seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

C

Clawhammer

New member
I replaced a dimarzio humbucker from hell with a seth lover and i do really am diggin the fattness of tone yet clarity, buuut ... Im a bit bummed that its got significantly more noise under moderate gain. Also more noise than the dimarzio virtual paf in the bridge. I have it wired for series/parallel switching so its not a single coil cut issue ... and I can tell both coils are working by tapping the pickup.

Is this normal for the seth? Is it unbalanced coils or something in these?

The noise is the type that changes as I rotate the gtr 90 degrees, and aint the amp (gone if i unplug). I get the same with the bridge dimarz vpaf hummer but it is significantly lower in volume.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

I believe the Seth Lovers are non-wax potted. Are you getting more noise when around your computer monitor, flourescent lights, TV, etc.?
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

There are always trade-offs when you need to get a good sound. ;)

Sounds like you're picking up some external radiation.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

yep....that sweet Seth tone is trade-off for having a non-wax p/up. I thought the "59 w/an Alnico II mod sounded just like the Seth & both were superior to the Alinico II Pro.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Wax potting wont prevent noise from monitors, fluos and such...

good shielding is the key element here.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Yea i assume the lack off potting is not the issue ... this is not feedback squeal near the amp ...
Since the hum changes when I rotate the gtr I assume its airborne electromagnetic field noise rather than grounding thats the problem and the seth just seems to pick it up louder than other hummers. Do others have this experience with this pickup?

I had always thought that humbuckers were supposed to be immune to this kind of noise, but now that this one is doing it, I notice my other hummers have it ... just more quietly.

tonite Ill try experimenting with turning off eqpt and lights and see if I can reduce the noise sources....
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

in my experience, humbuckers with alnico 2s are a little noisy. alnico Vs are a little bit quieter and those with ceramics are the quietest
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

bryvincent said:
in my experience, humbuckers with alnico 2s are a little noisy. alnico Vs are a little bit quieter and those with ceramics are the quietest
Click to expand...

Now you mention it I think I may have noticed this. Can anyone say why this would be the case? Or are we imagining it? :smack:

Seths are more microphonic than potted pickups. If you tap the pickup with your finger you hear the tap louder through the amp than you do with a potted one. Still love 'em though!
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

I have a Custom bridge and Alnico 2 pro neck and the A2 defiantly picks up more unwanted noise
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

A2 being more noisy than A5 ??!

:argue: I wont believe it until someone shows up with a SCIENTIFIC explanation. Sorry.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Simon_F said:
Now you mention it I think I may have noticed this. Can anyone say why this would be the case? Or are we imagining it? :smack:

Seths are more microphonic than potted pickups. If you tap the pickup with your finger you hear the tap louder through the amp than you do with a potted one. Still love 'em though!
Click to expand...


I'll have to listen for it next time. I can't say I've ever noticed it, but it's an interesting question. I have noticed that the Antiquities will squeal when the gain is up and I'm too close to the amp.

I think that Thames is right about the sheilding being the thing to look at.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Thames said:
Wax potting wont prevent noise from monitors, fluos and such...

good shielding is the key element here.
Click to expand...

Definitely, that's why I asked if he was just talking about noise from monitors, etc. I didn't mean to imply that it had anything to do with being unpotted, my post is rather unclear in that respect, thanks for catching it :).
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Thx for all the replies. The gtr (modded ibz jetking) does have shielding paint in the control cavity and foil on the back of the pickguard, but no shielding beneath the pickups ... I wonder if that would help.

I have to say tho .. now that Ive spent a few days playing the seth neck ... it is a bit more noisey ... but it is definetely staying in the guitar ...

Its realllly nice sounding, just what I needed tonewise ... the rich mids and lack of boomy A5 bass is great ... I had no idea a humbucker could sound so nice for cleans.
Tis like a good red wine w/ a quality cheese plate as opposed to bud light and chips :32: All the bud drinkers flame me now.

Seriously the seth changes dynamically when you change your picking style ie near the bridge vs near the neck, .. more than other neck humbuckers Ive tried it makes the guitar amp combo react more like an acoustic would, in that you can make the gtr sound rich and mellow or bright and staccato just by varying your playing technique.

Im a bit spoiled re. noise ... ie im used to dead quiet bardens in my tele ... and use a compressor into fulltone fulldrive and a fuzz also, and still get little noise w/ that setup. So w/ compressor and gain at once in my buzzy basement I am getting more noise w/ the seth .... but it really is at its best clean, i played it for hours last nite just plugged straight into my clean amp. Thing is ... with the smooth sustain out of the seth I think the compressor will not be needed for the jetking now ... and that will help the noise issue.

Fyi other neck buckers Ive tried: Stock ibz.. mushy, Dimz Virtual PAF.. loved the bridge (its still in the gtr) ... neck was too mushy. Dimz humbucker from hell... nice highs but thin mids and too much bass ... would get lost in the mix w/ the band. Seth has lots of mids and less bass, comes thru the mix well yet sounds sweet.
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

Simon_F said:
Now you mention it I think I may have noticed this. Can anyone say why this would be the case? Or are we imagining it? :smack:

Seths are more microphonic than potted pickups. If you tap the pickup with your finger you hear the tap louder through the amp than you do with a potted one. Still love 'em though!
Click to expand...


Fom a post by Bill Lawrence on another site: "The Alnico magnets under the coils of a traditional humbucker cause, due to their permeability, an imbalance of the humbucking effect resulting in some hum."
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

bryvincent said:
in my experience, humbuckers with alnico 2s are a little noisy. alnico Vs are a little bit quieter and those with ceramics are the quietest
Click to expand...
I remember a thread someone changes the magnets on a custom (5) and got
more noise.

"The Alnico magnets under the coils of a traditional humbucker cause, due to their permeability, an imbalance of the humbucking effect resulting in some hum."
Click to expand...
i have to think about this a bit,
But that was what i thought first: it has to do something with the permeability.
Its a function of the outer magnetc field in ferromagneticas?!
 
Re: seth seems more noisey than my other hummers

I think i've got a theory about this. If someone's interested?
I just have to know if this is right:
Ceramic magnets are "harder" (magnetically) than Alnico?!
Can somone verify this?
 
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