Humbucker Pickup Ring Vibration

[bluesy]

I was a little annoyed to find, on a brand new guitar that I had purchased, that someone had stuck a bit of folded cardboard down between the side of the pickup and the plastic pickup ring (on the neck pickup on the side furthest from the neck). The guitar is a Washburn J3 (Gibson ES175 copy) hollowbody with 2 humbucking pickups.

I removed the cardboard and soon found out why it was there. When you play rhythm on the guitar a nasty noise is heard through the amp, which turns out to ne vibration - of the pickup ring, I believe. The cardboard was preventing it vibrating. Has anyone experienced this before. I wonder if it's vibrating against the guitar top or against the pickup?

So, how would you fix this? Should I replace the pickup ring (maybe for a better made one), or maybe file the bottom edge a bit to see if it was vibrating against the guitar top (and this might provide enough relief to stop it).

[psw]

Hmmm

Being a true hollowbody the top is going to vibrate...I'm not sure that it is the ring itself as it is presumably held down by 4 screws to the body. Was the cardboard stopping vibration of the ring or the pickup in the ring? Hard to picture.

Anyway...i suspect it might be the pickup itself as this is only loosely in there on springs. If this is the case, perhaps something a bit more solid is required. Perhaps something like surgical tubing, or even som PVC cut to plength (kind of stuff for fish tank air hoses) and screwed in tight. Or...maybe adjust the pickup to the height required and then tak off the ring and pickup and apply liberal amounts of PVC tape (electrical tape) under the pickup to make sure it's not vibrating.

If it is indeed the ring (seems odd to me) then filing it is probably a good option..and or, PVC tape under it to provide a cushion (cut away so you can't see it) and screw it down to that. But, it does seem like the pickup in the ring (reading your description again) and so a new ring or filing it down will have no effect at all on the symptom and the above suggestions should fix it (or something better you might think of!)

pete

[bluesy]

Hmmm

Being a true hollowbody the top is going to vibrate...I'm not sure that it is the ring itself as it is presumably held down by 4 screws to the body. Was the cardboard stopping vibration of the ring or the pickup in the ring? Hard to picture.

Anyway...i suspect it might be the pickup itself as this is only loosely in there on springs. If this is the case, perhaps something a bit more solid is required. Perhaps something like surgical tubing, or even som PVC cut to plength (kind of stuff for fish tank air hoses) and screwed in tight. Or...maybe adjust the pickup to the height required and then tak off the ring and pickup and apply liberal amounts of PVC tape (electrical tape) under the pickup to make sure it's not vibrating.

If it is indeed the ring (seems odd to me) then filing it is probably a good option..and or, PVC tape under it to provide a cushion (cut away so you can't see it) and screw it down to that. But, it does seem like the pickup in the ring (reading your description again) and so a new ring or filing it down will have no effect at all on the symptom and the above suggestions should fix it (or something better you might think of!)

pete

Thanks for your thoughts.

The cardboard was jammed between the side of the chrome pickup cover and the inside of the black plastic ring, so it would prevent both the pickup, and the cover from moving.

The ring is held down by the usual 4 screws, but as I removed the cardboard, I noted that the thin (long) side was very flexible and easy to move. Maybe it's just a cheap ring.

Anyway, like a lot of things, I will just have to experiment I guess.

[WezV]

i would stick a bit of cardboard down the side to stop the vibration

seriously i would just check the fit or everything and swap the springs out for tighter ones or surgical tubing. if the screws holding the ring in place are loose then use new screws or toghten the holes with something

[foil1more]

+1 to surgical tubing. No spring noise and a lot easier to keep on the screw than a spring.

[bluesy]

The surgical tubing idea is new to me. Are you referring to the tubing used to supply oxygen, or used for a drip, or something else?

[foil1more]

The super stretchy yellow stuff. Stewmac has it. It's a lot easier than a spring too. The tubing actually stays on the screw when you try to attach the pickup to the ring.