My Warpig "howles"

[Scarib]

Hey guys,
I have a set of Warpigs in my Ibanez and when I practice with my band at loud volumes my Warpig starts howling.
I noticed that the bridge pup(ceramic) itself is swinging.
When I put my finger on the pup it stops. So is that what you would call being "microphonic" or is that a different problem?
Will it go away if I absorb the swinging with some stuff underneath the Pickup?

[ToneMonkey]

That's odd. Has it got the springs in there?

As far as I know, microphonic is when the turns of copper inside the coil are moving. If I'm wrong someone will correct it in a minute.

You've got 'broken' not microphonic  :D

[Scarib]

Broken sounds bad but so does mircrophonic...
Either way I would have to turn them in to get it fixed right?

The spings on the sides are in and relatively tight as far as I remember.

I still hope its a problem I can fix on my own. For now I just try to prevent the pup from swinging with some rubber on the sides.

[ToneMonkey]

Picks would be handy. It could easily be the guitar.

[WezV]

As far as I know, microphonic is when the turns of copper inside the coil are moving. If I'm wrong someone will correct it in a minute.

the cover, if it has one, can also be microphonic. or any loose metal part that vibrates in the pickups magnetic field will have a similar effect

if your pickup is moving about easily it needs sturdier springs, rubber tubing or sponges underneath to hold it steady - that is the first thing to sort.

if it still squeals, and stops when you push on the cover then it may be the cover that is microphonic and needs a repot

[Scarib]

Here are some pics of the troublemakers.
I blocked the trem-springs a while ago so that can't be the source of the problem.
As you can see the pickups are covered...
I also attempted to block the pickup-covers from swinging by shoving some rubber underneath it. It almost pushed my pickups a little bit up but it shuld do the job.
After testing it again I will post the results but I doubt that this will bring silence.

Thanks for the help so far.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Sounds like it could be microphonic feedback caused by an air gap between coils and metal cover

PLaying in rehearsal rooms- sometimes volume levels or Sound Pressure Levels can be pretty high  as you are often in an enclosed space and these problems show up more than they would in a live venue , but you still need to get it sorted .

It may be that the pickup would benefit from another wax dip (return it to BKP for this  - having contacted them first to explain what is going on)

[Scarib]

I've just returned from our rehearsal room and testet the changes.
It is actually a lot better than before and I think I'm gonna wait until I change my strings next time so I can fit the rubber underneath a little bit better.
If it then still isn't better/gone I will contact BKP on how to proceed.

But as I was at our room I had the chance to A/B test our equipment and I noticed that my guitar produces a shiteload more feedback than my buddys guitar in general. In fact my guitar was next to unplayable over my bandmates amp without a noisegate and a few meters of distance.
His guitar(esp f250 passive emgs) wasn exactly quiet but not nearly as noisy as mine. :(
I that another clue that something is wrong with my pigs or is that because of the high output?

Just to clarify here is what we use:
Me: Ibanez S470(ceramic warpigs wit covers) -> Boss NS2 -> Maxon OD808 -> Mesa triple recto(new tubes) -> Orange cab
My buddy: LTD F250(passive emgs) -> Randall RH150 -> Marshall cab

I am also thankful for any tips on feedback prevention in general!

[Transcend]

High output pickups paired with a high gain amp/sound will inevitably have some feedback its just the natural way of things.

It shouldnt be happening whilst you are playing though. Is it?

What i do is roll the volume back when im not playing or switch to a clean channel.

A noisegate will also do wonders with this

[Scarib]

I always had my problems with the natural way of things ;)

It now doesn't happen whilst playing but in those in between moments when i stop playing after a palmmutet chord.

The noisegate does work wonders though.

[Transcend]

I always had my problems with the natural way of things ;)

It now doesn't happen whilst playing but in those in between moments when i stop playing after a palmmutet chord.

The noisegate does work wonders though.

yeah thats completely normal behaviour under high gain conditions.

Just get a noisegate that you can stick before the amps input and in the loop and youll be set

[BigB]

I had the chance to A/B test our equipment and I noticed that my guitar produces a shiteeload more feedback than my buddys guitar in general. In fact my guitar was next to unplayable over my bandmates amp without a noisegate and a few meters of distance.
His guitar(esp f250 passive emgs) wasn exactly quiet but not nearly as noisy as mine. :(
I that another clue that something is wrong with my pigs or is that because of the high output?

My own experience is you should have _less_ squealing with higher output pups (because you don't need as much preamp gain).

[Shag101]

i can throw loads of gain on my warpig and it is not as noisy as your describing at all. 

I think something is definitely wrong with the pickup. 

I say send it back and get it checked out.  I know its a pain to not have the pup for a while, but
trying to macgyver the thing is not going to help in the long run.  Get it fixed and put that emg to shame!!

[Scarib]

Problem solved!
I send it in and got it back last week.

Now the pigs only squeal when they should.

I tested it with lots of gain and without noisegate and it is so much better now!


Anyway I just wanted to let you know.
Thanks for the help!