BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

R

RipperShred

New member
Hi Forum. I just recently had a bmp-1 modular preamp installed in my Pro-X mockingbird. No matter what SD p'ups I use (all of them are pretty high in output mind you) they clip the preamp. So far I've tried a JB, a Custom, a Custom Custom, and now Black Winters, and regardless of how low they are relative to the strings (had them more than half an inch down/away from the strings) there's serious clipping/distortion when I hit the strings with any real force. Did the tech at the local music shop install them improperly? Visually, the job they did is clean, and seems to match the specs/instructions for a LP (2v 2t 3w).
Also, it's definitely the BMP that's being overloaded, as I've reduced the volume knob of the bridge pickup to just above zero, and when I hit the strings, the clipping/distortion is the same. The BMP-1 is overloading, not the amp it's plugged into. This is SUPPOSED to be the penultimate guitar/p'up configuration for me, but when I dig into the strings it mushes out. It's bumming me out! There's got to be something wrong somewhere. Please help me make this right.

P.S. If this is the wrong place to post this inquiry, you have my apologies. New to the forum, so chalk it up to my noob-ness.
 
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Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

Welcome to the forum.

Some photographs of your actual wiring and/or the schematic diagram that was followed would help.
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

WP_000219.jpg

Here's the cavity (the neck tone pot has two cap equaling .044uf since the kit didn't come with a spare .045uf cap; he improvised) otherwise looks right to me.
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

Scott Olson said:
Hello Ripper, this sounds like a defect or something has been broken in the BMP, please send it back for a replacement.

Call us at 805-964-9610 or email: GeneralProductInfo@seymourduncan.com

We will get you taken care of.
Click to expand...

Awesome Scott! I will call you guys first thing tomorrow morning (and to the dude with the battery question; For sure - changing to a fresh battery was the first thing I tried, but alas, still a no go).
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

RipperShred said:
to the dude with the battery question; For sure - changing to a fresh battery was the first thing I tried, but alas, still a no go.
Click to expand...

No worries. I am of the "assume nothing" school of problem solving. The question needed asking. Also, being old and thousands of miles away, it is difficult to assess certain details.

I'm quite surprised to have deduced the likeliest candidate before SO. :D
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

If there's a problem with the preamp, SD will take care of you :)

One suggestion, though: Try some lower output pickups! The passive Blackouts "Coil Packs" are not high output. Nor are the Gus G. Fire models, which also use the BMP-1.

Besides, if you already have Black Winters, what are you hoping to achieve by pumping them through the BMP-1? Just curious...
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

masta' c said:
If there's a problem with the preamp, SD will take care of you :)

One suggestion, though: Try some lower output pickups! The passive Blackouts "Coil Packs" are not high output. Nor are the Gus G. Fire models, which also use the BMP-1.

Besides, if you already have Black Winters, what are you hoping to achieve by pumping them through the BMP-1? Just curious...
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Noiseless operation, and active response. :) And the guitar originally had EMGs in and a separate battery route, so I figured why not, right? I love blackouts, and the ability to make any Duncan p'up active and ultra quiet is awesome. I'm going to put the black winters in another guitar (just wanted to see what they sounded like through the BMP1) and only put it in just to see if I got the same problem as I was testing several SD p'ups in it to determine if it was the preamp or the p'ups. I really just want to put the Custom back in the bridge, and a Pearly Gates in the neck through the BMP1 since the Pro X is basically configured like a Les Paul (all mahogany Neck/body with a .5" maple top); I want souped up / hot rodded PAF tone that's ultra quiet - Duncan Custom through a BMP1!
 
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Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

From the sound of it, you might really like the straight Pearly Gates set. Boost that rude PAF tone through the BMP-1 and it might knock your socks off!

The preamp does color the sound, plus you're boosting an already higher-output pickup if you go with the Custom. Same with the JB, Custom Custom and Black Winters you tried...all are generally high output to begin with.

If you do some searching, you'll find the happiest users of the BMP-1 found it to work best with low to medium output winds (yes, even for hardcore metal). You also retain more of those passive dynamics by going that way.

Just some food for thought...

Keep us updated with your progress and impressions!
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

masta' c said:
From the sound of it, you might really like the straight Pearly Gates set. Boost that rude PAF tone through the BMP-1 and it might knock your socks off!

The preamp does color the sound, plus you're boosting an already higher-output pickup if you go with the Custom. Same with the JB, Custom Custom and Black Winters you tried...all are generally high output to begin with.

If you do some searching, you'll find the happiest users of the BMP-1 found it to work best with low to medium output winds (yes, even for hardcore metal). You also retain more of those passive dynamics by going that way.

Just some food for thought...

Keep us updated with your progress and impressions!
Click to expand...


I'd be more than happy to try that combo, I just haven't found a pair of Pearly Gates for a price I can afford (used), or a decent deal on a new set. I've been very fortunate price-wise on the sets and singles I've picked up lately. PGs must be amazing, because I NEVER see them used!

As for tone, yeah mon, I'm loving the rude and raunchy PAF tone for the metalz! I want to bring the tone of the Duncan Custom back to the forefront! No one (not even me until recently) knows about them anymore. They're the forgotten golden child of SD's line.
 
Re: BMP-1 Clipping regardless of Pickup Installed

jtougas said:
Seek, and ye shall find, my son...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XPEarly+Gates&_nkw=PEarly+Gates&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Exhibit #2....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seymour-Duncan-SH-PG1-Pearly-Gates-Bridge-Pickup-Vintage-Stamped-Label-4-cnd-/201019140200?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2ecdaca868
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant used TREM-SPACED pearly gates. I did find a few reasonably priced used specimens of the standard spaced variety, but pretty much all my guitars have a Floyd or a licensed variant, and so my search continues.
 
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