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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
 Posted - 08/27/2005 : 7:00:14 PM
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I have a lap steel with two single coil pickups on it. It sounds fine, except one string, the fourth one, is basically dead. The others sound fine. I recently changed strings, but it's still the same.
Anyone with electric guitar experience ever heard of this?
Jesse Tinsley
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2005 : 07:31:58 AM
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Jesse, does the pickup have adjustable pole pieces? If you you get the pole piece too close to the string, the magnetic pull can dampen the string and kill the tone. Otherwise, check the solidity of the string break points and anchors at both ends.
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2005 : 4:40:34 PM
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Thanks Fran. I've never taken it completely apart, but I guess I'm going to have to break down and rip it open. The pickups are under covers, so I don't know if there are adjustable pole pieces.
I was just wondering if a wiring problem or broken pickup could cause it.
There's also a knob under the bridge cover that seems to change the sound somewhat. Would that be a pot that changes polarity or something like that?
Jesse Tinsley |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2005 : 8:01:17 PM
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I wouldn't take the pickup apart. I was assuming that the pole pieces were screws that could be easily adjusted. It that's not the case pickup surgery should be a last resort. They're wound with lots of very fine wire and they're a lot easier to break than to fix.
That said, some pickups, such as Fender Strat and Tele units, have individual magnets. I suppose one of them could be damaged or misadjusted.
The normal way to change tone is to use a capacitor to roll off high frequencies. It's usually a pot forming an adjustable resistor/capacitor bridge. I think it would be odd to hide it under the pickup cover, though. It's usually right by the volume control.
Does the guitar have a name, is it something I could find specs for on the net?
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2005 : 1:36:34 PM
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Hi Fran,
I have an Aria six-string steel that I would guess is from the late 70s or early 80s. No model number. It puts out nice sound on five of the strings, though I need to get a tube amp to give it the sonorous sound of Hawaiian steel.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Mutantmoose
Aloha
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 03:58:08 AM
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Hey Jesse,
What kind of string is on that fourth, wound or plain? If it's plain, try a wound instead, the output is very different, and the guitar might be mae for a wound.
Also, check that string and make sure it's seated properly onthe bridge, and is over the polepiece in question. It could be on a chunk of grit or in a gully made by something else, and if it's misaligned, that coul dbe bad too. (But you'd probably notice it visually.)
I once has a buddy with a lap steel who was bugged at it's poor output. Turns out he had acoustic strings on it - not much magnetism in that brass...
Mark |
Mark
"In the business of enriching lives for 15 years." |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 05:23:42 AM
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Thanks, Moose.
I think I have one bad pickup though I haven't taken the pickup covers off to figure out which one it is. I've found that the string isn't dead, just quieter than the others, and I'll play with it that way until after the next upcoming gig, then tear it apart. I don't think it's a string problem yet, but I'll see. I would love to put a really hot pickup in the dead side to warm it up a little, but I'll have to see what fits.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 06:36:08 AM
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Hi guys!
My neighbor came over yesterday with some really beautiful macadamia wood that he has aged. So the 2 of us are going to build a couple of lap steel guitars with it. Planning to make the fret markers out of blond coffee wood. I have been trying to figure out some of the details. The folks at stewmac.com suggested I use their humbucker coil #1143. I like to keep things simple - that means one coil.. no switches or blending pots. I would like to hear suggestions on how close to the bridge I should mount the coil to give me a nice blend of warmth and shimmering harmonics. |
Konabob's Walkingbass - http://www.konawalkingbass.com
Taropatch Steel - http://www.konaweb.com/konabob/
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Konabob2+Walkingbass |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 10:19:49 AM
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You probably already know this:
The closer to the bridge/saddle you place the pickup the greater the relative high frequency content (shimmer) and the lower the overall amplitude. Complimentarily, further away inceases the relative amount of fundamental tones and also amplitude.
I would just measure a guitar you like (or two), like a Les Paul or Stratocaster and place the pickup at that distance from the bridge.
If you want to be fancy you can arrange for it to be moveable so you can change the tone whenever you like. This would be a much "higher fidelity" way of achieveing tone changes than using an electrical network because the network will introduce signal loss and noise.
If you have the opportunity, I would also use a LOW IMPEDANCE pickup with balanced connections (a.k.a. Studio Pickup) for the ultimate in fidelity (this kind of pickup is plugged into the MIC input of a console).
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
Edited by - Lawrence on 09/07/2005 10:24:51 AM |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 1:17:04 PM
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The sliding pickup is a fine idea, one that has been used by a variety of now defunct manufacturers, but I'm not sure I agree with the low impedance pickup. In theory they're great, but in the real world their ultimate clean and flat sound is often thought to be one dimensional and boring. The problem is that in an electric guitar the pickup is as much a tone producer as it is a transducer. So ancient, inefficient, quirky, high impedance, high noise designs like the Fender Telecaster lead pickup and the Rickenbacher horseshoe are much revered today, while the Les Paul Signature low impedance system is a footnote.
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
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