Lollar Pickups Blog

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All About Guitar Pickup “Hum” or Noise – part 3

Posted on February 15, 2010 by admin

Any final thoughts on what I can do about noise from my guitar pickups?

This is part 3 of our 3-part series on guitar pickup noise. This section describes a few gear modifications that you can consider, and also talks about a few electronic devices that some players have had success with.

I love the sound of my single coil pickups, but the noise really bothers me – is there anything else I can do?

After all is said and done, a Fender style guitar can have close to 5 feet of non-shielded, cloth covered wire.

There are also a few direct modifications to your gear that are possibilities to consider. One thing you can try is to replace all of the unshielded wire inside the guitar with shielded cable. Any length of unshielded wire much longer than an inch can sense the 120 cycle frequency. Fender guitars are typically loaded with about 5 feet of single conductor non-shielded lead wire. However, you have to think about this strategy before you do it. This is because replacing the lead wire with shielded cable can lead to a slight amount of high frequency loss. Your guitar may sound slightly darker after making this swap, which is the drawback of this modification. Another thing to consider is a shielding paint. Some builders we work with paint all of the control & pickup cavities with a conductive shielding paint. It is easy to get hold of at Stewart MacDonald’s guitar supply. You paint all of the cavities and also the back of the pickguard. After this is done, and dried of course, you have to attach a ground wire to it. With this approach you can also loose a little high end. The other draw back of shielding the cavities is that it’s easy to short out your signal if a lug on a pot or switch touches the shielding paint.

I have heard that there are some other devices out there that can help with reducing noise, is that true?

There are in fact some electronic ways of dealing with guitar pickup hum. For example, a noise gate is a device that will sense the difference between when you are playing and when you’re not playing. It will cut off the signal from your guitar when you’re not playing. You set the minimal volume level, and then it automatically cuts off the signal to the amp when the volume goes below this (when you’re not playing). Unfortunately, this can sometimes sound unnatural, and it can also limit your dynamic range. There is also a device called a hum de-bugger. The manufacturer indicates that it is not a noise gate – they call it a hum extractor. I haven’t used one myself, so I can’t comment on its effectiveness. What I can say is that when you are working with certain gear combinations, or if you are headed for a venue that you’re unfamiliar with, then having several noise suppression devices to work with can only be a good thing.

What do professional musicians have to say about single coil noise?

I have talked to many professional players who tour and record with single coil pickups. Many of them claim that hum is not an issue. Obviously they have learned to deal with it by paying attention to their surroundings and finding a good place and direction to stand. Most often there is a “sweet spot” where noise is dramatically reduced just by pointing your guitar in a different direction. For even more detail on this, please see parts #1 and #2 of this 3-part series.

All About Guitar Pickup “Hum” or Noise – part 2

Posted on February 8, 2010 by admin

How can I manage the noise my guitar is making?

This is part 2 of our 3-part series on guitar pickup noise. This section describes some of the ways to solve or at least manage the noise you may be hearing from your guitar.

Everything checks out – so how can I deal with the noise I’m still hearing?

The easiest way to stop or at least minimize the 60 cycle hum is by using RWRP pickup sets and then putting your pickup selector in a middle position so that it runs 2 of your single coils together at the same time. By doing this much of the 60 cycle hum will at least be reduced.

Before I switch to the middle position, is there anything else I can do to reduce the guitar pickup hum I’m hearing?

Here is a good checklist of some of the major things you can address:

1-Dimmer switches and ceiling fans. If you have one of these on the same circuit you have your amp plugged into you will get a lot of 60 cycle hum. In fact, you can get so much that it will overpower your amp. Plug into another circuit!

2-Proximity to a neon sign. These can cause a lot of noise. Turn it off if possible. If you are playing in a venue where they want to leave it on, see if it can be moved—at least for a few hours.

3-Amp ground switch positioning. If you are using a vintage amp, and a Fender in particular, make sure that you have the ground switch in the correct position.

Make sure to check the ground switch on you amp. Your amp can be a source of noise if not properly grounded.

4- Proper outlet wiring. Believe it or not, I have found many miswired sockets in a number of different clubs. So checking your wall outlet can sometimes solve the problem—especially if you have ruled out all of the other more obvious causes. You can get a simple circuit tester at most hardware stores. When you plug it into the wall there are a series of lights that will tell you if the outlet is wired properly. These testers are only a few dollars and they will show you if the outlet is reverse wired. They will also show you if the ground in the outlet is connected or not.

5-When you are not playing, keep your hands on the strings. You can also roll the volume off all the way.

