undercarriage noise in recordings
Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn
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undercarriage noise in recordings
I recently tried to reduce the amount of undercarriage noise that is getting transmitted through the pickup on my emmons p/p. I read a bunch of threads on this issue and tried 1/2" rubber foam beneath the pickup. I also tried foam and then rubber bands on the pedal rod hooks, as that contact point was producing a lot of clicking noise. The worst noise though seems to come from the changer fingers hitting the endplate adjustment screws. Not sure what to do about that. It's really more the clicking than the rattling that is a problem for me.
Has anyone had any success in damping these sounds in ways I might not be aware of? I don't really want to seal the pickup.
Here are some pictures of my attempted solutions, which got me 30 to 40% of the way there I'd say. Did I do anything stupid?
Has anyone had any success in damping these sounds in ways I might not be aware of? I don't really want to seal the pickup.
Here are some pictures of my attempted solutions, which got me 30 to 40% of the way there I'd say. Did I do anything stupid?
1982 Emmons D10
Pretty new to Push Pulls. Played through my recording setup doing a solo and did not hear any noise from the mechanism getting onto the recording. Perhaps the pickup is the culprit. Not sure but if it is getting microphonic, that could be a cause of your problem.
Hopefully one of the experts can step in and help.
regards,
Hopefully one of the experts can step in and help.
regards,
Mark T
Rittenberry Laquer D10, Rittenberry Prestige SD10, Revelation Preamp,Revelation Octal Preamp,Lexicon PCM 92 Reverb, Furlong Cabinet
Rittenberry Laquer D10, Rittenberry Prestige SD10, Revelation Preamp,Revelation Octal Preamp,Lexicon PCM 92 Reverb, Furlong Cabinet
If you've narrowed it to the "split" screws, you could put a dab of Plasti-Dip on the very tips of the screws: Plasti-Dip is the rubbery stuff designed to make hand tools rubber-gripped.
There are also Delrin "top hats" for screws that will turn metal-to-metal contact into metal-to-Delrin.
For a temporary solution that I don't like, put a small spot of Gorilla Tape (or those felt dots for furniture feet) on the fingers where they meet the screws.
There are also Delrin "top hats" for screws that will turn metal-to-metal contact into metal-to-Delrin.
For a temporary solution that I don't like, put a small spot of Gorilla Tape (or those felt dots for furniture feet) on the fingers where they meet the screws.
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
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More amps than guitars, and not many effects
- Bill Moore
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Bill, thanks for the advice. I recorded from the DI out on my peterson stomp classic and send the signal from the line out of the tuner to the amp. You're saying that the noises could be in the one but not the other? If the noises are getting in the pickup won't they be transmitted in the DI signal and to the amp and thus amplified?Bill Moore wrote:Maybe your recording technique is the problem. If you are recording direct, you will probably pick up some of those noises. Perhaps isolate the guitar from the amp, maybe put it in another room, and turn up the amp to a reasonable level. That is what I would try.
I'm pretty sure the noises in the mic are from the electric signal from the pickup.
1982 Emmons D10
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- Bill Moore
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I cannot explain why my brain turned push-pull into Carter.
For the push-pull, if you're hearing them loudly enough in the signal to be annoying at levels above 'bedroom level,' you definitely have a microphonic pickup, and you can either replace the pickup or try to put a thin layer of dense foam or rubber between the pickup and the bracket it mounts on.
I'd attack it there rather than try to quiet every single part of the undercarriage.
For the push-pull, if you're hearing them loudly enough in the signal to be annoying at levels above 'bedroom level,' you definitely have a microphonic pickup, and you can either replace the pickup or try to put a thin layer of dense foam or rubber between the pickup and the bracket it mounts on.
I'd attack it there rather than try to quiet every single part of the undercarriage.
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
Hamilton,
It could be that your pickups or your guitar cables are microphonic. If so they will amplify every click on any guitar. George L's and Bill Lawrence cables are known for going microphonic....
The pedal stops for tuning should function as definite as possible...Metal to metal is the absolute best for stable tuning...Putting any type of softening between metal to metal contacts will cause unstable tuning issues because they start to wear. As a side note, the reason a PP sounds the way it does is largely due tothe very things that make it click......
Good news....The guitars were recorded 20 years before iso booths or going direct was prominent...I would not go direct no matter what....Use an amp and throw a blanket over it to baffle outside noise away from the microphone. Or move the steel 10 feet from the amp and microphone...Use a directional mic like the 421...Mic it slightly off center (About 2'' left or right of the center cone for the best tone).
