<div class="bbWrapper">I suspect I have a microphonic neck pickup in my AL HH (covered pickup, 2011, Dimarzio EVH/Axis pickups). Mind you, I'm not complaining. I actually quite like it. You get those sweet high harmonics on the decay even in clean settings like in a Duncan Seth Lover, sound is extra crisp when tapping the cover with a pick, and it picks up my voice much louder than any other pickup when I crank gain and yell into it. Again, I like it and I'm not looking to fix it. I was just wondering if it was inherent in this pickup's construction or if mine is a happy malfunction.</div>
Axis and AL HH owners! Neck pickup question
- Thread starter NickNihil
- Start date
click track
Well-known member
<div class="bbWrapper">I do not have that with either my AL HH, stock pickups 2022 or my Axis SS replaced with Crunch Lab and Liquefier , and soon to be replaced with P90's.<br />
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AL are amazing !!! Love the rosewood neck</div>
Iperfungus
Well-known member
<div class="bbWrapper">I own an Axis Super Sport with original DiMarzio Custom pickups and I've not such issue there.<br />
You cold try to remove the cover, first of all...and see what happens.<br />
Otherwise, wax potting coils will fix it for sure.<br />
Of course, due to the nature of a guitar designed for Eddie Van Halen, those pickups are wax potted at factory.<br />
But it can happen that a pickup needs to be re-potted.</div>
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Some Schumann on the pickup in question. Don't know if the microphonic nature is noticeable to you all, if to anyone, but it sure is lovely nonetheless.</div>
banjoplayer
Well-known member
<div class="bbWrapper">The best sounding Tele pickup I played was microphonic. So yes, I think it´s possible, that a malfunction can have positive aspects. But also predominately negative aspects, in my case: horrible squealing, so it was unusable and had to be replaced...<br />
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I have an EBMM reflex with the same pickups like you have in your ALHH. They behave absolutely normal and predictable. Nothing unusual in their construction.</div>
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Iperfungus
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<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 55826" data-quote="NickNihil" data-source="post: 1088024"
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Some Schumann on the pickup in question. Don't know if the microphonic nature is noticeable to you all, if to anyone, but it sure is lovely nonetheless.
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</blockquote>That guitar sounds wonderful, to me...and I do not ear anything "strange"....<br />
I mean that the pickup sounds normal, to my ears.<br />
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You've amazing skills!</div>
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The best sounding Tele pickup I played was microphonic. So yes, I think it´s possible, that a malfunction can have positive aspects. But also predominately negative aspects, in my case: horrible squeeling, so it was unusable and had to be replaced...<br />
<br />
I have an EBMM reflex with the same pickups like you have in your ALHH. They behave absolutely normal and predictable. Nothing unusual in their construction.
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</blockquote>Original Dynasonics and PAFs were also microphonic due to being unpotted (as you probably know) and I mainly use my AL for small modern jazz combos (though I do get experimental in a Frisell/Cline/Ribot way and sometimes like to piledrive my signal with fuzz) and squealing hasn’t been a problem. So I guess if it ain’t broke…<br />
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That said, I guess my questions are more specifically scientific, like if a potted pickup that loses the integrity of its potting and becomes microphonic a) if its resonant peak raises back to what it would have been if unpotted and b) if it’s AS microphonic as an unpotted pickup. Some pickup winders claim to ‘lightly’ pot their pickups under the thinking that they can retain more of the top end/dynamic response and then others that say ‘potting is potting’-the amount of potting doesn’t matter and the pickup will respond the same if lightly or heavily potted.</div>
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That guitar sounds wonderful, to me...and I do not ear anything "strange"....<br />
I mean that the pickup sounds normal, to my ears.<br />
<br />
You've amazing skills!
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</blockquote>Thank you! Most of time when I video myself playing I watch back and think ‘damn, that sucked.’<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="😜" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61c.png" title="Winking face with tongue :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:" data-shortname=":stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /></div>
Astrofreq
Well-known member
<div class="bbWrapper">Those pickups sound awful. You should replace them and sell those old, crummy ones to me. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><br />
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Just kidding. Your playing is so incredibly pleasant and what a great guitar sound!</div>
Iperfungus
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<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 5385" data-quote="Astrofreq" data-source="post: 1088045"
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Those pickups sound awful. You should replace them and sell those old, crummy ones to me. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><br />
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Just kidding. Your playing is so incredibly pleasant and what a great guitar sound!
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</blockquote>Thief!!! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></div>