First gig with new ASS ~ unexpected problem.

[king_stubby]

Hello chaps,

Just really fishing around for a few suggestions (clean ones preferably!) and also wondering if any other ASS or JP6 owners have ever encountered a similar problem as the one which beset me last night?

Firstly, say hello to my 'precious' a totally mint 2004 ASS in Pacific Blueburst....purdy aint she?

Now to the problem which drove me crazy last night and in fact has made me seriously think about selling the guitar.

I'm an average guitarist, not good, not terrible and as I'm the frontman in my current band I mainly play rhythm guitar with the occasional solo which the 'proper' guitarist allows me! The band plays a kind of reggae/rock/funk hybrid type of music so my role is largely to provide the guitar 'skank' or 'chops' etc, the single down strokes which define the music as reggae.

I was really looking forward to taking my new baby for a stroll last night as I had searched for her long and hard but my anticipation soon turned to exasperation when about twenty times during the gig my top (thin) E string on my ASS got caught under the lip of the neck pickup requiring me to break my rhythm part and unhook the string in order to continue.

A couple of years ago, whilst searching for my dream guitar, I also experimented with a JP6 and memories of that instrument came flooding back to me last night as the self same thing used to happen with that one as well....frustrating as hell I tells thee!

I really want to keep this ASS as in every other regard it is my perfect instrument but short of changing the way I've played for over thirty years, I really don't know what I can do to get around this problem. The pickups can't be lowered as they are screwed directly into the body, raising the action would kill the guitar, I'm already using 10 - 46s and although going up to 11s might help it would make my forays into solo-land real hard work so I'm guessing that my only option really is a change of technique, playing softer, further towards the tail end of the guitar and with a lighter pick, all of which seems crazy to me on a guitar I broke the bank to purchase.

If this keeps happening I guess there is a real danger of harming the delicate wiring of the pickup as well so I've either got to find a work round or face the spectre of selling the guitar, something I am really loathe to do.

So have any of you fine fellows ever encountered the same problem and if so, what did you do about it? all suggestions gratefully received

 

[Volt]

I've been playing guitar for over 40 years and never got a string caught on a pickup. Easy fix, don't pick or strum so hard.

BTW, nice guitar!

 

[GHWelles]

The other fix is the Dimebag Darrell fix. Put electrical tape along the side of the pickup to create a barrier to the string hooking under the lip. Or, just use a covered pickup.

 

[LoudGtr]

The other fix is the Dimebag Darrell fix. Put electrical tape along the side of the pickup to create a barrier to the string hooking under the lip. Or, just use a covered pickup.

I just recently saw a picture of EVH playing his #1 Tobacco Burst Wolfg@ng or new Wolfgang (not sure) that had what looked like electrical tape over his neck pickup with slots cut out so that it wouldn't cover the 2 bottom pole pieces. First thing that came to mind was that his stings must of been getting caught/hooked up there.

I'd try that before anything else. Very nice Axis btw.

 

[king_stubby]

I've been playing guitar for over 40 years and never got a string caught on a pickup. Easy fix, don't pick or strum so hard.

BTW, nice guitar!

There are distant tribes in the Amazon rainforest who knew that would the first answer I received....oh well, congratulations on never having the problem I currently have and many thanks for your suggestion, I'll just change the way I've played all my life then, shouln't be too much of a problem

The other fix is the Dimebag Darrell fix. Put electrical tape along the side of the pickup to create a barrier to the string hooking under the lip. Or, just use a covered pickup.

Many thanks for your extremely helpful suggestions and regarding the covered pickup option, does anybody know if there is a direct replacement pick up which will drop straight into the existing cavity without butchering the guitar at all? this would be my solution of choice if such a beast exists. Thanks again for everyone's help and advice, I really am most grateful.

 

[koogie2k]

Beautiful Axis. I love the Pacific Blue Burst.

Now... the "problem" you have. I personally have never heard anyone do this before. It is not the guitars fault really. You obviously play with a heavy picking hand and have an aggressive attack of the strings. IF that is so the suggestion of changing your technique is not a bad one...even if the tribes in Amazon were ready to weigh in. But, I can see why you would not want to "change" as you have been doing this attack all your life.

I would say possibly lower the pick up a bit as an option. But, I would take it to a tech first to make sure.

Or...do what Wonderdog suggested.

I have dropped in different pups in an Axis before without any issues. Again, check with a tech if you are not sure.

 

[king_stubby]

I would say possibly lower the pick up a bit as an option. But, I would take it to a tech first to make sure.

