, and the bugger is microphonic.
In that it can pick up me talking quietly over it, or just tapping the guitar it picks up everything. It's really weird, and I didn't expect that !

 

[RobPhoboS]

Hmm, it was just happening with the HM2, so I cranked the Decimator up and it seemed to help out a fair bit.