General Music Chat

Ahhhh I have this major problem...

I get my amp sounding how I like it but at high volumes I get terrible squeeling feedback as soon as I let off the strings, even in between fast palm muting notes.

If I dial the gain down I lose the distortion that sounds so good, it goes away, but the sound quality sucks..

I'm using the built in noise gate, it seems to help a little but not much.

Any ideas?

Line6 HD150 / Zakk Epi w/ stock EMG passives.

i wish i could help you out fastfret but i never use standard built in amp f/x i know most guitar players do but i find them too boring that marshall built in sound just doesnt do it for me... get a good roland floor/foot f/x unit and it should sort out your problem...sorry i cant be more help..

I claim not to be an expert on this, but, maybe it is because you use passive pickups. Aren't active pickups for metal or something? I know Kirk Hammett uses active pickups. *Shrug*

I claim not to be an expert on this, but, maybe it is because you use passive pickups. Aren't active pickups for metal or something? I know Kirk Hammett uses active pickups. *Shrug*

Ummmm.....no

I don't think actives would make a difference, probably worse if anything because they give it more juice.

Is it the guitar, or the amp? Try a different guitar. Is the compressor way up? Are the pic-ups installed right? Others have the same problem? http://line6.com/support/thread.jspa?messageID=131594 On a small stage and right on top of the amp? Could be alot of things.

lol yeah thats my post, I just wanted other opinions...

I've tried all that, only thing that works is turning the gain down, but that kills the distortion.

Lmao. Alright, well I know nothing about pickups, lol. I still want EMG though to play metal on, active or passive, I do not care. Anyhow, I am assuming you have checked all of the hookups? The only time I get feedback is when the wires are messed up in the output port of the guitar (I need to solder it). It also could be one of your pedals, what kind of pedals are you using? Or it could be your amp cab.

Try cutting your master volume a little at a time and find the point where the feedback starts. You might have to sacrifice a little overall volume to get rid of the noise, and believe me to anyone else listening it is noise when a guitar squeals at high volumes. My amps I ussually never get past around 7 on the gain, but then I go for more of a classic rock sound than you probably do. Have you tryed equing it out, may kill your tone.

If you have a gate you should be able to adjust the threshold point higher until it goes away.

Maybe your amp wont get to the volume level you want, or maybe stand in a different spot. If you are straight in front of it that could do it.

Are your ears ringing? If so then you may be too loud. Ha ha just kidding.

I've adjusted the gate to the max, I guess anyways.. If you aren't familiar with the Line6 spider series they have weird controls. I'm regretting getting this amp big time.

It sounded good at first but after having it for awhile I can't get the perfect sound that I want anymore. I need something with tubes I think.

FF...I dunno if this will help or not, but I use a Boss GT-8, a modeling preamp similar (i guess) to the Line 6. I was using a patch for the full on face melting lead thing that worked great until the volume reached beyond 250 lb drummer level then it would HOWL whenever I wasn't playing a note or 16. The half deaf keyboard player across the stage said it was giving him a nosebleed even. I backed off the level a touch, the gain two touches, and the compression like half and it still powers out but without the howl. It still sings plenty, loud, but at home it sounds flat. The modeling amps are touchy I guess.

First thing you need to do is try the guitar through another amp to determine if it's the guitar or amp.

If it's the amp, then it's a matter of tweaking the gain, tone and volume settings to get a happy medium.

If you get the same results at stage volume through another amp there is a good possibility you have microphonic pickups. That's not hard to fix ither, but you have to be careful. It involves dipping the piciup in a pot of melted wax (plain Gulfwax canning wax and beeswax mixture is best, Gulfwax by itself will work.) You get the wax to 140°-160°F and dip the pickup in it, I usea piece of small wire to hang it by. Hold it in the wax until yoou stop seeing air bubbles escape, around 10-20 minutes or so.

Let it cool, clean the wax off the face of the pickup as soon as it's cool enough to handle, since it's easier to get off while still warm. Be very careful not to touch the windings, the fine wire will not take too much abuse.

This eliminates air pockets and open spaces in the windings for vibrations to set up and create feedback. I had to do one of mine, it played great at home through a 6 watt tube practice amp, but onstage through a maxed out Fender Super Reverb it would howl any time I didn't completely muffle the strings for even a second. Only guitar in my line up that did that. Potted the pickup and I can't make it feedback now even if I stand a foot in front of the same amp. and it sounds great.

Potting Info
Stewmac Potting Tutorial
GuitarNuts Potting Tutorial

It is the pick-ups! I have the same problem with my Line6 when playing my Pauls. As soon as I switch over to my strat, it stops.... It's driving me nuts as I really don't wanna mess with the pick-ups but, eventually, I'm going to have to because nothing irks me more than when a lot of my songs call for silence for a split second and all you hear is feedback... What a freakin' shame cause I love the Les Pauls just the way they are and it looks like I either have to invest in another amp or mess around with something I really don't want to! The noise Gate does absolutely nothing for it!

You might have a tube issue. If you are running 12AX7A's in your rig, try replacing them with another less aggressive tube.

Just my $.02...

Crip:

Try the guitar on another amp. Find someone else who will let you use their amp for a few minutes or maybe a music store. That will give you proof positive. I had little doubt, I found out onstage though and I don't like surprises of that nature onstage. But only one guitar out of 7 did it, so it wasn't the amp.

Read the info on microphonic pickups closely, most of the testing and potting info is there, potting is not difficult but you do need to be cautious. I used a small electric potpourri pot to do mine, (like a small version of a crock pot,) no trouble keeping the temp where I wanted and it didn't take tons of wax. I also used a foot long piece of picture wire to hang it with, makes it easier. If the pickup is microphonic, it makes a huge difference. I can play the same guitar now a foot from the amp cranked to 10 with no feedback at all. Before potting I couldn't get far enough away with a 20 foot cable...

More pickups than you may realize are like this, I've played a few over the years and didn't know what was causing it, wish I had.

I also shield my pickup cavities, or at least the pickguard, that makes a difference too, especially with single coil pickups. Extra heavy duty aluminum foil and some spray glue, felt tip pen and Xacto knife are all you need. I can locate links without much trouble, or google for guitar shielding if you're interested. Ever play a quiet strat? I have one.

I hate noise gates, they suck tone out of your rig more than they reduce unwanted noise, and with a little prep work you can reduce that noise tremendously long before the noise gate even becomes a consideration. True bypass switches, (probably my next project) guitar shielding, decent grounding, good tubes, no neon lights or computer monitors and keep power carrying wires away from signal carrying wires. That last one is a must, probably the number one reason I had hum problems for years. Bundle them all together and you create amp hum by putting your signal wires in a tangled mess with magnetic field creating electrical wires...instant hum...

I used to roll up the extra wire and stuff it all under the Kustom 2x12 cabinet (on wheels) since it had plenty room for the wad of wires. Creating a hum monster...Now my signal wires exit one end of the pedal board, the small extension cord for the AC Adapter goes on the other end and at no point do the guitar cables cross the amp's power cables.

One item at a time isn't much but add them all up and you have noise.

Thanx for that advice, Paleopete! When it come's to the mechanics of my instrument, I haven't a clue. I wish you lived nearby cause I would definitely put it in your hands to experiment with.... What's the worst that could happen?? If I wasn't satisfied, I'd just remove the wax or, even better, get new pick-ups!