Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 7:40:10 GMT -6
I know I have been told over and over again that in a guitar circuit, there are no ground loops. But I beg to differ. I have worked on too many guitars to show that one can have them. At least in my understanding of it.
But the one thing that I cannot understand is, If you use shielding tape or paint, then why do I see so many still put grounding wire on the pots? If done correctly, one would not have the need of ground wire going to the pots.
I did one guitar where I put in copper tape first. I then put in the pots and switch in over the copper. I didn't put any ground wires on the pots, and it worked out just fine. Why? Because the pots were grounded on the copper. But wait! Why didn't I have a ground loop? After all the pots were grounded together. Hum...
So many myths! Some are not as much as a myth as more of a miss understanding of how things work. Or how people see things or hear things. Myth of fiction? Hum... Only in the mind of our understanding do we know. LOL!
|
|
|
Post by antares on Sept 30, 2023 7:57:37 GMT -6
With the so-called Mike Richardson wiring on two of my S-types, I deliberately ommitted the pickguard copper foil screen around the pots because it has series parallel options, and in the series options at least one of the pots is lifted away from "ground", so I relied instead on individual pot case wiring with respect to the chosen switch positions. In some positions the tone pots behave a little like a phase control rather than tone as such, I'm not certain but the designer offered the opinion that there is interaction between the tone pots in some switch positions . I quite like it!
でつ e&oe ...
|
|
|
Post by dnic on Sept 30, 2023 9:54:53 GMT -6
Then I contend that the gurus are confusing the guitar's signal with the induced interference Dane. It matters little once the amplifier gets hold of the signal because the levels are no longer inconsequential. This is why star grounding is preferable in a guitar, no loops with star "grounding" Michael Faraday will be rotating in his box! "For Lo! it is written" でつ e&oe ... I star ground anyway. Can't pull anything over on these Ham guys!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 16:24:15 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by antares on Sept 30, 2023 18:31:17 GMT -6
Dane I can write all this stuff with the nagging sure knowledge that there is always going to be someone who will come along and with justification find some way to pull me up short. That's just the way it is. Having a ham ticket is not the be all and end all- we all know about cheque book ham radio- we have a saying at our club; "Whenever a ham buys an antenna, an angel sheds a tear" and believe me many hams buy simple wire antennas that they really should make for themselves. All I try to do is offer notions that make folks stop and think before evangelising mêmes. Especially with advancing years, I find myself having to stop and really try to remember some things. I reckon we can all recognise that!
That 15 myths video was great.
でつ e&oe ...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2023 7:25:00 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by dnic on Oct 1, 2023 7:53:12 GMT -6
Well I guess we can just shut this thread down now that Darrel has spoken. LOL
I love this guy, he has great content and chops are way up there.
|
|
|
Post by dnic on Oct 1, 2023 8:04:43 GMT -6
I'm going to be gleefully ignorant and carry on with my love for alnico!!
|
|
|
Post by antares on Oct 1, 2023 13:55:18 GMT -6
I had a long time correspondent who lived a bit nearer to Philadelphia than New York and he tried his hardest to persuade me to ditch the ceramic pickups in my Firebird and replace them with ceramic (ideally his preferred brand Bare Knuckle.) But I really did warm to the tones of the stock Gibson pickups (pun intended!) and I just couldn't justify the unnecessary expense to scratch an itch that I didn't previously know that I had. After watching that video (and more importantly hearing the differences) I now understand why I was OK with the ceramic mini hummers. That said, I'd still choose AlNiCo, it's just that I'm no longer convinced that one is necessarily any "worse" than the other. I can't bring myself to say better.
That guy passed a couple of years back.
