Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

[mountain2012]

I'm thinking about purchasing a set but I'm concerned about the squeal when playing them through my moderate gain amp.

Someone on another forum said this:

"The main reason(other than way too much gain) that a humbucking pickup squeals is due to ****ty covers. Original covers were flat on the top. Most covers these days have a slight arch to them which allows a gap between the top of the bobbins and the underside of the cover. This is a primary cause of squeal. The only covers I know of that don't have that arch are DMC's, Bare Knuckle's, Shed's or originals."

Does anyone know if the antiquities or seth lovers have this arched cover he speaks of?

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

I can't speak to the cover issue, but I have both Seths and Ants.

I use Mesa Mark Series amps--a couple of IIIs, a IV, and a V. I play classic rock, blues, country and a little bit of jazz in a GBKD band. We don't play real loud and I don't use really heavy gain--my LEAD GAIN usually only runs 6-7.

That said, when I have gotten feedback with these pickups, it has always been musical and controllable. Nice overtones, but never that horrible high-pitched squealing.

You can order them potted. I think a potted Seth is a floor-shop custom with just a minimal upcharge.

You might also want to consider the '59 and the Pearly Gates; both are potted.

Good Luck!

Bill

 

[tonaholic]

Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Think of pickups like a microphone. There's some threshold of distance between your guitar, how loud your amp is and how much gain your amp is producing that will indeed cause non-potted pickups to squeal. It has something to do with the extra vibration that occurs within an unpotted pickup. Probably has to do with the sound from the amp vibrating the pickup and it causing a feedback loop. The wax does not change the magnetic fields of the pick up, yet allows it to remain mounted in the guitar without vibrating; perhaps akin to a hollow body versus a solid body and how they vibrate and produce feedback with loud amps that have lots of gain and close proximity to the speaker.

If this doesn't make sense, either I'm doing a poor job of communicating or it might make sense to do additional research into how feedback is produced to help make sense of that explanation. HTH.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

"The main reason(other than way too much gain) that a humbucking pickup squeals is due to ****ty covers. Original covers were flat on the top. Most covers these days have a slight arch to them which allows a gap between the top of the bobbins and the underside of the cover. This is a primary cause of squeal. The only covers I know of that don't have that arch are DMC's, Bare Knuckle's, Shed's or originals."

That's a nice BS story.

Does anyone know if the antiquities or seth lovers have this arched cover he speaks of?

Antiquities and/or Seth Lover covers are fine.

If that was the case, then p'ups like the Filtertron, which use H-covers, just couldn't be used at all, as they'll be squealing like pigs even before you turn on your amp.

The only reason an unpotted p'up will squeal is because of faulty assembling.

HTH,

 

[blueman335]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

There's been a number of posts here from players with Seth's, who don't have any feedback issues with them. Some of us much prefer Seth's over Ant's, as Ant's have aged (degaussed) magnets, and fully-charged A2's don't have a lot of treble and output as it is, and both are reduced with aged magnets. Ant's just don't have much high-end to my ears.

 

[SJ318]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Hi,
I am always taking on or off pu covers on my seth lovers to match another in different guitars. Mine do not seem to feedback ever. But I when I put one BACK ON, I always crimp the bottom so it does not have solder, it is still very tight and I play loud. I was very careful when I crimped the bottom of the cover so it would not show as a warp on top. Takes some skill, but really not hard. If I can, you can.
Another cool tip if your cover is soldered on but still screaching is to take 4 shims of small maple thin wedges, 2mm thick or so, a small square 5mmX5mm or so, tap one or all four shims, one on each side or just one. Either way, if you are careful you can tap one or two between the space of the cover and the baseplate. This will in effect tighten your cover up in general. YMMV, just be sure you do not get any top warp. I have done this many times, and out of 20 or so times nothing was ever damaged. Please stay away from the solder points.
I only warped one but that was just me being cocky and rushing it.
That way, if I choose to re cover one I dont have to mess with solder all the time. I always order my seths with a cover just in case. Got a lotta covers now. Half my guitars covered, half not. I have once used hard foam in place of maple, worked fine, but I like the shims.
Need is indeed the mother of invention.
Steve Buffington

 

[uOpt]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

I'm thinking about purchasing a set but I'm concerned about the squeal when playing them through my moderate gain amp.

Someone on another forum said this:

"The main reason(other than way too much gain) that a humbucking pickup squeals is due to ****ty covers. Original covers were flat on the top. Most covers these days have a slight arch to them which allows a gap between the top of the bobbins and the underside of the cover. This is a primary cause of squeal. The only covers I know of that don't have that arch are DMC's, Bare Knuckle's, Shed's or originals."

Does anyone know if the antiquities or seth lovers have this arched cover he speaks of?

Even pickups with unpotted coils still have a drop of wax between bobbin and cover to prevents this. (most)

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Yeah man...Kojak summed it up best.

Let me just add that there is nothing cheap, under engineered or half @ssed about any Seymour Duncan pickups.

Trust me when I tell you that the covers are exactly the way they need to be. They are flat. They are true. They will make your life better.

