Over-Feedback

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dentedziv

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Hi everyone!
I have a 2006 Panthera Pro. I have the stock pickups on it.
I have a problem, every time I play through a high-gain or boosted amp, my guitar (Bridge pickup of course) feedbacks way to much - it's not the fun kind that comes from sustaining, it's a really annoing high pitched sound that occurs at all times I don't play (I usually play on my Blackstar HT-100 head, but it happens on a wide variety of amps). For example, doing a core-ish breakdown part is impossible - the feedback is unbearable. It happens only when the amp is loud, naturally.
At first I thought it was a problem with the amp (I'm playing through a boosted channel of the amp with the gain at around 12 o'clock) so I tried using a Decimator, both before the amp and in the FX loop, but it didn't work out.
I was told that the problem is probably the Pickup - so I've decided to replace it. I would like to hear your recommendations on pickups you thing would suite both the guitar and the sound I'm looking for. I don't want to change my sound too much, want something that has a strong low end and not too much mid and highs. I thought about Duncan Invader, I know that pickup very well and it suits my state of mind, but I wanted to hear what you guys think about it and if you have other recommendations.
I also noticed that my pickup is very high - it's really close to the strings. I lowered it a little and it didn't really help, but could this be the problem?

Thanks a lot!
 
oh also forgot to say that I'm looking for a passive pickup.
thanks
 
Hello, and welcome to the forum! :-)

I 've had that happen on a bass of mine... Our guitarist had the same problem with his guitar, he told me it's definitely the pickups. In his case it only happened when he was facing vertical to the amp, when he was parallel there was no problem. With my bass it was the other way around. :-) I tried lowering the pickups too, but not much happened. Not sure about your pickup options, but I believe active pickups would be your best bet to avoid this. Are your pickups passive now?
 
yes, I have seymour duncan SH-4 now.
you say I should get active pickups? I don't think I need a higher output and it's definately not the sound I was looking for...
thanks though :)
 
Hi dentedziv,

it's hard to say why you experince such an uncontrollable feedback. Normally I would say the pickups should not be the problem. It may also depend on your position towards the cabinet, overall volume, etc. Anyway, it's hard to figure it out from a distance.

According to the description of your sound, you should really like the Invader soundwise. It's passive, has a lot of output and emphasizes the lower frequencies while sounding very transparent even in high gain situations. Personally I doubt that it will solve your feedback problem but please let us know if it does.

Regards,
Dirk
 
thanks man!
the problem occurs regardless to my position to the cabinet. facing it, back to it, a few feet away from it, behind it - as long as the volume is up the guitar screeches.
do you maybe have an other idea to what might cause this problem?
 
Agreed with Dirk, feedback is basically reverberation of signals, which can either be speakers influencing the strings or the amp internally. Finally, if the wax potting would break down that could cause issues.

I used the sh-4 in me renegade and did not have any issues unless i was very close to the cabs, in which case i intened to let it feed back. Currently using a Duncan SH5 though as I prefer the kick in the low mids with the sweet sweet pinch harmonics :) I use the guitar with an Engl Blackmore, and played it on Blackstar and the lot as well, so it should not be an issue.
 
ok so it's agreed that either re-waxing the pickup or replacing it altogether should solve it, right?
thanks a lot for it anyway.

do you have a recommendation for a pickup though? as I said, I thought about the Invader already, and the SH 5 you mentioned also seemed to suite me when I looked for it. anything else? 8:

thanks everyone about it, you really helped so far! :d
 
well, really depends on the kind of tone you want to get from it. The Panthera is not a very bright sounding guitar, so keeping the gain medium and the not overboosting the bass will help. I would go for the SH5 or a similar configuration.

Using too much gain will saquash your signal and will make the tone "fall in on itself". I use the channel 4 on the blackmore on around 12 o clokc...more gain is not always the solution. If you want more gain though...Invader or Dimebucker :)
 
Dimebucker is defenately not the tone I'm looking for. I've done a lot of checking lately and I'm going on the Invader.
Also decided to replace my neck pickup, and I can't decide between the Duncans Pearly Gates and Alnico II Pro. any thoughts on that?

Never tought about lowering the bass in my amp as a soliution, would definately try it, thanks!
 
I am not a guitarist, so my answer is not from my experience, but I guess this kind of problem means you are too close to the cabinets, or too loud. +1 on being careful with the lows.
 
Pearly gates are quite powerful, the Annico gets you a very low gain tone that favours distortion in the amp rather than through PU output. Slash uses the AlNICo Pro 2 in a similar guitar wood wise, to give you a rough guide on how it will sound. INvader wise, the oen guys to use one all the time is Micheal Amott, he has a copy made of it now that he plays Dean
 
it's not a problem of being too close, I tried all sorts of positions, I even tried standing in a different room :P
It's a kind of screech that says "hey dude, something's wrong!"

I had the Invader on a different guitar, I know it well and I'm totally satisfied with that choice.
And for the noob question of the week, what's PU? :D
 
PU -> PickUp :)

If you like the invader alreader it is a very good choice just be aware of the basic tone to see how the guitar will alter the PU signal compared to you other guitar. It could be too bright/dark depending what your other guitar is :)
 
...im just gonna go out on a limb here but have you tried a different cable?
 
hehe yeah sure.

and ShadowKnight, I didn't really understand what you mean, how can I know what the basic tone of the guitar is?
The other guitar is an Ibanez RG2550. and I heard the Invader on an LTD EX-50 as well.
 
Well, compared to the Framus it will sound different due to the wood selection...my Ibanez RG does not have as much low end as my Renagade etc. . Different guitars emphasize different frequecies, and thus a pickup that soundas balanced on one guitar will go overboard in another. The RG has a low mid emphasis with a lot of snap, while the Phantera is more mahogany goodness, which is also ok, as well known invader players are known to use full mahogany guitars.

So knowing what the rough differences in tone will be helps :)
I am quite sure the Invader will match nicely though as stated above
 
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