でつ e&oe ...
|
|
|
Post by dnic on Oct 2, 2023 9:00:19 GMT -6
I had a long time correspondent who lived a bit nearer to Philadelphia than New York and he tried his hardest to persuade me to ditch the ceramic pickups in my Firebird and replace them with ceramic (ideally his preferred brand Bare Knuckle.) But I really did warm to the tones of the stock Gibson pickups (pun intended!) and I just couldn't justify the unnecessary expense to scratch an itch that I didn't previously know that I had. After watching that video (and more importantly hearing the differences) I now understand why I was OK with the ceramic mini hummers. That said, I'd still choose AlNiCo, it's just that I'm no longer convinced that one is necessarily any "worse" than the other. I can't bring myself to say better. That guy passed a couple of years back. でつ e&oe ...This goes to support the idea of hearing with the ears and not the eyes or forum blurbs.
|
|
|
Post by antares on Oct 3, 2023 7:45:34 GMT -6
Coated Strings.
I read no end of derogatory remarks about D'Addario coated strings on t'interweb, including that the coating flakes away like dead skin cells and the coating muffles the "tone". What rot? Horse feathers.
I have used them on my acoustics for years and years (including my mandolin.) They sound great to my ears and they stay sounding good too. I rarely break them and I'm one of those that Eddie cites as being too hard on the strings. I just try to avoid fret buzz and that end is not well served by a light touch to my mind. Perhaps that's where the skill comes in?
I even use them on my Heritage Sweet16 carved top. The commentators told me to my face that the bronze wound strings won't work with the pickup. "So why am I using them then?" to which the back foot reply is that they'll be quieter on the wound strings. What absolute rubbish? I've heard all that feldegarbe with stainless-steel strings too, something about not interacting with the magnetic fields while being conveniently ignorant of Faraday's Law. I wish these folks would do as Dane just said and listen with their ears instead of hearing with their eyes.
でつ e&oe ...
|
|
|
Post by dnic on Oct 3, 2023 9:29:12 GMT -6
About coated strings. I'm not sure what the myth was, maybe they don't work with magnetic pickups. I haven't tried that one yet.
I'm not fan of coated strings. I have a lot of guitars come into the shop with coated strings with the coating peeling off. Don't know if that's from hard playing or long life. I personally tried them my own guitar and was not impressed. To me they may last longer but they start out kind of dead from the get go. But one of my things is loving that fresh chime sound of new strings. Does it wear off? Of course and I guess that's the trade off.
Just for info's sake I use Ernie Ball Earthwoods 10s. And if I really want to go crazy I play the Earthwood Rock and Blues set with the nonwound G.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2023 9:51:00 GMT -6
Coated Strings. I read no end of derogatory remarks about D'Addario coated strings on t'interweb, including that the coating flakes away like dead skin cells and the coating muffles the "tone". What rot? Horse feathers. I have used them on my acoustics for years and years (including my mandolin.) They sound great to my ears and they stay sounding good too. I rarely break them and I'm one of those that Eddie cites as being too hard on the strings. I just try to avoid fret buzz and that end is not well served by a light touch to my mind. Perhaps that's where the skill comes in? I even use them on my Heritage Sweet16 carved top. The commentators told me to my face that the bronze wound strings won't work with the pickup. "So why am I using them then?" to which the back foot reply is that they'll be quieter on the wound strings. What absolute rubbish? I've heard all that feldegarbe with stainless-steel strings too, something about not interacting with the magnetic fields while being conveniently ignorant of Faraday's Law. I wish these folks would do as Dane just said and listen with their ears instead of hearing with their eyes. でつ e&oe ...I used coated string for years on my acoustic guitars. I feel that they last longer and keep a better sound over all. Back when I was playing everyday in bands, I was changing strings 2 times a week. I started using the coated string and went to two time a month. The coated strings cost more, but look at the savings over time.
More times than not, if the coating did start to come off, it was time to change the strings. What a lot of people seem to forget with strings, no mater how long they last, is that strings to get flat on the bottom over time. This will affect the notes of the string being in tune or out of tune. A lot of guitars that I have worked on had more issues with the strings being dead. Not the guitar itself. I have a guitar that I have not changed the string on in over a year. It has flat wound strings on it. LOL! Yes, it is way overdue for me to change the strings. But it is just now starting to have that dead sound in the strings. Next time I have that guitar out, I'll change the strings.