The internet has given a lot of the wrong people a chance to tell stories with little to no research.

:sad:

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Does anyone know if the antiquities or seth lovers have this arched cover he speaks of?

I'm calling Cork Sniffer. Do me a favor: take a Seth Lover or Antiquity pickup, hold it level with your nose, and look at it. Let me know if you see the arch of which he speaks. We're not talking about the Higgs boson here. If there were an arch on an otherwise flat metal surface the size of a humbucker cover, you would be able to see it. Easily. But the fact is, you can't. 'Cause it's not there.

BTW, Seymour is a fanatic about covers being vintage correct in every aspect. So much so, that he once saw a batch of overs come in from the deep draw house and they weren't correct, so he lined them up in the Seymour Duncan parking lot and drove over them with his truck.

Yet, the Internet B.S. continues...:dunno:

 

[SJ318]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

yeah, also,
what Kojak said. +1
sb

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

The guy who told you that can be safely ignored. For one thing, "arched" covers probably wouldn't even cause feedback. I have had both feedback problems and no feedback problems at all from all sorts of covers, ****ty or not, truly flat or not. For another, there is no way those are the only pickups made with "flat" covers.

 

[hermetico]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

That's a nice BS story.



Antiquities and/or Seth Lover covers are fine.

If that was the case, then p'ups like the Filtertron, which use H-covers, just couldn't be used at all, as they'll be squealing like pigs even before you turn on your amp.

The only reason an unpotted p'up will squeal is because of faulty assembling.

HTH,

Bro, this surprises my, because my Seth Lover squeals like a pig, just when an slight amount of overdrive is switched on.
What do you think is the reason?.

Now, I am remembering that, they've came with steel springs. I think I will change those with some rubber tubes and, will try again.

The harder squealing guitar to fix that I remember was a Tele of a friend of mine.
I had to re-glue the bottom plate of bridge pickup, tightening the bridge plate against the body and substitute steel springs with rubber tubes.
Until I didn't made all those changes, that pickup was squealing as a pig singing metal.

Usually, squeal comes from the fact that two or more small metallic parts are vibrating together and creating a feedback loop.
Unpotted coils match this case so, I am surprised to see how some Seth Lovers users don't have any feedback at all.
Will check with rubber tubes instead of springs.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

I am surprised to see how some Seth Lovers users don't have any feedback at all.

With enough volume and gain, Seth's will feedback; however, some of us don't go overboard with those. Seth's are not an ideal PU for a loud metal band.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Bro, this surprises my, because my Seth Lover squeals like a pig, just when an slight amount of overdrive is switched on.
What do you think is the reason?

The assembling is not tight enough. You should look to double-clamp the cover to be soldered to the baseplate, the screws keeping the bobbins should be pretty tight and last, but not least, the polepiece screws should not be loose or turn too lightly. That'S the basis for a good non-potted assembly.

HTH,

 

[uOpt]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Bro, this surprises my, because my Seth Lover squeals like a pig, just when an slight amount of overdrive is switched on.
What do you think is the reason?.

FWIW, when I debugged feedback for people the most common reason was a fluffy mount, aka the springs being too short or other problems that made the whole pickup vibrate.

If my coffee lasts me that far I can have a quick look at how flat the covers of some pickups here are. But either way this is unlikely to make the O.P.'s quote correct as as I said there is a drop of wax on top of the bobbin even for most unpotted humbuckers.

ETA: there's also covers that had been removed and are not sitting on not having been soldered on, or not under pressure, and then the original manufacturer gets blamed.

 

[mountain2012]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

What happens if I remove the cover on my unpotted pickups? Does the cover aid in preventing squeal at all?

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Does the cover aid in preventing squeal at all?

Well, as a cover is an integral part of the tone produced by the PAF's design, I wouldn't use it without a cover. As a matter of fact, all my four guitars loaded with PAFs from different winders, ALL have the covers ON.

*I* wouldn't have it any other way. Anyway, I have installed quite a few coverless unpotted p'ups in my customer's guitars, with no complaints 'bout squealing. Of course, most are semi- to pro level touring guys and know what they do.

YMMV.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

What happens if I remove the cover on my unpotted pickups? Does the cover aid in preventing squeal at all?

Can go either way, can make it better, can make it worse, depending on how not proper it is put on.

 

[tonaholic]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

Unpotted pickups feedback for the exact same reason that a 335 produced feed back. Some people don't have problems with 335 feedback, some do. That extra "microphonic" quality is there and can cause feedback.

I went to a boutique winder's house who's quite famous on the net. He can't play very well and thought his theory of construction quality being the remedy for unpotted feedback was...air tight. Anyway, his pickups produced a lot of feedback with my modded JCM800 style boutique amp at moderate volume of the gain was up. Seriously, if you use a lot of gain and don't want feedback use potted pickups and solid body guitars. Don't believe all the cork sniffer hype. There's a lot of BS out there.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Antiquity and Seth Lover humbucker question...?

By "Squeal" are you referring to the movie "Deliverance"?