Telecaster Esquire Feedback Fix - Stop Microphonic Squeal - Increase Sustain & Tone. Tutorial How To
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- Опубліковано 8 січ 2021
- Easy Tricks to keep Microphonics, Feedback & Squeal to a minimum in Fender Telecaster & Esquire Style Guitars.
DIY Partscaster or a factory built, that wonderful 'Tele Twang' comes at a price... potential Microphonics.
With a few tweeks you can use your Tele at Higher Gain settings and Recording without the problems caused by Microphonics, Squeal and Feedback
This Video addresses Pickup Potting - • Guitar Pickup Potting ...
i make music too - songwhip.com/rogerbrainard
partcaster parts caster part caster - Навчання та стиль
Thanks for that vid. My telecaster was squealing so loud. Seems like everything was wrong : bridge plate not flat, springs instead of tubes, and copper base plate not properly glued to the pickup. Added some surgical tube instead of springs, glued the copperplate using heated candle wax and flattened the baseplate by adding strips of copper tape to avoid unwanted vibrations.
Its now perfectly quite.
thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to comment!!
Thank you so much for your Tipps! It absolutely worked out for me! Additionally i added a piece of Foam in the cavaty which ads additional force on the backplate and keeps it from moving.
thank you for commenting .. so glad it worked for you ... foam is a good tip
Real deal guitar wisdom…many many thanks to you sir!
most welcome and thank you for taking the time to comment
Thank you a lot sir for your time. I will follow your instructions carefully. My last rehearsal was partly damaged by my squealing new bridge pickup that sounds very good indeed but I must have let some or all these issues on my bridgeplate pending for sure after I installed this new pickup.
Thanks again sir
Thank you for spreading your knowledge sir! Learned something new 🙌🏽.
super... thank you for the positive comment !!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I play a ´73 Telecaster Custom and the bridge pick up is not really microphonic but picks up every little touch on the body. Will definitely try your ideas. Thanks Roger!
thank you for the kind words .. hope it helps out.
Thanks for your help. I just installed a new Fender Pure Vintage 64 pickup in my Esquire and it was SUPER microphonic.
Melted wax between the bobbin and baseplate did the trick when out of the bridge, but mounting screws kept causing separation whenever I screwed it in. Had to hold the assembly together firmly to prevent further separation. Sorted now!
super .. that is a culprit spot for sure
Thank you. I will definitely look into some of these solutions
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video!
Another good video Roger, thank you.
There’s one more old trick for controlling a vibrating bridge plate if one doesn’t mind doing the irreversible mod to their original plate or replacing it with an aftermarket part.
An extra screw can be installed at the leading edge treble side corner of the plate to just snug it down to the body.
Some have installed one screw at each leading edge corner.
I’ve only had one Tele in the past fifty years which had a sympathetic vibration (B on this one) at that front corner but a nice little pick guard or control plate mounting screw will blend in naturally with the originals, look like it belongs there and takes care of that one errant fizzy sound which took a week to find.
Yes!! good tip. thanks for bringing it up!! So far i have not had to do that mod but I have seen it
Great video,thanks for sharing your knowledge! I used to just put wax between the plate and the pickup.
Thank you for the kind words ...wax is a good idea.
Great tips! Thanks 👍
thank you so much for the kind words .. glad you found it useful
Thanks for explaining bridge and pickup config in a Tele. Now I really need installing a steel plate (looks like a motorbike brake pad) under my FrankenStratTele bridge pickup. There is already something, I tinkered in, but it is rather small. I bet I can get closer to the original Tele sound.
Thank you, sir!
most welcome
Thanks for the wisdom.
I've wound multiple pickups with success, but I recently wound my first tele bridge pickup and it squeals with even light over drive. It's fine clean. But in a cranked amp or light overdrive its sqealing a lot.
Being a strat guy, and having wound multiple sets of strat pickups with success, I approached it the same way.
Pretty sure its plate that's causing the sqeal. I didn't know to make sure it wasn't in direct contact with the magnets. I'm going to also make sure I've got surgical tuning for the mounting screws vs springs. I honestly don't remember what's in it, but it needs to be the tubing I think.
