radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

[fwr1982]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Poor grounding and/or shielding... could be a bad cable, but you said it was specific to that particular guitar..

Yes, only with the one guitar; this is the strangest/funniest problem I've ever experienced.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

I sell and upgrade Gibsons for clients. Pretty regularly. Sub-$2k Gibson are UTTERLY KOREAN-LEVEL, and I don't mean no LTD Deluxes neither. Taking LTD for comparison since Schecters don't have the convenience of numeric model numbers, they're all at the 300-400 series level. Forget good old Japanese stuff, even Korean 600-series LTD's annihilate Gibsons on their home turf.

...and yeah, I put EMGs into Gibsons, rip em out of Gibsons, and put Gibson pups in LTDs often enough to know what I'm talking about.

Oh, yeah, and anybody who thinks EMGs are utter ****e that can never sound good needs a date with a real ESP Standard. A used ESP Standard Eclipse can be had for about the price of a 50-60-70s Tribute, new one for about what, a Trad Pro? NO COMPARISON. And if you like passives too much to care, they come with JB/something sets (JB-59 afaik?). Me, I reaaaaally don't like that set, but hey, still utterly superior to anything non-Custom Shop outta Gibson these days.

And, hey, if you don't like modern stuff, go play a Greco. Or even buy a freakin Aria, swap out those dried pots, maybe upgrade the pickups. Maybe even drop in a Gibson set to see just how much better it gets.

********************************

GIBSON I'VE HAD MY HANDS ON(!) AND *IN* (!!) OVER THE LAST YEAR (in just a year!!!) - AS IN OWNED, TOOK APART, PUT TOGETHER, TWEAKED, UPGRADED, FLIPPED:

Gibson LP 50s trib - bought to flip (BIG MISTAKE. currently in my possession, UTTER ****e I can't seem to get rid off, currently has a set of EMGs and even that can't sound passable in it)
Gibson Flying V Standard - bought to flip, de-activated, ripped out EMG 81-85 set, threw in a custom guard and a different set of pickups for a client
Gibson SG Standard - bought to flip, rebuilt to order - asked by client to gut it and throw in an EMG 81-81 set (why? dunno, don't really see the point). SOUNDS OKAY - buuuut, nothing spectacular, plenty of cheaper ways to achieve the same
Gibson Flying V Gothic - actually preeeetty NICE.... but out of print. pity. flipped in all of - wait for it - FOUR HOURS after being posted up. at a huge profit. KA-CHING!! ...i like gothics hehe
Gibson Melody Maker "Explorer" - bought to flip, returned cuz it was just tooo bloody awful and unflippable, mods or no mods.

Also: Gibson SG Ebony/Moons Faded - owned 10 years ago. BLAAAAAND - traded away asap

Hands on, not in, didn't buy (last year):
Gibson Flying V Faded + 2x Pearly Gates - looked over a lot, declined to buy. if you'd asked me before if anything could bugger up the sound of a Pearly, I'da called ya crazy
Gibson Les Paul Standard - LIKEABLE - except the price. pales in comparison to cheaper vintage Grecos, new ESP Standards, and other fun stuff in the next isle. would play, WOULDN'T buy
Gibson Explorer - COOL. well, even a couple years back they were oh so much better
Gibson SG Faded - awww, they got sooo much worse now than the good old fadeds of 10 years back
Gibson LP Studio 1991 - LIKED. didn't have the $500 on me
Gibson LP Studio 2012 - gaaaaawds. NO.
Gibson LP 60s Tribute - ooh, worse than the new Studio
Gibson LP Faded - FIREWOOD
Gibson Melody Maker SG - upgraded to the 9s, across the board, Shallers new humbucker new bridge new pickguard - all for $200. DECLINED. sounds like driftwood, SORRY.
Gibson Flying V Melody Maker - all-around horrible too
Gibson SGJ - wtf was that???? horrid
Gibson LPJ - same
Gibson LP recently out labelled "NAMM something or other", Zebra hums, boost, coil taps - OK, i'll give em that one
Gibson Nighthawk Studio (or was it special? who knows) - WORST. CRAP. EVER. - doesn't sound passable no matter what
Gibson Firebird Studio (or special, again who knows) - can't remember. at all. musta been spectacularly boring, considering.