Very many thanks for your contribution and I guess you are right about me being on the heavy-handed side, although, whilst not being a particularly good lead guitarist, in my local area I am know as pretty much the only player who can play the reggae 'skank' or down-stroke chop properly, so changing the way I do it will be a real pain. The fact that the rhythm part to a reggae track is all percussive down-stokes no doubt contributes to the problem and also probably explains why not many other players have noticed this as an issue as I doubt if reggae is the music of choice for many other forum members.

Regarding lowering the pickup, I really wish I could but as the unit is screwed directly into the guitar body, as far as I'm aware there is no adjustment available in either direction.

One thing I will try is having a word with my friend Tim who owns and runs Bareknuckle Pickups here in the UK, he may know of a covered replacement which might even be a sonic upgrade on the stock Dimarzios, plus I reckon that chrome HBs would look really sweet in my Axis

Thanks again for your contribution, you really are the most helpful bunch of people on the planet, Amazon rainforest included

 

[agt]

You mentioned that it is a 2004 model. I am guessing that it had a previous owner. Is there a chance the previous owner raised the neck pickup, maybe by putting washers or spacers under the pickup base?

Just a suggestion.

 

[John C]

These were all excellent suggestions. However since most of us find EBMMs to be quite addictive, I have a somewhat more expensive suggestion - get an MM90 ASS for the reggae skank/chop tunes. Same shape, feel, etc. but with covered soapbar pickups. The EBMM Silent Circuit will keep down the extraneous noise as well. Then use the HH ASS for the more straight-ahead rock/funk where you're not doing the chop technique.

Just call me an "enabler"

 

[king_stubby]

You mentioned that it is a 2004 model. I am guessing that it had a previous owner. Is there a chance the previous owner raised the neck pickup, maybe by putting washers or spacers under the pickup base?
Just a suggestion.

And a very good suggestion indeed but no, I bought the guitar from a collector rather than a player, I think he'd gotten around to tuning it up a couple of times but that was the only action it had ever seen, never been played just looked at occasionally and most definitely never been tinkered with....some people eh?

These were all excellent suggestions. However since most of us find EBMMs to be quite addictive, I have a somewhat more expensive suggestion - get an MM90 ASS for the reggae skank/chop tunes. Same shape, feel, etc. but with covered soapbar pickups. The EBMM Silent Circuit will keep down the extraneous noise as well. Then use the HH ASS for the more straight-ahead rock/funk where you're not doing the chop technique. Just call me an "enabler"

Dear enabler

Sadly I've barely got enough money to keep myself in smokes and Jack Daniel's so buying another 'genre specific' ASS would be totally beyond me, besides which all the styles I mentioned are wrapped up in the same pieces of music, not separate entities, so doing an 'axe change' a couple of times during a number whilst also singing (kind of!) would be somewhat out of the question I guess.

But....the MM90 ASS suggestion has definitely got me thinking, my problem would go away for sure on that guitar plus I'm guessing it would sound a little brighter which would also be a bonus....Oh God, please don't tell me I'm still one instrument away from guitar nirvana....it's beginning to look that way isn't it?

Right then, anybody got an MM90 ASS for sale, vintage trem and rosewood board a necessity?............sigh

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey KS you're just across the water from me!!

Sounds like the electrical tape wrapped around the side of the pickup would work.
It would look better though if you used the same braided black material that is used in pickup manufacture.

Give this guy a ring he runs a company called Shed Pickups - his name is Spence.
Mention my name and say that you are looking for advice/some of the black tape.
I can't emphasise how good this guys pickups are - knocks spots of Bareknuckle pickups.

let us know how you manage to solve the problem.

 

[banjoplayer]

Steve Vai seems to have the same problem and solved it with tape.

I know this problem too. In my case it happened not with a Music Man guitar (Pickups on the Steve Morse Model are set too low). It happened on a Ibanez. And it happened only on rehearsal or gig. It never happened when practising at home . So I recognized that I was strumming very hard when the overall volume was high and I did not hear myself properly. It does not happen when I hear myself clearly or, as said, when I practice alone. Then my strumming is more moderate.

Don´t know if it helps you, but this is what caused this problem for me.

 

[king_stubby]

Spudmurphy is gutted to hear that the Japanese Bank of Origami has folded!

I know I'm childish but a major 'spitting tea over computer screen' incident occurred down Somerset way when I read that....