Again thanks for the knowledge.
thanks for the post .. yes a tele is a different beast .. you can use plastic screws for the pickup mounting screws and somewhat tame the bridge plate.. or a stainless or brass one .. BUT the tele sound is steal .. i don;t think i have ever gotten rid of all microphonics ..but a bit of methodical care and you should be able to get some pretty good gain .. best
Thank you 🙏👌
You are very welcome .. I have a vision of a squeal free world
@@thebrainard 🤣🤣👍👍
Roger my recent 68 tele arrived with original looking electronics but maybe some non original soldering ? Maybe a bad solder or ground issue as the bridge pup hums with hands off strings. There is a splayed ground wire running from the plate to ground pot.
Previous owner questioned whether bridge pup worked but it does seem too.
Other issue is neck pup tone is bit muffled ?
Tone pot varies tone somewhat. Oddly the bridge pup doesn’t seem to be affected by tone pot at all? May have to rewire the whole thing? Could try and send you pics somehow?
She’s an old crackled blonde and I want to tread carefully. Thanks
Not sure how many tele's you have owned but the neck pup is usually pretty mellow ...and single coils will hum a bit but if only the bridge pup is doing the hands off hum thing and the neck is not then hmmmm. if you have a meter .. plug a cord into the guitar and check the continuity of the shank of the amp end with the bridge and the control plate .. and you should see pretty much the DCR of the pickup between the tip and sleeve (5-7k ish if the controls are maxed on the gt) .. also google and grab a schemo for tele wiring and trace it out making sure it is done right and solid. not too much more i could say without 'seeing' the gtr - Best
Just a question about the mag plate to the flat work....Ever try running fingernail polish around the entire edge where these two pieces meet? Once that sets up, it should keep the two parts married together I would think. Never tried it, just wondering if it might help?
interesting question .. no I have not tried that .. and since most pickups are wax potted these days I doubt the nail polish would stick to it. also the objective is to not have the magnet touch the plate and to be very tight against the bobbin. The nail polish on the edge would not actually do that ...the tape and the firm pull of the springs do the job of damping any vibrations in that area very well
I have a ‘52 reissue from 1982 and both pickups are squealing like crazy once I hit about 8 on my amp volume. I have gotten the bridge to be more manageable using your wax method between the back plate and the pickup, do you have any recommendations for the neck pickup? It doesn’t have a plate attached. Also both pickups have been wax potted, the cavity is shielded with copper tape and I have put Electrical tape of the front edge of the bridge plate. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated!
set your amp and guitar on the threashold of squealing and tap around lightly with your pick .. you may be able to find the offending spot that way .. if both seem to squeal at the same volume it indicates something common to both pickups .. the switch can be microphonic sometimes .. maybe a piece of tape between it and the control plate . best
Hi Roger, great video, very informative. My ‘66 Hagström 12 string has some pretty bad microphonics; the squeal is most prevalent when I’m using moderate gain. I think the source of the squeal is likely the metal rings housing the single coil pickups, since whenever I tap on the rings with some gain, it causes a shrill “ping”. My question is, how would you go about dampening the vibrations of the metal rings in this particular system? The issue seems to be that the rings surround the whole pickup and are very thin, so there’s no real flat surfaces to attach some adhesive material, as you would with say, a humbucker cover. I’ve not seen this pickup mounting system used by any other brands - it seems unique to Hagström. The guitar has a Stratocaster-esque pickguard, yet has metal rings to attach the pickups to the pickguard. I’ve described the system poorly but you’ll be able to find it easily online. Thanks again and apologies for the long comment:)
I am somewhat familiar with the guitar and pickups .. I don't think they are potted so the pickups themselves are probably the cause of the microphonic issue. If i remember right there is a live bar type magnet in a plastic bobbin holding the windings. I think the pole pieces that show are actually cosmetic and not actual magnets .. I may be remembering wrong .. been a while since i had one... and If memory serves I think the metal ring is just 'trim' and the pickups can be mounted without it. I do have a vid on potting if you want to see what that might entail. Best
@@thebrainard thanks so much for your response. Yes I think you’re absolutely right - the pole pieces that show are cosmetic, I think they’re just metal discs. It never occurred to me before, but does this mean that the pickups are single coil rails type pickups? (That way I could adjust the string spacing to my liking) More to the point, first I’m gonna mount the pickups without the metal trim to see if that makes a difference. From what you’ve said, it likely won’t, so I think I’ll resort to potting them. I have been reading a lot online about potting… I’m a bit reluctant to do it as a lot of people claim it noticeably changes the tone of the pickup. What’s your opinion on that? Thanks so much again for your response, extremely helpful
if i remember right the magnet is a bar so string spacing should not be an issue
Thanks for the video, very informative, and what a nice calm voice you've got! I recently aquired a Tele, now my go-to guitar for almost any style. But the problem for me is not so much the bridge PU as the neck PU, that I use almost exclusively. I play with the fingers, i.e. no pick, and have so called gel put on my natural nails for strength (what a revelation after 45 years of playing, no more cracked nails, yes!) But the way I position my right hand makes the nail of my thumb hit the neck PU rather often, which reults in a loud, trebly click through the amp. It seems to have evolved over time, so now even hitting the scratch-plate near the PU with a nail makes a click. I go the "dimed-small-amp-controlled-by the-guitars-volume-pot"-way, so the amp is very susceptible to this noise. Do you have a trick to remove this problem?