...i know I'm forgetting a whole bunch of stuff, but hey, average guitars are like unspectacular women - first dozen, you still remember everything about, after that it all gets kinda fuzzy. it JUST DOESN'T DO MUCH ANYMORE, UNLESS IT'S SPECTACULAR

btw, guitars I found spectacular in that same period? ok sure:
the MIJ Fender Pawnshap with the Pearly Gates and the blend knob (awesome!), whole bunch of unknown brands from Matsumoku (Westminster, Quest, japanese Washburn), a bunch of old FujiGen stuff - mostly E-series Squiers, vintage Ibanezes (especially basses!), but also others, REAAAALLY dug old Grecos, SURPRISINGLY found old Arias likable, absolutely ADORED esp Vintage Plus (and I'm not even much of a strat person), kinda dug the ESP Eclipse (shocker - dislike most of the LTD line that supposedly mimics it), found the cheaper USA PRS's nice enough if you want something more to compare to Gibson - yeah I'd rather take a Mira or something, found the KOREAN PRS's still better than the low-end Gibsons but not spectacular, liked a vintage Yamaha superstrat from Taiwan of all places, a couple old Peavey USA's were shockingly passable too

to my surprise kinda liked an LTD EC 600 just the way it was (although it was UTTERLY UNLIKE the real Eclipse), and found an LTD Viper 400 quite decent --- AFTER rewiring the whole damn thing and cleaning it up and setting it up (sorry Korea, dream on of being the next Japan - no time soon!!).. what I dislike about Epi? that it can't measure up to LTD on powerful pups, or to PRS Korea on vintage-voiced pups. simple enough, yeah?

PS I'm 27, kiddos... brand worship wore off once work had me dig around in all their guts and find nothing to write home about

oh, and:
PPS tested/declined means I ran them through an amp that costs 4 digits and still found em boring

Please stop giving advice. You don't know what you're talking about. I'm not exactly Gibson's greatest fan, either, but at least I don't talk smack based on nothing at all.


Wax potting affects microphonics, not electromagnetic interference. EMI is what causes you to hear radio stations through your guitar. If you're hearing radio stations then there's a grounding or shielding issue.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Yes, only with the one guitar; this is the strangest/funniest problem I've ever experienced.

Handy with a soldering iron? Pull the grounds and resolder them.

If you have a meter use the continuity setting to make sure there's a connection between the bridge and the ground side of the output jack (the sleeve on a cable).

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Wax potting affects microphonics, not electromagnetic interference. EMI is what causes you to hear radio stations through your guitar. If you're hearing radio stations then there's a grounding or shielding issue.

Exactly. If it was actually a microphonic pickup causing the problem, I would probably move a couple feet further away from the transmitting tower!

For the record, I love my Gibson SG Faded just as much as any Indo-Ibby in the harum.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

friend of mines neighbor had a big CB radio antenna that
came blasting through his amp at times

I had a radio, once, that played music even when unplugged

the fillings in my teeth used to pick up radio stations,
which was cool till talk radio started getting big

now I just hear voices

 

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Ok so ignoring the flaming going on in this thread (seriously get a room.... A chat room)

Can someone teach me how to do this?? I actually think its epic to get radio through a guitar!
Are you stuck on one station or can it be tuned?
I'm not even trolling.... I'd be willing to buy a cheapie and use it to play radio!

Can someone explain this phenomenon?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Ok so ignoring the flaming going on in this thread (seriously get a room.... A chat room)

Can someone teach me how to do this?? I actually think its epic to get radio through a guitar!
Are you stuck on one station or can it be tuned?
I'm not even trolling.... I'd be willing to buy a cheapie and use it to play radio!

Can someone explain this phenomenon?

Radio Frequency Interference has two sources:

• Ether borne is radio frequency noise that travels through the air and can come from sources such as fluorescent bulbs, radio/tv signals and electrical motors.
• Mains borne is noise that is transmitted through power lines and comes from the same sources. If high power machinery is not grounded well interference can bleed back into the wiring and be retransmitted.

There are three strategies for eliminating RFI:

• Phase cancellation - reverses the polarity of signal and mixes it with the original signal. The sum of the two is the noiseless "humbucking" signal.
• Shielding - a conductive metallic compound is used to create a Farraday Cage around sensitive electronics. Shielding is largely useless without grounding because the shielding will just act as a larger antennae.
• Grounding - bleeds RFI frequencies to ground and removes the noise from the circuit.

In worst case scenarios you can end up with a regenerative loop where RFI increases in power to the point that the interference drowns out the guitar signal.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Many years ago, I was playing a house party gig in somebody's back yard. The house next door had a giant ham radio antenna mounted on the chimney not far from where we were setting up. During sound check, we turned up the board and heard the guy talking:

"...It looks like there's a band setting up next door here. I hope they don't play some crap, I want to hear some rock and roll..."

We had a good laugh. The guy was off the air before we began playing, but you probably wouldn't have heard him over the sound of our awesome rock and roll presence.

 

[Condemned soul]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

The topic interested me. And after reading the anti-Gibson rant I decied to contribute nothing useful to this post with these three topics: First, a Gibson atta-boy, next the use of the word worse, and lastly recieving radio transmissions with your teeth.

Gibson Atta-boy.

