dannyboy58 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Hi All, I hope that someone will be able to offer me some information/advice with a problem with my Epiphone Casino guitar. I bought it from new in August 2009 and it has been great but it has recently developed a buzz/vibration which seems to be located around the bridge pickup. If i can explain the problem suitably - it sounds as though there is something loose inside the guitar which rattles frequently when the guitar is played unplugged and, if i hold the guitar by the neck with one hand and gently tap the guitar there is a distinct vibration that can be heard. I have attached a couple of close up pictures of the pickup nearest the bridge because I don't know if anyone will be able to offer any comments as to whether it looks OK? The 'screwheads' visible on the pickup are lower at one end and I can't remember if it has always been like this or if something has happened to the pickup to cause this problem?? Any assistance/information will be much appreciated! Thank you. Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 when my pickup selector switch is in the middle position it has a tendency to vibrate. But I only hear it when I play my Casino acoustically... So it's no big deal to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Check the saddle retetion wires (on the pickup side of the bridge). That is a common culprit for vibration rattles on Casinos. There are some earlier threads on easy solutions to fix it, if that is the problem. How about a couple of full on pictures of your guitar? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The.Traffic.Lights Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Hm. Maybe, it's the bridge retaining wire that's resonating? Due to a bad screw hole in one of the saddles one of the screws in the bridge of my Epi LP raised the wire above the screw and bent it a bit. As long as I remember, it hasn't caused any problems yet, but your rattling can come exactly due to this kind of issue. EDIT: Oops, couple of seconds too late :) EDIT2: From your current pictures it looks to me that in fact the b-string screw is higher than the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Yep what tweed said. Common issue with the Casino. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigh Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Make sure the pu cover is properly soldered. I had a Casino where the pu cover wasn't properly soldered. Looked just like yours. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelake07 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 A dab of clear fingernail polish on the saddle retainer wire solved the buzz/vibration for some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I don't know if your strings are hitting the pups... look close... But I had a similar problem on the 175. Heavy strings, light strings... No diff. It buzzed when I played and it even came through on the amp. Oddly what solved it was checking the pick guard where it actually was touching the bridge pup/assembly. I put on a little piece of felt on the pickguard where it rests on the pup/assembly. The felt I used is such as ladies put on the bottom of little porcelains that go on the shelf. They're awfully inexpensive for a batch of 'em. Made sure then that there was no actual contact between the plastic/metal of pups/assembly and the pickguard. No more buzz. m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geff Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I don't know if your strings are hitting the pups... look close... But I had a similar problem on the 175. Heavy strings, light strings... No diff. It buzzed when I played and it even came through on the amp. Oddly what solved it was checking the pick guard where it actually was touching the bridge pup/assembly. I put on a little piece of felt on the pickguard where it rests on the pup/assembly. The felt I used is such as ladies put on the bottom of little porcelains that go on the shelf. They're awfully inexpensive for a batch of 'em. Made sure then that there was no actual contact between the plastic/metal of pups/assembly and the pickguard. No more buzz. m I have a similar problem on a 175. I traced it to the little wire that runs across the screws on the bridge (to hold the bridge saddles in when changing strings I believe). Since this wire serves no obvious purpose when playing I suppose I could take it off, at riosk of losing a saddle if I break a string. I think what I will do is research alternatibe bridges. It only really buzzes when I play the G string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 You've probably thought of this, but in case you haven't... I had a buzz on my Casino, and a little tweak of the screw that holds the pickup to the body cured it. It didn't seem loose, only about 1/4 turn did it, but I guess that was enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Make sure the pu cover is properly soldered. I had a Casino where the pu cover wasn't properly soldered. Looked just like yours. +1 Mine had a terrible buzzing that would stop if I pressed my finger on the pickup cover. During some recent mods, my tech said that the solder joint holding the cover to the pickup body was loose and this was causing the problem. I don't like the look of those polepiece screws below the cover and it would support the theory that the it is not properly fixed on. As someone was calling for pictures, here's mine after the mods. I've had "witches hat" knobs and a black pickguard made for more of an ES330 look: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 From all the responses with slightly different, but equally serious buzzing complaints, I'd say that perhaps the first thing "we" should do is check to see if doing some little minor thing might solve a big problem... I've frequently heard of the bridge "wire" difficulty. Can't recall what the solution was, but it was in the Gibson area. m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'd say that perhaps the first thing "we" should do is check to see if doing some little minor thing might solve a big problem... Fair comment. I was just offering an alternative idea of what might be wrong but I agree that it makes sense to start with the basics. I've frequently heard of the bridge "wire" difficulty. Can't recall what the solution was, but it was in the Gibson area. For the bridge wire problem, on my LP I (very carefully) pushed the wire down with a small screwdriver, putting a small kink in the wire in-between the saddle adjustment screws and that fixed it. Another solution I've read of is to use a dab of clear nail polish to temporarily fix the wire into place. On my Casino, I was getting sick of buzzing so I had a Gotoh wireless ABR installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motowntom Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 what tweed said. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obedoff Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 On 3/20/2011 at 6:41 PM, dannyboy58 said: Hi All, I hope that someone will be able to offer me some information/advice with a problem with my Epiphone Casino guitar. I bought it from new in August 2009 and it has been great but it has recently developed a buzz/vibration which seems to be located around the bridge pickup. If i can explain the problem suitably - it sounds as though there is something loose inside the guitar which rattles frequently when the guitar is played unplugged and, if i hold the guitar by the neck with one hand and gently tap the guitar there is a distinct vibration that can be heard. I have attached a couple of close up pictures of the pickup nearest the bridge because I don't know if anyone will be able to offer any comments as to whether it looks OK? The 'screwheads' visible on the pickup are lower at one end and I can't remember if it has always been like this or if something has happened to the pickup to cause this problem?? Any assistance/information will be much appreciated! Thank you. Dan. The little Chinese inside is dead, you must replace him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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