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Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:22 pm
by auxiliaryjoel
Here's one of my "good" jags behaving well:
Link 1

And here's the trouble one:
Link 2

They're both CIJ Jaguars.
The trouble one has had pure vintage 65 pickups installed by a tech but it still keeps squealing.

Same settings as other jag. Same 2 pedals engaged: whirlwind Goldbox (vintage Mxr d+ distortion) and then a Crowther hot cake added on top (drive on hot cake is at noon - just on breakup).

To avoid the squeal on the trouble Jag I have to dial my tone knob on guitar down to around 40% which makes everything sound like a#%.

I've got pure vintage 65 pickups in my American Jazzmaster and pure vintage 65 (or 62) pickups in my other (AO) Jag, and neither of those 2 have this issue either.

The tech said he found a grounding flaw and fixed it, which makes the "bad" Jag not display any 60cycle hum at all. But it just can't deal with gain, starts squealing like that all the time.
Doesn't matter how far away from amp I am or what angle I'm on.
If it's not the pickups (they've been swapped to pure vintage 65s and they come wax potted i'm pretty sure) - then what else would be the cause?

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:43 pm
by Embenny
Microphonic feedback happens when something in the signal path is vibrating, so the easiest way to troubleshoot it is to find - and then secure/replace - whatever is vibrating. Does this happen on one pickup, or both?

Turn on the gain, get it to squeal, and then start grabbing and pressing firmly on things. For example, on my old MIJ Jaguar, it was the claws that were microphonic. If I pinched and held both sides of the claw, the squeal stopped. So, I potted my pickups with the claws on, which immobilized them and ended the squealing.

That's the only thing that will answer the question definitively - anything else is just a guess.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:49 pm
by auxiliaryjoel
Oh ok cheers.
Does it a little on neck pickup but a LOT on bridge pickup.
I will do that test.
Out of curiosity- the pure vintage 65s are advertised as being wax potted: does that mean they've already potted the claws or or are they just referring to the pickups ?

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 6:21 pm
by OffYourFace
make sure the foam under the pickups is firm enough to add good pressue. You can add a few slivers of candle wax between the claw and pickup and heat it with a hair dryer for a better connection. Re-flowing the wax on the coils doesn't hurt either. I've done that with squealy vintage JM pickups and it worked nicely.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:06 pm
by pikmin
auxiliaryjoel wrote:
Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:22 pm
Here's one of my "good" jags behaving well:
Link 1

And here's the trouble one:
Link 2

They're both CIJ Jaguars.
The trouble one has had pure vintage 65 pickups installed by a tech but it still keeps squealing.

Same settings as other jag. Same 2 pedals engaged: whirlwind Goldbox (vintage Mxr d+ distortion) and then a Crowther hot cake added on top (drive on hot cake is at noon - just on breakup).

To avoid the squeal on the trouble Jag I have to dial my tone knob on guitar down to around 40% which makes everything sound like a#%.

I've got pure vintage 65 pickups in my American Jazzmaster and pure vintage 65 (or 62) pickups in my other (AO) Jag, and neither of those 2 have this issue either.

The tech said he found a grounding flaw and fixed it, which makes the "bad" Jag not display any 60cycle hum at all. But it just can't deal with gain, starts squealing like that all the time.
Doesn't matter how far away from amp I am or what angle I'm on.
If it's not the pickups (they've been swapped to pure vintage 65s and they come wax potted i'm pretty sure) - then what else would be the cause?
I had the same problem on mine … I followed Curtis Novak instructions ,
I put some melted paraffin ( from a candle it can work really well ) , on the base of the pickups and of the claws , if you can between the pickup and the claws . Problem solved.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:22 pm
by JSett
The test Mike outlined above with pushing/squeezing things is my first check on anything like this. It often happens if the pickguard is touching the pickup in any way as it acts like a giant contact microphone. If that doesn't make any difference then, I'd try quickly de-soldering one claw from a pickup (usually the bridge) and seeing if that does the trick. I had a brand new pair of PV65's arrive as microphonic once so don't discount that as a possibility.

Most pickup manufacturers will do you the service of potting a pair for not much $£ if you ask them nicely. I think I paid £20 plus shipping to have some done and it cured them instantly. It's usually cheaper and faster to find someone who makes pickups that isn't one of the big name builders. Not ideal with new pickups but just something that can happen and cheap/easy to sort. Desolder, post off, wait, resolder, win.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:49 pm
by auxiliaryjoel
Out of curiosity if there's no tape or paint shielding in the wiring recesses, will that cause the squeal?

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:38 pm
by Embenny
auxiliaryjoel wrote:
Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:49 pm
Out of curiosity if there's no tape or paint shielding in the wiring recesses, will that cause the squeal?
No, but it'll make for a noisier guitar. Microphonic squeal can only come from the mechanical vibration of a component in the signal path - that's what a microphone is, after all.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:43 pm
by hexes
my money is on a claw that has been loosened from the pickup. I did this to my PV65 bridge when installing new pickup covers, The fit was tight so I slowly and gently pressed the new cover on but then heard a click, the claw had come loose. with the pickup unmounted, I could gently wiggle the claw and hear it click loudly through the amp.

caused some gnarly microphonics. I shot it with some lacquer to adhere everything but I'm not certain that's the best long-term fix.

I would have the tech investigate if the claw came loose during their install work.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:50 am
by auxiliaryjoel
The tech in town here is not familiar with jags. Super friendly and helpful but he could not aid me on this one.
But following advise in this thread, I flaked off slivers of a candle with a Stanley knife and pushed them between the claws and the plastic on my pickups and melted them in place with a hair dryer and now the squealing has stopped when I run my distortion and hot cake together.
Still happens if I have d+ and hot cake together with only one pickup on, but that's not an issue for me as my Jag sound has always been "both pickups on".
Thanks so much to everyone's replies here - I'm so glad I found a solution that I could use to remedy it myself.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:02 pm
by OffYourFace
excellent!

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:31 pm
by JSett
Good to hear you found a solution. It's almost always something vibrating where it shouldn't be on these.

Re: Japanese Jaguar is microphonic even after pickup swap

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:27 am
by pikmin
auxiliaryjoel wrote:
Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:50 am
The tech in town here is not familiar with jags. Super friendly and helpful but he could not aid me on this one.
But following advise in this thread, I flaked off slivers of a candle with a Stanley knife and pushed them between the claws and the plastic on my pickups and melted them in place with a hair dryer and now the squealing has stopped when I run my distortion and hot cake together.
Still happens if I have d+ and hot cake together with only one pickup on, but that's not an issue for me as my Jag sound has always been "both pickups on".
Thanks so much to everyone's replies here - I'm so glad I found a solution that I could use to remedy it myself.
Nice , I’m glad it worked for you too …