First off, I ordered a SG Std an indpendent dealer in December of last year. I picked it up today. It is flawless. It does have a 2 piece body, however, the preperation process made it almost invisible. Also, this finish is a beautiful deep cherry and the craftsmanship excellent. So the Gibson comment just flat out seemed out of place in this post.


Word Use.

Bad, worse, worst
Between these two guitars, this is the worse instrument.
Between these three guitars, this is the worst ADJECTIVE:
Worse
Comparative of bad 1, ill.
1. More inferior, as in quality, condition, or effect.
2. More severe or unfavorable.
3. Being further from a standard; less desirable or satisfactory.
4. Being in poorer health; more ill.
5.
ADJECTIVE:

Comparative of bad1, ill.
1. More inferior, as in quality, condition, or effect.
2. More severe or unfavorable.
3. Being further from a standard; less desirable or satisfactory.
4. Being in poorer health; more ill.

NOUN:
Something that is worse: Of the two routes, the eastern one is the worse. She was accused of cheating on exams, lying, and worse.
NOUN:
Something that is worse: Of the two routes, the eastern one is the worse. She was accused of cheating on exams, lying, and worse.


Picking up Radio With Your Teeth.

Lucille Ball, who said she heard music in her mouth. You can watch her tell the entire story to TV host Dick Cavett. Just go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCjLaSsCfI

http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/fillings.asp.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091118/HEALTH/911180324/-1/HEALTH02

• Case No. 1. George was fitted with a cap that was attached with brass wire. Thereafter, he began hearing music in his head, generally popular tunes of the day, usually while he was outdoors. The music was soft but distinct. He never heard an announcer's voice or commercials and was unable to identify what radio station, if any, he was hearing. After a year or two of this, a new dentist put in a cap without a wire, and the tunes stopped.

• Case No. 2. Lois says it happened just once, in 1947, while she was riding a train from her home in Cleveland to college in Rhode Island. The experience lasted maybe 10 minutes. She couldn't tell what station she was listening to but recalls hearing commercials and an announcer's voice. She has silver tooth fillings but doesn't recall if she'd had one put in just before the event.

 

[fwr1982]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Well I finally fixed it! I should have done this first, but I pulled one of my other SGs and compared electronics between the two and guess what? Somebody did a **** job wiring this one - way different than the other SG I compared it to. So after quite a bit of desoldering and resoldering, I got it rewired correctly I suppose. No more radio stations!

 

[GilmourD]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar



I was just about to try to get the attention of the OP again but he posted that he fixed it as I hit reply. LOL

fwr1982, how did the ground connections look?

 

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Yeah what was the exact problem? For someone who hypothetically might maybe want some radio on their guitar..... Hypothetically....

 

[GilmourD]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Yeah what was the exact problem? For someone who hypothetically might maybe want some radio on their guitar..... Hypothetically....

All you need is a length of metal connected to the hot side of the circuit at any point in the signal path. What frequency it picks up depends on the length and shape of the metal as well as some other factors within the circuit. Hell, you could build a pedal that's nothing but an on-off switch and the on position has a piece of wire several feet long sticking out of the box that's only connected to the hot side of the circuit.

 

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

So the unshielded metal works as a basic antenna?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

So the unshielded metal works as a basic antenna?

Unshielded wiring and ungrounded metal like the bridge and strings act as antennas for RFI. If you have a guitar that buzzes when you are not touching the bridge that's a ground problem. The reason why it doesn't buzz when you touch it is because you are the ground.

 

[fwr1982]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5487367990_86d3701100.jpg

This picture is not my guitar, but this is how I've got it wired now. Unfortunately; I didn't take a pic before I rewired. The capacitors were mounted differently (one leg soldered to the back of the pot, the other leg soldered to pot lug) and the ground wire was not properly shielded/soldered. There were white wires connecting each volume to it's corresponding tone pot, which I haven't seen before.

 

[Adieu]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

...You missed the entire question. So I'll ask one more time:

What is so wrong about Gibson? Why are they so terrible?

All you have done is say "Terrible" or "Sounds bad", with the occasional "bought to flip" (which I may add is the DUMBEST reason to buy a guitar unless you work in retail). You could afford a Gibson LP 50s Tribute AND a set of new EMGs but you can't buy a $500 Gibson 1991 Studio LP? Either you are the biggest moron when it comes to resale and money management, or you are so full of BS your eyes are turning brown (if not brown already).

Some advice: You absolutely NEED to tone down your attitude and language otherwise you will not last another month on the forum, and NO ONE here will respect you, or ever try to help you. You sure act like you're a delusional 12 year old for claiming to be 27 years old.

My eyes are blue. I *AM* a goddamn retail business, staff=1=me. Gawds.

