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New Petrucci BFR - Weird Hum Problem - Please Help

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VidarAus

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Oct 9, 2010
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[SOLVED] New Petrucci BFR - Weird Hum Problem - Please Help

Hi,

I just picked myself up a New Petrucci BFR Tobacco Burst. She plays like butter and is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen or played!

But I have a weird Hum problem.

When selecting the Bridge Pickup, and the tone control is pushed in, I get a nasty buzzing, humming sound on high gain amps (using an Axe-FX).

If I pull the tone pot out, then the buzzing goes away and it is whisper quiet.

What is the deal?

I have tried other guitars and cables so it is something to do with the BFR.

I even swapped out the battery with a fresh one and still the same problem.

It is really getting me down. Any ideas?

Could there be a grounding issue in the guitar? Why should the push/pull pot that doesn't have anything to do with the bridge position pickup selection cause this problem?

Please HELP!
 
Last edited:
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littlephil

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Jul 13, 2010
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Melbourne, Australia
Hmm, sounds like it might be a wiring issue. Does the pickup sound weaker when you have the tone pot pushed it, and gets thicker when its up?
If so, it might be that one coil is off on the pickup, the push/pull turns on all 4 coils in the middle position, so it might also be turning one coil on now (even though it shouldnt be off anyway)
One way to test it is to tap the bar/polepieces of the pickup with something metal, a small screwdriver is perfect, while plugged in with the guitar volume up. A high gain setting will make it more obvious too. Tap the bar and one polepiece with the push/pull down, then try it again with the push/pull up. If there is a big difference in volume in the polepieces when you tap them, its pretty certain the coil split is active somehow.
 
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VidarAus

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littlephil said:
Hmm, sounds like it might be a wiring issue. Does the pickup sound weaker when you have the tone pot pushed it, and gets thicker when its up?
If so, it might be that one coil is off on the pickup, the push/pull turns on all 4 coils in the middle position, so it might also be turning one coil on now (even though it shouldnt be off anyway)
One way to test it is to tap the bar/polepieces of the pickup with something metal, a small screwdriver is perfect, while plugged in with the guitar volume up. A high gain setting will make it more obvious too. Tap the bar and one polepiece with the push/pull down, then try it again with the push/pull up. If there is a big difference in volume in the polepieces when you tap them, its pretty certain the coil split is active somehow.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips littlephil.

I tapped on the different coils in both the tone pulled and tone pushed positions, while the pickup selector was on the bridge position.

Then the tone is pushed in, the inside coil for the neck pickup is definitely at least partially active. It makes a scratchy noise when I touch it with an allen wrench.

When the tone is pulled out, the inner coil of the neck pickup is dead.

So it looks like a wiring issue.

Damn - this is pretty disappointing for such an expensive guitar.

OK, any help on where to start in fixing this thing. Are there some diagrams, or can someone point me in the right direction for what might be wrong with the wiring?

Thanks
 
bazxkr

bazxkr

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If it is brand new under warranty then go back to the place of purchase & they will sort it for you. You also run the risk of damaging it when you are trying to sort it through & yr warranty does not cover that. Me, I would not touch it and let the warranty support do its job, that is what it is there for.
Companies like MM invest alot of resources in support for exactly this kind of problem to help after sales so they are the best place to start.

No doubt you are gonna be at the top of Everest and not a MM dealer within 5,000 miles LOL, but drop CS at MM an email and they will point you in the direction of how best to proceed.

Would you buy a top of the range new car and start trying to fix it when something went wrong ?

Hurts to maybe have to let it go for a while but I think it best in the long run

Cheers
Baz
 
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VidarAus

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Yeah, you are probably right.

And unfortunately I am in one of those at the top of Everest type of situations.

Hmmmm...I will drop the support line an email and see what they think.

Damn.
 
bazxkr

bazxkr

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Yeh, guaranteed if you lived in SanLuisObispo you would never get a problem huh :rolleyes:

CS best place to start and be sure they will get back to you rapidly with their suggestions.

Let us know how you get on.

Sounds like a fantastic BFR so deserves only the best

Good luck

Cheers
Baz
 
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VidarAus

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Have emailed customer service. Hopefully will hear back from them in a couple of days.

Until then, guess I can just pull the tone knob whenever I want to use the bridge pickup. There could be worse things wrong with the guitar I guess, but is still really frustrating!

Hopefully customer service will get back to me with some solutions.

cheers,

VidarAus
 
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VidarAus

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bazxkr said:
Yeh, guaranteed if you lived in SanLuisObispo you would never get a problem huh :rolleyes:

CS best place to start and be sure they will get back to you rapidly with their suggestions.

Let us know how you get on.

Sounds like a fantastic BFR so deserves only the best

Good luck

Cheers
Baz
Click to expand...

She really is a fantastic instrument, so you are right there!

Just wanted to say another quick thanks for your help mate. I really appreciate the time you have taken to write back on this post.

Regards,

VidarAus
 
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VidarAus

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I had another look in the electronics cavity and the grounding wire that rests against the back-plate appeared to not be oriented correctly - ie. not making good ground contact.

I reseated it and it seems to have helped.

I may be completely over-reacting and there is nothing 'wrong' at all.

I still find it strange that the push/pull has any effect on the bridge-only selection.

To make sure I am not going crazy, and this is all 'normal', I recorded a quick clip to show the current 'issue'.

It is just me banging on the low-E, palm-muted' as this seems to bring out the noise the best.

The first bit you should be able to hear the noise (the tone knob is pulled). Then you should hear a click, and then it goes much more quiet (the knob has been pushed). Then back to pulled again and the noise it back.

Here is the link to the recording:

untitled.mp3

Can someone tell me if I am indeed crazy and this is normal, or if there may indeed be an issue present?

Thanks a lot.

VidarAus
 
V

VidarAus

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Oct 9, 2010
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Thanks Colin - I am 100% confident that you will.

For anyone out there in forum land that lives in Australia and is wondering where to buy an EBMM guitar - look no further than Colin at Guitar Planet.

Colin has been amazing to deal with, and continues to provide me with whatever support I need (this particular issue is case in point!).

Seriously, Colin is the man and runs a serious business for serious buyers.

Could not be happier! :):):)
 
V

VidarAus

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Problem has been solved. Guitar is perfect now!

Colin from Guitar Planet got it sorted for me in record time. Thanks a lot.
 
bazxkr

bazxkr

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Great news... are you going to enlighten us with the solution to the problem ?


Well done Colin....


Cheers
Baz
 
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