Solution for those pickup rattles and buzzes

[jdgm]

Hi all

There has been a recent post on this topic - here with pics is how I solved my problem.

The guitar is a Shine (Saein Musical Instrument Co.Ltd, Korea) semi; the pickups rattled, buzzed and growled acoustically and although these noises weren't electrically amplified they were very annoying.

Quick fixes, e.g. a card shim work fine, but don't get to the cause of the problem. The usual method of mounting a pickup to its surround ring uses one screw per side with a tensioning spring on the shaft, and as we all know is inherently wobbly. Replacing the spring with flexible plastic tubing completely removes the main cause of rattles! I used some old heat-shrink tubing for this; surgical tubing would be better, but a soft plastic drinking straw would probably be as good.

As soon as I put the tubing on and started tightening the screw I realised most of the problem was removed.

Pickup on left has tubing on, on right still has spring. You can see how the spring will cause wobbles.

 

 

Then I used some old strips of velcro loop (as opposed to the hook part) which is like a soft fuzzy carpet with a sticky back. I cut strips to fit the sides of the pickup covers, positioning them according to the desired height. When the pickups were replaced, ALL unwanted vibrations are now completely damped out - it worked!

 

 

I also cut out 4 tiny pieces of velcro per pickup and put them on the underside of the surrounds, right next to the screw holes.

 

 

And this is why, I wanted to eliminate any vibrations here too;

 

 

Pickup mounting rings often don't match the contour of the guitar top. Screwing 'em down hard will sooner or later cause the screws to strip their threads and they may then rotate and sometimes cause very irritating, hard-to-trace buzz which occurs at the very start of a picked single note. The laminated top of my semi is 4mm thick (max) which doesn't give a screw much to bite into. The important thing is that you don't let the hole get any wider, and you also don't squirt superglue down it and then screw the mounting back on either.

Some Velcro loop (as used above) may do the trick, as follows; stick a tiny piece inside the guitar, right beneath the screw hole then hold it there with something (not your finger) while you put a needle or pin or thin sharp point down the screw hole and make a hole in the velcro backing for the screw tip to bite into. The idea is that when you screw the surround back on, the screw bites into the velcro, gets a bit more torque and tiny strands of velcro are drawn up the screw shaft, helping to tighten it and eliminate the vibration. A bit fiddly but well worth a try!

 

This was a pretty easy job - if a klutz like me can do this and get it right....!

Stuff - original springs on left, heat-shrink tubing, velcro and what I use to clean my guitar. Non-silicon 'Wood Silk' polish, Duraglit 'Silvo' wadding for frets only - do NOT use on gold plating - and an old bottle of Kodascope oil, the only oil I have ever used on a guitar.

 

 

Restrung with EB Cobalts and ready to play!

 

 

Regards and a very Happy New Year to one and all!

[RLM69]

Another option instead of shrink tubing, is fuel line for model aircraft engines. It will probably out live the guitar and has some cushioning to it.

[jdgm]

Please excuse me 'bumping' this one, but....could there be a business opportunity here?

 

Kit for a 2 humbucker guitar would contain -

4 x 1" plastic tubing

4 x 2" strips Velcro loop or equivalent

(ok put 2" spare of each in too)

Clear instruction leaflet with diagrams/template

 

Market as...hmm...'Positional Damping Technology', 'Acoustic Resonance Damping Kit' or...?

 

Wouldn't make a fortune but might be a nice little earner considering the retail markup...

 

Regards and HNY!