Hear Pedal Through Pickup

[Gary Shepherd]

My new guitar picks up the pedal through the pickup. When I stomp on the A pedal (or any pedal) and then let off, I can hear it in the pickup - through the amp. The faster I get off the pedal, the louder it is in the amp. My other Carter doesn't have this problem. Nothing seems to be touching the pickup under the guitar.

Any idea what's causing this or how to fix it?

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

My Emmons and Peavy Session 400 were a beautiful match. The JBL Speakers had a lot of push.

Then one day, I started noticing, a popping like sound when I increased the volume on my Emmons foot pedal. Not always, but most of the time. The sound was definitely coming thro' the amp. I felt it was the pot possibly breaking down physically.

Finally I watched the positioning of the foot pedal and discovered that if the pedal was in any other position, other than perpendicular, realtive to the pedal bar, I'd get this electrical sound thro' the amp.

I subsequently noticed small nicks burned out of the pedal bar, like on my HO Model railroad with DC Current. Come to find out, the amp was shorting and the pedal bar and foot pedal were ARCHING DC electrical current back and forth. Before I got anything corrected (Not knowing where to take the amp)it shorted out, caught fire in the center of the speaker cone and burned up. Apparently the system had shorted out BEYOND the FUSE, right where the DC CURRENT is hooked into the system and from their, just smoke.!

Hope that doesn't happen to you. Sometimes tho', the problem is not the obvious........

[Gary Shepherd]

This is more of a microphonic sound. Like when you tap on a pickup, you'll hear it through the amp.

[Bo Borland]

I occaisionally get a strange electrical noise crackle from my pedal touching the pedal bar.. I put duct tape on the bar bracket which seems to stop it. But the new pot i put in 6 months ago is crapping out already. I think its time for a Hilton.

[Gary Shepherd]

I'm talking about the pedals that pull, not the volume pedal.

[Russ Tkac]

My buddy Mark has the same problem with his old D-10 MSA. The pedal sound comes through the pickup when he pushes any of the pedals. I'm not sure how to fix it.

[Brint Hannay]

Gary, You already described it, the pickup is microphonic. Most are to some extent, but if it's enough to bother you while playing it's a problem. The pickup is attached to the guitar body, so mechanical noise, e.g. the bell crank hitting the pedal stop, which is attached to the body, is carried through the pickup the same as a knock on the pickup itself.

Is this guitar new, or just new to you? If it's a new guitar, maybe the manufacturer would replace the pickup for you. Otherwise getting the pickup rewound, maybe by Jerry Wallace? (look for Truetone under Links>Manufacturers>Related Products and Services at the top of the Forum pages), or possibly getting someone who knows what they're doing to wax pot it (it's a touchy job and can ruin the pickup if not done right) should solve the problem--or, of course, getting a replacement pickup yourself.

[Bob Hoffnar]

If you are talking about that clacking type sound from the pedals you can get rid of it some times by putting some sort of soft rubber thing in between the pickup and what it is mounted to. On some guitars the pickup can be mounted directly on the neck so you will hear some body resonance coming through the electronics. It does not sound like you have a microphonic pickup from your discription. It could just be a mounting issue. It is a super easy fix.

[Brint Hannay]

It's true the problem might be helped by putting some form of "shock absorption" under the pickup, whether a hunk of foam under the pickup body or rubber tubing over the mounting screws, but the mounting screws are still physically connecting the guitar body (or neck) and the pickup, so it can't quite be entirely isolated from body noise. Still, It might very well reduce the problem well enough, so Bob is right, you should certainly try that first.

[Gary Shepherd]

I had thought of that. Haven't tried it yet but I intend to if things ever slow down. Any other tips?

[Dale Hansen]

Gary,
You can also deaden it by using seat cushion foam. Cut it into a block about an inch and a half deep, by about four inches. Then cut slits into the foam, about equal to your string spacing, not quite halfway through, on both sides. Now, worm it, and work it in between the rods somewhere between the pickups, and the middle of the guitar. This will help reduce the transmission of sound from the pedal through the linkage. You want to make it lie as natural looking as possible, with the foam fingers stretching up, and down, separating the rods. Check your rods for too much drag on the foam though, then modify it as needed, to minimize the interference with the mechanics. I wish I had a picture of this for you, to help illustrate. I will draw it out, and e-mail it to you if you'd like.
Your pal, Dale

[Marvin Born]

You didn't say if the guitar was brand new; however, I had exactly the same problem with my 1970 S10 push pull. The A pedal would make a sound when it was used. This problem grew worse over about three month and the B and C pedals were making noises.

I send the pick up back to Ron Lashley and he rewound it on the same machine that it was done on originally and to the same number of turns for 15K ohms. When I re-installed it, the problem was gone.

Ron knows how the pick ups were wound in the first place and it is the exact same process.

I purchased a used pick up from a Forum member to use while mine was gone. It takes about 4 weeks including shipping and glue drying. If you decide to rewind it, let me know and you can borrow my now spare while yours is visiting Emmons.

Marvin

[James Morehead]

I had that same microphonic sound show up on my D-10 Turned out to be a solder joint on my one coiltap switch had gotten bent slightly into the groundpost on the same switch. I spread them back, and my guitar is again, as quiet as a church mouse.

So check your wiring for shorts/ground issues, before you settle on a new pickup.