I too am a control things from the guitar volume . the neck pickup has the cover ( which is needed) and it can get a little loose.. maybe a dab of 'goop' glue on the tabs that hold it in place to stablize it and possibly a piece of foam under the pickup to damp vibrations. . if you are adventuresome you may try potting the pickup with the cover on.. do it upside down so the cover fills with wax .. I do have a vid on potting that will show you the ins and outs of that .. good luck
@@thebrainard Thanks very much Roger, you're very helpful. I'l check it out. :-) After watching your video on potting, I wouldn't scare away from that. It sounds like the most durable solution.
@@thebrainard Just thought I'd get back and let you know, that I potted the pick-up today with a cheap, fat, white Christmas candle from the warehouse. I also bought a roll of copper tape - sold as "anti-snail-tape" in the gardening section. I shielded all cavities and the pickguard, put a blob of superglue at the cover tangs and the potting turned out fine. I also dremel'ed the hole in the pickguard, so the PU can move freely without contact to the guard. Now there's almost no microphonics left, not enough to actually disturb when I hit it. So thanx again. :-)
wonderful !!
Solid ground wire - Damn! I got you.
you mean you think a solid one is better or...?? just for the record its not.... AND technically you don't need one as the mag plate (which should have a ground wire soldered on) is 'connected' to the bridge via the screws but i HATE friction connections so i add the ground wire under the bridge as well .. if you want to solder it on you can make a small relief route for it under the bridge ... just saying
@@thebrainard Ha! No man, I was looking for the solution to my problem. You amazingly pointed out the ground wire - I was just saying 'Bingo' - thanks
@@hansfreekit all good .. Thanks man
Ironically, that microphonic squeal is exactly what I want my guitar to do…
ahahahah so watch the vid backwards
After many years of playing humbucker guitars exclusively, and a Strat for the past 10 years, I finally have acquired a cheap T-style guitar and have been making modifications and upgrades. It's been quite an experience and education! This is a completely different breed of guitar from what I'm accustomed to. I've been experiencing terrible microphonics from the bridge pickup which has led me here. One question I have is why is a grounding wire needed for the bridge? If the pickup is soldered to the copper pickup plate, and the mounting screw is connected to this plate and also to the bridge, isn't that grounding the bridge already?
you are correct - there is a ground path through the mag plate/adjustment Screw/ bridge plate. Fender puts the ground wire so i addressed the issue that it can cause .. personally i like to have the wire as long as it is not 'rocking' the plate.
Will this work on a humbucker, i got an ibanez with dimarzio pickups, with a brass plate behind it
I would think so .. the whole thing is about eliminating looseness and vibrations and unifying the system .. the pickup itself should not matter
@@thebrainard what if i put wax behind the plate of the pickup will it remove some of it ?
give it a try .. the tele plate is pulled tight by the adjusting screws .. if your plate is 'floating' it may and may not .. what you want Is to eliminate the contact and any looseness
Should the bridge pickup be high or low..?..
height does not matter in terms of feedback ..other than the possibility that the springs might not be compressed enough to snug the mag plate if its too low.. i personally like the sound with it high but i run the risk of catching the string under the bobbin and ruining the pickup ... best
boum
Or...swap in a Dimarzio Area-T.
hahahahah you much not have watched the vid .. its not about pickup microphonics .. take a look
@@thebrainard I watched it. The Dimarzio Area-T does not have a metal base plate, and is wax potted, so it's not microphonic.
i love that pickup btw