hollow body feedback

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:49 pm

ok, tracy will not give up her hollow body ways, i can't blame her, it sounds great and plays great.
up until recently i was letting her use my big muff turned down a bit for the distorted stuff.
but recently she grabbed me super overdrive plugged it in and after about 3 hours she said she wanted one for herself(great.....)
only problem is..... the feedback from a full sized hollow body.
she has the settings that she wants all that jazz.
so my general question is.
besides stuffing the thing full of linens, does anyone have any ideas on how to cut back on the vibration/feedback?
i told her to suck it up and play a solid body, and then she told me to suck it up and fix it since im the "luthier"
i digressed and agreed.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:28 pm

you gotta just rock the feedback.

analogsystem · Post by **analogsystem** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:34 pm

so the big muff didn't feedback but the super overdrive did?

tell her to stand as far from the amp as possible and not use much more than a mild overdrive......or else get a semi-hollow like a 335 with the center block.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:47 pm

There is a company that sells plugs for the F holes on the internet. Its basically black rubber shaped to fit the hole

you could prolly do it yourself. Back in the day people used to stuff them with paper. The pups wax potted?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:42 pm

Stuff it with cotton or foam, cover the F holes from the back.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:13 pm

the big muff had the sustain turned all the way down and basically just created some crunch, but the boss sd-1 gives it a GREAT sound but even with being 15 feet away from the amp its still uncontrolable.
the pups are deffinitly waxed up,
they are low output washburn humbuckers.
the f-hole feedbackbuster is something that i would be into getting,
stuffing a full sized hollow body full of linen/paper/ whatever would take forever, and plus the electronics are not taped to the top, so knowing my luck i would rip something loose.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:04 pm

Do they make a feedback destroyer type of pedal? One that would attenuate the frequency that is causing the feedback?

Post by **Hurb** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:25 pm

The behringer noise reducer would be an easy option to kill the feedbacks.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:57 am

altho does it kill some of the dynamics?
i know i tried one once with my ds-1 and i remember thinking that it just made everything sound like it was comming thru a tube.
its wasn't a berhinger tho.
(did you get paid to say that?)

Al_ · Post by **Al_** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:07 am

Not sure about the noise reducer. I've got a feedback destroyer I used to use on the PA, but after about 45 mins of playing through it it would end up sucking all the high end frequencies out. Might do better on a guitar amp; though I'd make sure you could take it back.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:25 am

I use an Archtop (Epiphone Emperor Regent) with the Tom Waits thing I play on. I'd usually be using my Marshall halfstack with it, but manage to get away without much feedback.

I've done all the obvious things, like stuff it with toilet roll and I put a folded ujp sock behind the bridge.

It's still pretty bad if I'm in front of the amp, but you sort of learn to get used to it. It's definitely not like playing a regular electric, I always have to think about where my right hand is, and how I can damp the strings to stop the feedback, without losing the nice droning open strings that guitarist love.

I find that certain notes in certain places will feedback like mad. Sort of, harmonically live notes, like octaves at the twelfth fret, or playing at the seventh fret will do it. Also, you should try to avoid notes that are going to be sympathetic with open strings, so don't play a G (say, the tenth fret on the A string) whilst the G string is left unmuted. This sort of feedback will also happen with notes that are a fifth apart, or a fourth.

I think it's sort of unavoidable, but by changing your technique you can make things a lot easier for yourself.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:59 am

Your guitar should start to gradually feedback when your remove your hand from the guitar strings, this would be normal. But for it to squeal uncontrollably is not. FEEDBACK IS FUN.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:16 am

Fill the f-holes with boners.

Post by **Hurb** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:39 am

robert(original) wrote:altho does it kill some of the dynamics?
i know i tried one once with my ds-1 and i remember thinking that it just made everything sound like it was comming thru a tube.
its wasn't a berhinger tho.
(did you get paid to say that?)

haha no

Actually to be fair the noise reducer does stop microphonic feedback..but I cant be certain that it would stop feedback from a hollow body..it should though.
The pedal I have doesn't effect tone no. just make sure you put it after fuzz, but before delays. and it is koolio.

Post by **Doog** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:55 am

Tell her you fixed the guitar, and in secret, pull the knob off the gain dial on the Boss, and put it back on but bit higher. Same setting = less gain = less feedback, and I bet you she won't notice!

WIN WIN WIN

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:03 pm

Doog wrote:Tell her you fixed the guitar, and in secret, pull the knob off the gain dial on the Boss, and put it back on but bit higher. Same setting = less gain = less feedback, and I bet you she won't notice!

WIN WIN WIN

This idea works wonders! Our bass player used to always complain he couldn't hear himself and would always crank his volume up and be overbearingly loud. So after practice one time I pulled the volume knob off and clocked it forward so it looked like it was cranked up, and he never noticed, in fact he rolled the knob back some because he claimed he didn't want to be "diming" his amp all the time.

He is going deaf, he never wears earplugs and he's been in loud bands for 12yrs. That is the real reason he can't hear what he plays.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:26 pm

yeah.... i guess that could work, im gonna let her play on the fender blender for tonights practice.
let her figure something out.