I have a friend of mine that uses electric guitar strings on his acoustic guitars. I used to set up his acoustics so that he could use 9s on them. For him, it was a way so that he could still play his acoustic guitars. He is hitting 80 years old, and he says his fingers can't take the tension of an acoustic string.
His acoustics sound OK. But plugged in, I don't hear any difference once the EQs are set. So for him, it works out. He can still play his acoustic guitars and play with comfort.
To me, technique of playing is everything. Over choking or squeezing hard on strings is hard on the player and the guitar. I had one customer that was bringing me his guitars in all the time to have frets put in. He was squeezing the string so hard that in no time he had divots in the frets that went down to the fret board. I told him if you would spend some time with me, I could help him play with a liter touch. He did just that, after some work I got him not to be so hard on his guitars. Yep, I didn't have to keep on replacing frets for him. LOL! But he also became a much better player.
I have used all makes of string over the years. I found that some are good and some are not so good. I stick with the brand I use because they stand behind their string. One time I got a bad set (off of eBay) The strings were too short. I emailed the seller and like usual they did nothing. So I emailed the string maker and sent the info they needed. They told me that they had a bad run on some string and that these were part of that run that had gotten sent out. So they not only sent me a new set of string, they sent me 4 sets for free! Well, need I say more. I use their string all the time now. I don't even try and use another brand. But to me, they are also the most consistent made string out there. I have never been disappointed in them.
But again, like so many things, use what you like, play the instrument that makes you happy. After all, it is you that is playing the guitar and not someone else. HA!
|
|
|
Post by GuitarAttack Forum on Oct 3, 2023 12:18:40 GMT -6
Well I guess we can just shut this thread down now that Darrel has spoken. LOL I love this guy, he has great content and chops are way up there. Dane -- That is the tough part. If we approached guitar with anything other than emotion, I don't believe any of us would have started playing! I got yelled at by the famous Bill Lawrence when I stated I thought Alnico sounded better. He said, "MAGNETS DON'T HAVE A SOUND." He then proceeded to berate me concerning capacitance, reactance, inductance, impedance, etc. John
|
|
|
Post by antares on Oct 3, 2023 14:52:58 GMT -6
And I believe he was largely correct too John.
After Joe Barden ceased production first time around, Fender turned to Bill for a continiung supply of like performing pickups for their ludicrously over-priced Danny Gatton Tele. As good as it is I still believe that guitar to be over- priced. They still install Bill Lawrence's pick ups in that instrument so far as I'm aware even though second generation Bardens have been available for years now. I have original Bardens on my Danny Gatton Tele, and I can confirm that they are as widely reported unforgiving and bright sounding, powerful as well as noise free.
But coated strings; I am puzzled as to how folks are witnessing the coating shedding. I think Elixir do coated strings too but I've never tried them. It's a case of why change what works. I can go 12-18 months on a set of D'Addarios on my acoustic that sees the most action. Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (for I think that is what the coating is?) is a very poor wearing substance and would wear through very rapidly in use anyway, especially with bends and vibrato. The coating is microscopically thin and really only serves to stop dirt lodging down between the wrap wires. Although I cannot substantiate it, I believe that by preventing the dirt, the orginal ex-packet brightness is retained for much longer. Uncoated strings get lodged with dirt, grease and shed skin cells rapidly, and all we are in effect doing is exchanging that cocktail for PTFE. I know what I'd rather have between my string windings! Wiping down the strings (which I admit I do with a bit of chamois leather kept in the case) cannot possibly clean the muck from between the windings. My money goes with the coated strings. Others definitely experience differing levels of fuel consumption, which is just how things should be.
Boiling strings in water then? A myth? I'm not sure what it does to the strings on a molecular level, probably nothing at 100 celsius, but it must at least free some of the dirt. I just can't see strings being refitted on any regular basis so I'm going to call that a myth.
でつ e&oe ...
|
|