Thanks for the advice Spud, I will definitely follow it up although I'm not entirely sure how extra tape will stop this glitch from happening. I can see how it would stop the lip from protruding which will obviously help but as the tape is soft, shirley the string would just embed itself in the tape? or maybe not, don't know until I try I guess.

Thanks for the link, I shall have a word with your boy ASAP and I won't tell Tim that you think his pickups are rubbish by comparison

Just checked out a couple of MM90 ASSs on YouTube....Oh Gawd, I can feel another bout of GAS coming on, better dig out the gripe water before it gets a hold of me.

 

[banjoplayer]

Found something more detailed about Steve Vai´s problem

"The reason why the tape is on the pickup is because sometimes Steve hits the strings so hard the high E string would have a tendency to get stuck under the pick up. [...]"

source: Vai.com - The Official Steve Vai Website: Steve's Guitars then click on "all about EVO"

 

[king_stubby]

Steve Vai seems to have the same problem and solved it with tape.

I know this problem too. In my case it happened not with a Music Man guitar (Pickups on the Steve Morse Model are set too low). It happened on a Ibanez. And it happened only on rehearsal or gig. It never happened when practising at home . So I recognized that I was strumming very hard when the overall volume was high and I did not hear myself properly. It does not happen when I hear myself clearly or, as said, when I practice alone. Then my strumming is more moderate.

Don´t know if it helps you, but this is what caused this problem for me.

Hey, me and Steve Vai have the same problem, how cool is that

Banjoplayer, thank you so much for your brilliant reply and yes it does help greatly. Everything at a gig tends to be harder, faster and less restrained it's true but I'm not sure if I can bring myself to stick a dirty great lump of Gaffa tape on my beautiful blue baby as per Steve Vai, it doent really do a lot for the aesthetics of the instrument does it?

The essence of what you say is total common sense though, we all play harder and heavier when competing with others in a band situation, perhaps I should just crank it up a few notches and attack it a lot less although old habits die extremely hard as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Volt]

There are distant tribes in the Amazon rainforest who knew that would the first answer I received....oh well, congratulations on never having the problem I currently have and many thanks for your suggestion, I'll just change the way I've played all my life then, shouln't be too much of a problem

I wasn't, and am not trying to be an ASS, just a factual statement that I've never had the problem you are having.
Finesse over force. How much are you moving the string that it gets caught on the pickup? Unless your pickup is extremely close to the "E" string it would have to travel a pretty good distance to get hung up on the pickup.
More finesse..........or lower the pickup............or use heavier gauge strings.
Hope you get the problem solved.

 

[king_stubby]

I wasn't, and am not trying to be an ASS, just a factual statement that I've never had the problem you are having.
Finesse over force. How much are you moving the string that it gets caught on the pickup? Unless your pickup is extremely close to the "E" string it would have to travel a pretty good distance to get hung up on the pickup.
More finesse..........or lower the pickup............or use heavier gauge strings.
Hope you get the problem solved.

I know you meant well and I'm sorry for being a tad sarcastic but as you can see from further posts I'm not the only guy on the planet who has had similar problems, Banjoplayer and Steve Vai to name but two.

And as explained a number of times previously, the pickup cannot be lowered on an ASS as it is screwed directly to the body and has no adjustment in either direction, heavier strings possibly but I am using 10s already, any heavier and I'll need to to sign up to the local finger gym!

Perhaps I should just stop playing reggae as I'm sure it's the constant stream of down-stokes which exaserbates the problem, either that or track down a MM90 which I have to admit has given me a severe dose of gear lust again! Curse you EBMM, why are your guitars just so damned attractive

 

[Jimmyb]

<snip>

Perhaps I should just stop playing reggae

Yup, that would be my suggestion!!!



Sorry about that, got a bit carried away....

I can't say that it's something that's happened to me either, but I've just had a look at my Super Sport to see if anything looked obvious to try. The one thing that I thought may work, is using a cut down piece of plastic card in the space between the pickup and edge of the route. That way, it would stop the string from catching under the top cover of the pickup, which is what I think is happening.

 

[RocketRalf]

I would try the tape thing. Get a transparent tape if you're concerned with the way it looks. Usually transparent tape doesn't stick that hard so you should be able to remove it without causing damage to your guitar.

That top sucks BTW

 

[king_stubby]

Oh great, you come here for a bit of friendly advice and get told to give up playing reggae and that the finish on my guitar sucks!! well hmmmph!!

Seriously though, thanks so much for all the helpful suggestions, you lot are just brilliant