The 50s Trib w/2 Gold EMGs was the worst 650 bucks I've ever spent. It was at an entirely different time than that 91 LP Studio was available. And it wasn't even my money, got an on-and-off partner abroad that I do his shopping for. He already paid me 850 for it, still waiting for $200 more for the full 1050 shipped he promised till it's fully paid off it's layaway'd in my garage and a massive eyesore.

So you are a hipster, thats cool if that is what it is about.



What aspect? Electronics? Design? Tone? I don't think there is anyone on these boards that wouldn't like to own this "Sub-2K" SG

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/gibson-angus-young-signature-electric-guitar

I don't know what your deal with Gibson is but I find them playable all the way through the Epiphone line. Maybe if you stop stripping Gibsons and throwing EMGs in them and take a step back to really hear the guitar you might like them.

Actually, the BOTTOM of the Epi line is quite decent, for the money. The top not so much, since it doesn't really justify the price bump by offering anything over the bottom except prettier finishes.

My deal with GIBSON? Easy, they've got reaaaally rough QC (as compared to competitors and for their price & renown). And they sound worse the bigger and more expensive the amp... a general characteristic of badly made guitars. A good well-made guitar really "opens up" on a good tube halfstack, while a rough'n'shoddy instrument starts showing all its flaws at 10x magnification

QC/worksmanship problems:
imperfects frets (epi actually does better on this), sloppy binding, not everything lines up, control cavities used to be neat n nice, now not so much anymore
reissues get blown away by actual vintages, and even 10-20yo gibbies are FAR BETTER

Materials problems:
1. the fretboard saga - need I say more. the recent joke of the day materials, whatever polymer or laminate or pressed toilet paper they come up with on a daily basis, speak for themselves, and make baked maple look downright good.
2. faded and satin finishes are just downright sloppy. and the necks feel nasty texture-wise.
3. reissues get blown away by actual vintages, and even 10-20yo gibbies are FAR BETTER - also a material problem. oh and btw, they WERE better to begin with those 10-20 years ago, it's not some mystical "pickup magnet aging" or "wood drying out"

SOUND problems:
1. where the hell is my sustain?
2. scream, b*tch. no seriously. it's like doing a frigid woman. medically nothin' wrong with her p***y, everything seems to be right as rain, but it JUST AINT FUN.

 

[Adieu]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

In other words? My problem with Gibson is that it ONCE knew how to build guitars well, but for whatever reason, ain't doin it right no more. Jeez, buy back and dissect a few real '59s already if you can't figure it out any other way...

My fave manufacturers don't appear to have that problem. Fujigen and ESP Japan still have their arms properly attached and their brains screwed on right-side-up and do awesome work, pretty much perfectly made and just right out of the box... Awesome work which Gibby can't measure up to. For less money than Gibby.

Adieu is much older than you I guarantee that. I still maintain that hes a familiar troll who has been around these parts before.

not that I can remember, maybe you're thinking of another site?? and no I'm not intentionally trolling. I do in fact believe what I say.

usernames I've used that I can remember on various forums:
Adieu, Aadieu, Adieu1985, Fyl

First off, I ordered a SG Std an indpendent dealer in December of last year. I picked it up today. It is flawless. It does have a 2 piece body, however, the preperation process made it almost invisible. Also, this finish is a beautiful deep cherry and the craftsmanship excellent. So the Gibson comment just flat out seemed out of place in this post.

Uhhh... am I really getting flamed for saying "anything BELOW an SG Standard today is utter crap" - by a person with an example of being satisfied with, wait for it - AN SG STANDARD??? Oooh. Awesome.

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

To the OP I had this issue sometimes with my V with its original pickups plugged into my old Cheapo amp I guess as advised and you followed the advice it was a grounding issue. The amp did have some grounding issues. I dont remember how it got resolved it happened very rare but it did happen. Maybe when I changed pups and rewired the guitar or plugged the amp into another outlet.

Adieu I am not a fan of Gibson. At the most I might just like a Gibson. But calling Gibson the worst manufacturer is totally uncalled for.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: radio stations coming through my amp using 1 specific guitar

Hey original poster, check your wiring and invest in a roll of copper tape. Shield the control cavity (including the cover if it is not metal) and make sure all points lead to one ground. If your cables are decent and the control cavity is shielded, if you still get radio stations, you may want to try covered (shielded) pickups.

Ignore what those guys said about wax potting and microphonics. Microphonic problems will present more like feedback and squealing. What you have is an RFI (radio frequency interference) problem. The solution is proper shielding and grounding, nothing else.

edit: I see that the problem has been fixed!

Well I finally fixed it! I should have done this first, but I pulled one of my other SGs and compared electronics between the two and guess what? Somebody did a **** job wiring this one - way different than the other SG I compared it to. So after quite a bit of desoldering and resoldering, I got it rewired correctly I suppose. No more radio stations!

It's good to know it was a simple wiring issue!