My 2 cents
Paul
It could be that your pickups or your guitar cables are microphonic. If so they will amplify every click on any guitar. George L's and Bill Lawrence cables are known for going microphonic....
The pedal stops for tuning should function as definite as possible...Metal to metal is the absolute best for stable tuning...Putting any type of softening between metal to metal contacts will cause unstable tuning issues because they start to wear. As a side note, the reason a PP sounds the way it does is largely due tothe very things that make it click......
Good news....The guitars were recorded 20 years before iso booths or going direct was prominent...I would not go direct no matter what....Use an amp and throw a blanket over it to baffle outside noise away from the microphone. Or move the steel 10 feet from the amp and microphone...Use a directional mic like the 421...Mic it slightly off center (About 2'' left or right of the center cone for the best tone).
My 2 cents
Paul
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- Ricky Davis
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I totally agree with Paul(of course..ha.) as this is the only way I record. I too play a VERY old mechanical Pedal steel with single coil pickup and I get NO complaints of noise or hum on many movie soundtracks and commercials I'm on...which to me is the most delicate recordings.I would not go direct no matter what....Use an amp and throw a blanket over it to baffle outside noise away from the microphone. Or move the steel 10 feet from the amp and microphone...Use a directional mic like the 421...Mic it slightly off center (About 2'' left or right of the center cone for the best tone).
My 2 cents
Paul
Ricky
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- Tommy Detamore
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I get it with my PP's and my perm. It's usually never really an issue unless I'm sustaining something with the volume pedal during a quite moment in a track, and I activate a pedal or a lever. If it is egregious enough I remove the "clack" from the audio file manually with Izotope RX
Tommy Detamore
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Yes, I have been doing quite a bit of izotope voodoo!Tommy Detamore wrote:I get it with my PP's and my perm. It's usually never really an issue unless I'm sustaining something with the volume pedal during a quite moment in a track, and I activate a pedal or a lever. If it is egregious enough I remove the "clack" from the audio file manually with Izotope RX
1982 Emmons D10
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I get a decent hum at 180 HZ which I always notch outRicky Davis wrote:
I totally agree with Paul(of course..ha.) as this is the only way I record. I too play a VERY old mechanical Pedal steel with single coil pickup and I get NO complaints of noise or hum on many movie soundtracks and commercials I'm on...which to me is the most delicate recordings.
Ricky
1982 Emmons D10
- Marc Jenkins
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Ricky, do you have any felt pads in the undercarriage on your LDG?Ricky Davis wrote:I totally agree with Paul(of course..ha.) as this is the only way I record. I too play a VERY old mechanical Pedal steel with single coil pickup and I get NO complaints of noise or hum on many movie soundtracks and commercials I'm on...which to me is the most delicate recordings.I would not go direct no matter what....Use an amp and throw a blanket over it to baffle outside noise away from the microphone. Or move the steel 10 feet from the amp and microphone...Use a directional mic like the 421...Mic it slightly off center (About 2'' left or right of the center cone for the best tone).
My 2 cents
Paul
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- Ricky Davis
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No Felt or anything that can eventually detune through wear; like Paul Franklin said. John Coop talked me into that very hard plastic rod washer and just screw a 3/8 length piece on any stop screw...so metal hits that instead of metal screw...and that helps.Ricky, do you have any felt pads in the undercarriage on your LDG?
But the main source of me keeping from so much noise and hum being recorded(as Tommy Detamore can attest to as I have recorded a million songs in his studio btw..ha.) is my Volume pedal; as I use a old ShoBud volume pedal with allen bradley 500K pot...and as long as you don't open the Pot all the way or even more that 3/4's of the way....that will cut down on the noise signaled to the amp from the guitar/volume pedal...>then; you will have to turn your amp up more for him(yes him is Tommy..that greatest Engineer I have EVER worked with and produced with) and you have work on that volume pedal technique of just closed to 3/4 full volume.
Ricky
Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com
A third vote for a microphonic pickup. With few exceptions mechanical noises, whether changer noises in a pedal steel, tremolo "stop" and spring noises in 5-strings, noises from turning volume or tone controls to their stops in anything and so on emanate from a mechanical source but are rarely transmitted to the amp or direct box unless the pickup(s) is microphonic.
