help with pickup for vintage gibson acoustic.

[jascha]

hi all. new member, hope this is the right section...

I have a 1968 Gibson Blueridge acoustic guitar. It has a single coil Fishman Rare Earth pickup installed in the soundhole. I use it in live settings with a full, (four or more piece) band.

Lately I've been having problems on larger stages where the pickup is picking up hum from the lights. It creates a horrible buzz and I've actually quit using it.

How can I correct this problem?

The sound I get from the Fishman pickup is fantastic, and plugged in through an amp or small system, there is only normal single-coil noise.
I've tried several noise reduction and filter pedals with unsatisfactory results.
I'm not opposed to an entirely new pickup if there's a much better one out there.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has run into this problem before, and if so, what the solution is; is there an ideal filter or preamp pedal I should be using? A different pickup?

Thanks in advance for advice, hints, and tips.


jascha

[bishopthomas]

Is this happening at certain venues consistently? How do you know it's "from the lights?" The lights should be nowhere near the PA cabling/electricity if properly setup. There is something going on here and if you enjoy the sound of the pickup then don't give up on it just to get rid of some (probably) 60 cycle hum. Tell us more about your setup when getting this hum.

[jascha]

yes, this does happen at a few venues consistently. but it also seems happen anywhere I play.

"from the lights" is what I've been told by several different sound guys, and a couple of other musicians.
(these are cans or LED lights hung up above the stage pointing directly at us)
it seems to be borne out because I've noticed during soundchecks that the amount of hum is reduced if I'm not facing the lights directly; if I turn a little sideways or all the way around.

but I'm certainly no expert on lights or sound frequencies, and it could be something entirely different. I hope it is, it might have an easier solution.

my setup is simplicity; I generally am just running my acoustic through a DI.

if it is just some 60 cycle hum, how do I filter that out?

[Larry Mal]

These products are designed to break up 60 cycle hum:

Hum Eliminators from zZounds.com

On the other hand I have no idea if that's your problem or not, but for the $50-75 it might be worth a shot. I don't know your setup to be able to tell you where to put it in the chain.

Good luck!

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by jascha

yes, this does happen at a few venues consistently. but it also seems happen anywhere I play.

"from the lights" is what I've been told by several different sound guys, and a couple of other musicians.
(these are cans or LED lights hung up above the stage pointing directly at us)
it seems to be borne out because I've noticed during soundchecks that the amount of hum is reduced if I'm not facing the lights directly; if I turn a little sideways or all the way around.

but I'm certainly no expert on lights or sound frequencies, and it could be something entirely different. I hope it is, it might have an easier solution.

my setup is simplicity; I generally am just running my acoustic through a DI.

if it is just some 60 cycle hum, how do I filter that out?

Actually, the lights (unless they're fluorescent or HMI or some other ballast-dependent fixture) are not the problem. The dimmers are the problem... especially if the audio and the lights are on the same leg of power and/or the ground is inadequate.

One possible solution: run your Fishman through a short (3m or less) well-shielded instrument cable (you might also make or have made for you a cable with the shield lifted from the connector that plugs up into the guitar) into a good DI (Radial's $99 passive would be the lower end of that spectrum) and then to the console. If the DI's ground lift removes the buzz, you're good. If you play venues with cheap DIs, invest in a Radial. If the problem persists, it's likely a bad shield/ground in the pickup or its jack.

Second possible solution: Borrow a decent preamp with a DI function and take it to the place you have the problem. Use a short, well-shielded cable from the guitar, and see if the problem persists. If it does, it's likely a bad shield/ground in the pickup or its jack.

If it's the "bad shield/ground in the pickup or its jack", the only thing for it is to get that checked out by a competent repair person.

Or, of you have $400 and want a really nice, natural guitar sound, investigate the DPA line of mini-mics on mini-booms. All it takes is phantom power... see: DPA Microphones :: Microphone Guide

[mixedupsteve]

They make a humbucker version of that pickup too.

[Remoteness]

I say, fix it at the source.
IMHO, a humbucker pickup (like Steve recommended) is the way to go.
Spent the extra bread; it will not only help with your noise problem, you may like the sound of your instrument even more...

Let us know what you ended up doing.