Using a Sreamin Demon (or any other pickup for that matter) thru a Marshall JMP-1 (gain at max) thru an Alesis quadraverb rack effects unit (via effects loop on JMP) into a 100 watt Carvin all tube power amp....when I get to the sound I love, if I max out my guitar's volume I get the sqeal....stops when I back down to about 6 or 7.....I know I can't be the only dude with this problem.....anyone find a cure yet?...and pls don't tell me to back gain down...that is not what I want....thanks for any advice....
High pitch sqeal advice needed
- Thread starter mlamarche
- Start date
Low_fidelity2100
New member
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
How close are you standing to the amp?
How close are you standing to the amp?
disturb
New member
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
Very simple. Too much gain. Turn the guitar volume up full, and back down the gain till it stops squeeling. Also, when it's squeeling, press down on your pickup with a finger. If it stops, the pickup needs to be dampened with some tubing or foam.
Very simple. Too much gain. Turn the guitar volume up full, and back down the gain till it stops squeeling. Also, when it's squeeling, press down on your pickup with a finger. If it stops, the pickup needs to be dampened with some tubing or foam.
ErikH
Well-known member
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
This could sound crazy but I've seen/heard this issue before. Double check ALL of your cables in your rack. Make sure they are ALL shielded instrument cables and not speaker cables that look like shielded cables. Also, just to be safe, make sure the speaker cable IS a speaker cable. With your kind of setup, cables can get mixed up easily unless your speaker cables look like lamp cords. This may not be the case, but just to eliminate the possibility.
This could sound crazy but I've seen/heard this issue before. Double check ALL of your cables in your rack. Make sure they are ALL shielded instrument cables and not speaker cables that look like shielded cables. Also, just to be safe, make sure the speaker cable IS a speaker cable. With your kind of setup, cables can get mixed up easily unless your speaker cables look like lamp cords. This may not be the case, but just to eliminate the possibility.
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
I tried aiming the speakers at the wall.....it seams to be more of a tonal thing...like the loudness doe not seem involved...if I back off the gain, sqeal goes away but sound is not crunchy...if I adjust the eq's, sqeal is present at a different octave...I pretty much have the Bogner sound nailed...if I could just get the sqeal out....
I tried aiming the speakers at the wall.....it seams to be more of a tonal thing...like the loudness doe not seem involved...if I back off the gain, sqeal goes away but sound is not crunchy...if I adjust the eq's, sqeal is present at a different octave...I pretty much have the Bogner sound nailed...if I could just get the sqeal out....
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
What's happening is the volume from the amp is making your pickup vibrate.
Is the Screamin Demon a new factory potted pickup, or is it possible that someone messed with the magnet, breaking the wax seal?
I don't think you mentioned what guitar it's in, but here's some solutions.
Pull the pickup up, and stuff some foam or wadded up paper towels under it, so it's mounted firmer and completely dampened from the backside. Also, make sure the 4 brass bolts on the bottom of the baseplate are snug.
If it's in a pickguard, put several stripes of black electrical tape across the bottom of the pickup.
If those methods don't cure it, take the pickup out, heat up some parafin wax in a pan, and when the wax has cooled a bit, hold onto the lead and submerge the pickup in the liquid wax. Make sure the wax isn't so hot it could melt anything, and don't let the pickup rest on the bottom of the hot pan. Sometimes I put cardboard on the bottom of the pan so the pickup can sit there. Wait till all the little bubbles stop coming up, then put it on some paper plates and throw it in the fridge.
Wipe off all the excess wax, and use an allen wrench to clean the wax out of the hex bolts, and reinstall it. A nicely potted pickup should NEVER squeal, even with the highest gain. Try the other things first, because it might just be the looseness of the pickup mounting, allowing it to resonate and vibrate. It's the same thing that happens when you crank an amp in a room full of acoustic guitars.....they go crazy from the vibration.
What's happening is the volume from the amp is making your pickup vibrate.
Is the Screamin Demon a new factory potted pickup, or is it possible that someone messed with the magnet, breaking the wax seal?
I don't think you mentioned what guitar it's in, but here's some solutions.
Pull the pickup up, and stuff some foam or wadded up paper towels under it, so it's mounted firmer and completely dampened from the backside. Also, make sure the 4 brass bolts on the bottom of the baseplate are snug.
If it's in a pickguard, put several stripes of black electrical tape across the bottom of the pickup.
If those methods don't cure it, take the pickup out, heat up some parafin wax in a pan, and when the wax has cooled a bit, hold onto the lead and submerge the pickup in the liquid wax. Make sure the wax isn't so hot it could melt anything, and don't let the pickup rest on the bottom of the hot pan. Sometimes I put cardboard on the bottom of the pan so the pickup can sit there. Wait till all the little bubbles stop coming up, then put it on some paper plates and throw it in the fridge.
Wipe off all the excess wax, and use an allen wrench to clean the wax out of the hex bolts, and reinstall it. A nicely potted pickup should NEVER squeal, even with the highest gain. Try the other things first, because it might just be the looseness of the pickup mounting, allowing it to resonate and vibrate. It's the same thing that happens when you crank an amp in a room full of acoustic guitars.....they go crazy from the vibration.
ericmeyer4
New member
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
You run a 100 watt power amp on full?! So do you still have your hearing?
You run a 100 watt power amp on full?! So do you still have your hearing?
baritone
Well-known member
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
100 watts is massive for studio use. I get that squeal when I max out distortion, but I never max out my distortion. The overall issue is probably related to distortion and volume. Maybe an attenuator would help. Or saving the 100-watt amp for when you're playing stadiums.
100 watts is massive for studio use. I get that squeal when I max out distortion, but I never max out my distortion. The overall issue is probably related to distortion and volume. Maybe an attenuator would help. Or saving the 100-watt amp for when you're playing stadiums.
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: High pitch sqeal advice needed
Also, check to make sure the input and ouput levels on the Quadraverb aren't maxed. Do what Wahwah said and remove it from the chain.
Another thing. The JMP-1 preamp has 1 or 2 pre tubes in it, and it's possible that it's microphonic and needs changed...especially if the unit is a few years old...and even if it's not.
If the only guitar that squeals is that one, it's the guitar. If it does it with other guitars, I'd start looking at the tube in the JMP-1. You might want to replace that anyway if the unit is several years old.
Also, check to make sure the input and ouput levels on the Quadraverb aren't maxed. Do what Wahwah said and remove it from the chain.
Another thing. The JMP-1 preamp has 1 or 2 pre tubes in it, and it's possible that it's microphonic and needs changed...especially if the unit is a few years old...and even if it's not.
If the only guitar that squeals is that one, it's the guitar. If it does it with other guitars, I'd start looking at the tube in the JMP-1. You might want to replace that anyway if the unit is several years old.