Try physically tapping on the pickup cover (or edge of the bobbin if exposed) with a chopstick, wooden spoon handle, plastic stick - anything non-metallic. with the amp of recording gear at a mid volume setting.
If the tapping is clearly noticeable your problem is primarily electromechanical. Neither single coil nor humbucking pickups should significantly respond to mechanical vibration or shock. It can be caused by loose windings in older pickups or loose/defective missing potting material in any of them.
Any qualified guitar tech can do the testing of verify your findings. If that is the problem solutions are "potting" the pickup coil(s) in hot wax (NOT a DIY process), having the pickup rewound or replacing it.
Most mechanical "silencing" efforts are a waste of time until the pickup is tested and either eliminated as a contributing factor or repaired/replaced.
Good luck!
Try physically tapping on the pickup cover (or edge of the bobbin if exposed) with a chopstick, wooden spoon handle, plastic stick - anything non-metallic. with the amp of recording gear at a mid volume setting.
If the tapping is clearly noticeable your problem is primarily electromechanical. Neither single coil nor humbucking pickups should significantly respond to mechanical vibration or shock. It can be caused by loose windings in older pickups or loose/defective missing potting material in any of them.
Any qualified guitar tech can do the testing of verify your findings. If that is the problem solutions are "potting" the pickup coil(s) in hot wax (NOT a DIY process), having the pickup rewound or replacing it.
Most mechanical "silencing" efforts are a waste of time until the pickup is tested and either eliminated as a contributing factor or repaired/replaced.
Good luck!
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
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1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
- Marc Jenkins
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Great, thanks! I’ve just stripped my 6139 down and cleaned it up, reassembling tomorrow. Perfect timing!Ricky Davis wrote:No Felt or anything that can eventually detune through wear; like Paul Franklin said. John Coop talked me into that very hard plastic rod washer and just screw a 3/8 length piece on any stop screw...so metal hits that instead of metal screw...and that helps.Ricky, do you have any felt pads in the undercarriage on your LDG?
Ricky
- Dale Rottacker
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Hamiltion, I did this recording a few years ago, much like Paul describedHamilton Belk wrote:I've been using an SM7 dead center on my session 400. I’ll try it a bit off axisFranklin wrote:. Or move the steel 10 feet from the amp and microphone...Use a directional mic like the 421...Mic it slightly off center (About 2'' left or right of the center cone for the best tone).
My 2 cents
Paul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pknuzY0bVB0
the difference was that I did this with a Session 500 and an SM-57 where I could reach the knobs on the amp as I was playing....
I put a foam pillow between the mic and the rear left leg of my Mullen, with the Mic 2†off the axis and at a 90 degree angle to my guitar...
I don’t claim to have the best ears, but I don’t hear any pedal noise here, and I did before I added that pillow, a lot of noise...
Mind you a Mullen isn’t going to be a noisy as a PP, but that mic was within 2 1/2-3 feet from the pedals... Good Luck!!!
Dale Rottacker, Steelinatune™
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*2021 MSA Legend, "Jolly Rancher" D10 10x9
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Andrew> this
https://images.homedepot-static.com/pro ... 4_1000.jpg
or a nylon acorn nut....> really any small Nylon or plastic piece that will screw onto a stop screw.
Ricky
https://images.homedepot-static.com/pro ... 4_1000.jpg
or a nylon acorn nut....> really any small Nylon or plastic piece that will screw onto a stop screw.
Ricky
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If you are recording an instrumental album for RCA Victor I can tell you how to totally eliminate any noise. I mean zero noise. First don't use a ZB. Second use humbucking pickups. Now you will do a process called re-amping. Record your steel direct to the mixing console or interface. While you are recording you can monitor your sound as you usually do through your amp. For Goodrich volume pedals send one output feed to your amp as usual and send another signal to the recorder. Record your album that way. Now when you are finished and ready to mix send a cable from the output track of your recorder/console back to your guitar amp and play the tape and record your amp with a microphone going on another track. This procedure let's you record with no pedal noise but still have the benefit of an amp. It also gives you all kinds of EQ and reverb options with your amp even after it has been recorded! You also have two tracks to play with, a mic'd and a direct track. The other way is put your amp in an entirely different room than you are in and mic that. You'll need good headphones to monitor with doing it that way. For live gigs there's so much noisy crap going on no one would notice 5 slot machines in use on stage.