So there is no “one size fits all” answer, is there?

Generally speaking, minimizing noise with single coils is a matter of looking around and seeing what is causing the interference. If all else fails throw that selector switch into the middle position on a 2 pickup guitar, or in either the 2 or 4 position on a 3 pickup guitar. That is what an RWRP pickup is made for—that middle position is the hum-canceling position. I agree it’s not the ideal solution, but it does give you an alternative to bailing out on a bad situation.

All About Guitar Pickup “Hum” or Noise – part 1

Posted on February 1, 2010 by admin

Is the noise from my new Lollar pickups “normal?”

We will be publishing a three part series on guitar pickup noise. In this series you will be able to read the main questions we get on this subject. Each of the questions will be followed by a thorough answer or discussion.

I just got my new pickups installed and I seem to notice more noise than I’m used to. Is there a problem?

It is interesting to note that one of the most common “causes” and “solutions” to hearing noise from your new pickups is recognizing the fact that they are brand new. In other words, we find that just after a new set of pickups is installed, our customers are listening to their guitars much more intensely than usual. You are listening to the new pickups for the first few times, in much greater detail, and you are paying more attention to them. We typically recommend that you do a side by side comparison of your new set and a set you are “used” to. The best way to do this is simply get out another guitar that you’re familiar with and switch back and forth. After doing this a few times, most players realize that the new set is actually similar, if not better, when compared against a familiar guitar.

I hear a little noise from single coils AND humbuckers, what’s the difference?

Lollar Imperial Humbuckers will cancel 60 cycle hum

Single coils are sensitive to both 60 and 120 cycle noise. Of course humbuckers cancel the very loud, low frequency noise of the 60 cycle frequency. But all pickups will sense the 120 cycle frequency. Fortunately it can be displaced by shielding and having your strings grounded. For example, when you touch the strings most of the 120 cycle goes away. The most distracting is the 60 cycle hum, because the only thing that will quiet it is actually moving the position of the guitar relative to your position on the stage or in the room. In other words, the solution to this is simply standing in a different place.

If I hear a little noise from my new pickups, is there something wrong with the pickup?

Lollar P90s have a large coil, which can cause noise

The noise is not the pickup itself – it is caused by external electro magnetically generated fields. The pickup is basically acting like an antenna and “receiving” the signals generated by this electrical field. Also, the size of the coil can have an effect on how much noise is generated – a bigger antenna has a better ability to receive these signals. So that means a P-90 or Charlie Christian with a large wide coil will be noisier than a narrower, taller Fender type coil.

Lap Steel Modification for Lollar Supro Pickup

Posted on November 2, 2009 by admin

I have been using a very cheaply made lap steel that is available from several sources- you’ll see them on online music stores and eBay. The last two I bought were labeled “Rogue” and these came with screw on adjustable legs- I really like to have the legs as my first real non pedal steel was a 50’s Fender Stringmaster 8 string triple neck.

“Rogue” brand lap steel with legs

I got these from Musician’s Friend for around $80 each including a heavy duty soft shell case, the oldest one I have was labeled “Artisan” and it came with no legs but at any rate I extensively modified the guitars. The most important thing I did was I replaced the nut and bridge and I converted the guitars to a string through body like an old Telecaster. These cheap little lap steels make a useable rig if you take the time to set them up right and put a good pickup and electronics in them. If you can’t do this work yourself I suggest patronizing one of the many fine lap steel builders working in the USA today many of which offer my pickups as standard fare and are listed on my website. The quality of lap steels being made today by these small businesses can not be equaled or surpassed by these cheap import models and they often exceed the quality of the finest vintage instruments.

These lap steels originally come with a narrower spaced nut and bridge (the bridge is a standard guitar bridge which is too narrow). Wider string spacing makes bar slants and finger pickup much easier. For slanting the bar (a sort of advanced technique) wider string spacing makes it easier to play in tune and the wider string spacing makes it easier to bend strings behind the bar to get pedal steel type sounds.

Look at the photos and you’ll see I just used some angle iron and I made a nut and bridge about 9/16″ tall. Typical lap steel string spread at the nut is about 1-31/32″ and at the bridge 2-3/16″ compared to on a guitar 1-5/8″ and 2-1/16″.

Angle iron bridge and 1/8" spacer — Angle iron bridge and 1/8″ spacer

I painted the angle iron with black “Hammerite” which you can get at any paint store. The bridge and nut were 9/16″ tall, so the Supro® pickup needed a 1/8″ shim to be in proper alignment.

Holes were drilled for new ferrules and output jack

As you’ll see in this photo, I also modified the guitar by drilling holes all the way through the body and put string ferrules in the back.

I also relocated the output jack to the side of the guitar rather than where it was originally located in the pickgaurd. This required a hole to be drilled for the jack and a new jack plate needed to be made.

I also routed the pickup cavity out so I could mount a variety of pickups. This step is not necessary if you mount only the Supro®.

In this photo you can see I made a new pickgaurd out of plastic. This turned out to be much easier than working with the original metal pickgaurd.

I also replaced the fingerboard. This was not a necessary step. But I have the tools to do it, so I went ahead and put some lipstick on the pig – so to speak.

The only snag was only two of the 4 mounting screws for the pickup actually bit into wood – the two mounting screws closest to the fingerboard are machine screws which I made two threaded holes in the pickgaurd for them to tighten up against because the screws were located over the route for the original pickup which was quite deep. The pickup is mounted plenty solid this way.

To learn more about the Lollar Supro® lap steel pickup, visit our web site.

Supro®, and the “Supro Lightning Bolt design” are registered trademarks of Zinky Electronics, LLC. Lollar Supro style pickups are a limited production, under license of Supro USA.

Lollar Supro Steel Guitar Pickup Now Available

Posted on October 26, 2009 by admin

Our Lollar String-Through Steel pickup is a reproduction of the old Supro® / Valco / Oahu pickup. This original pickup was used on a wide selection lap steel designs made by different makers and they were used on a few electric Spanish guitars (regular finger style guitars) like the Supro Ozark. This type of pickup was also used on the first Ry Cooder “Coodercaster”.

Lollar Supro style pickup - bottom view — Lollar Supro style pickup – bottom view

This pickup is unusually clear and detailed in tone for how much output it has. I have made the pickup the exact same size as the original with the exception of its bottom plate which I have made smaller so it will fit on a variety of guitars and the bridge is not built into the pickup like the originals. The pickup is meant to mount like any other typical guitar pickup rather than being part of the bridge and tailpiece like the originals are.

This pickup has two coils—one under the bottom three strings and one under the top three. The coils are wound so they dramatically reduce 60 cycle hum (humbucking) however the pickup still sounds like a single coil. In order for the pickup to work correctly and get good volume balance between the strings the coils are out of phase with each other—if we arranged the magnets so the coils were in phase with each other the pickup would give you bad string volume balance- some strings would be much louder than others so it’s the nature of the design that it works best with the coils out of phase with each other but because each coil senses different strings their phase doesn’t matter. HOWEVER this DOES present a problem if you install this pickup into a guitar with more than one pickup. If you combine this pickup (typically installed in the bridge position) with a neck pickup or any other pickup in any position and you use both at once in combination half of the strings will be in phase and half will be out of phase. This is only a problem if you run two pickups at once.

Installation requires a route approximately 1/8″ deep to allow room for the pole pieces and screws that hold the pickup top plate to the bottom.

Lollar Supro spacer has a thickness of 1/8" — Lollar Supro spacer has a thickness of 1/8″

The pickup is shipped with a 1/8″ tall spacer that fits under the pickup that is routed for the pickup screws so combined with the spacer the pickup can be flush mounted on top of the guitar. A variety of spacer thicknesses are available if needed. They vary from 1-32″ to ¼” thick and can be used for mounting the pickup on a variety of guitars.

Lollar Supro pickup with spacer installed

Most guitars with Gibson style bridges will need the pickup shimmed up to align with the strings properly. On Fender guitars the pickup will likely need mounted onto the surface of the pickgaurd.

The strings run under the top metal plate so they sit between the top plate and the adjustable pole pieces. Ideally your strings will sit midway between the top plate and the pole piece.

For a radiused set of strings (most guitars except lap steels) you will need to set the lowest and highest strings about midway between the top plate and the adjustable poles, your center strings will be closer to the top plate so you will need to raise the poles so the strings are equidistant between the plate and pole.

It’s more important for the strings to line up with the pole pieces than on many other pickup designs, alignment and adjustment is almost critical. The pickup is also shipped with a routing diagram.

The next blog posting “Lap Steel Modification for Lollar Supro Pickup” will describe how to modify an entry-level lap steel, and give you some tips on installing the Lollar String-Through Steel (Supro-style) pickup.

Learn about our String-Through Steel pickup.

Supro®, and the “Supro Lightning Bolt design” are registered trademarks of Zinky Electronics, LLC. Lollar Supro style pickups are a limited production, under license of Supro USA.