58/15 LT pickups - squeal?

SuperMoos2907

New Member
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
5
Hi all,

I brought my new McCarty 594 to rehearsal, yesterday. It feels and plays absolutely perfect! I do, however, have a question about the 58/15 LT pickups.

I know these are Low Turn / rather low output pickups - no problem there. I just figured I will turn up the gain or use a booster to get the sound I want. It holds together very well, but I have experienced a lot of high pitched squeal. I remember the same squeal from older Gibsons with unpotted pickups - that kind of thing. I was hoping you guys can chime in on this..

Admittedly, I like my high gain sounds. We play a lot of Foo Fighters stuff - nothing metal or anything. I run my guitar through a Friedman BE-100 on the gain channel - gain on 7 / 8. When I keep it low, (around 5 or 6) there's no squeal, but then I'm not getting the tones I need for the music.

I have noticed that I can summon the squeal when I move my hand close to the pickups, like if you cover up a microphone with your hand. Is this normal?

I'm guessing that I will either have to learn to play better and get my sound with less gain.. or put in a regular set of 58/15? Just checking to see if any of you guys think the pickups could be faulty or something.

Thanks for any input!!

Best regards,
Robert
 
I get that a lot on the regular 58/15 pickups. I think its the cover vibrating or some such, could be wrong. I just roll off the volume very slightly and it stops.
 
Hands do not affect magnetic fields much. Could be radio frequency interference (RFI) pickup which can be enhanced by your hands, like moving them close to a radio antenna.
 
I've concluded that they may just be minimally potted. A member here did a pole piece swap and reported a small amount of wax on the screws. I've noticed on mine that if I tap on the covers they make a "thunk" noise through the amp, which doesn't happen with my normally potted pickups. I get the same thing with my Archtop neck pickup on which I spoiled the potting when I took the pickup apart. They're a little microphonic, but I don't play high gain, so they're working great and squeal free for me.

If you're a DIY guy, you can pot them yourself, or I'm sure some pickup winder out there would be able to pot them for a modest fee. It may change the sound slightly, but not as much as different pickups would.
 
Quick update: I put a Lollar Imperial in the bridge and a Lollar Imperial Low Wind in the neck. This suits my current style better. I really like the 58/15LT pickups, so I will store them for when my preferred playing style changes again. Thanks for all your input!
 
Hi all,

I brought my new McCarty 594 to rehearsal, yesterday. It feels and plays absolutely perfect! I do, however, have a question about the 58/15 LT pickups.

I know these are Low Turn / rather low output pickups - no problem there. I just figured I will turn up the gain or use a booster to get the sound I want. It holds together very well, but I have experienced a lot of high pitched squeal. I remember the same squeal from older Gibsons with unpotted pickups - that kind of thing. I was hoping you guys can chime in on this..

Admittedly, I like my high gain sounds. We play a lot of Foo Fighters stuff - nothing metal or anything. I run my guitar through a Friedman BE-100 on the gain channel - gain on 7 / 8. When I keep it low, (around 5 or 6) there's no squeal, but then I'm not getting the tones I need for the music.

I have noticed that I can summon the squeal when I move my hand close to the pickups, like if you cover up a microphone with your hand. Is this normal?

I'm guessing that I will either have to learn to play better and get my sound with less gain.. or put in a regular set of 58/15? Just checking to see if any of you guys think the pickups could be faulty or something.

Thanks for any input!!

Best regards,
Robert
 
I also bought a McCarty SC 594, as it was much easier to access top end of the neck. BUT - when I did an A - B test with my Gibson Les Paul Traditional , (with Classic '57 pickups) - through my Marshall 100 (only up to 1/2 volume), the PRS 594 pickups squealed - just like un potted pickups. The Les Paul at same position in front of the amp and same vol and eq settings had no such problems. Very disappointing, but not surprising - as I had same problem a few years ago with a PRS SC58 - I sent that guitar back and PRS repotted the pickups and solved the problem. There a some great youtube demos of the McCarty SC 594's - but they must be at low volume levels where the pickups are OK. For a loud live band - it didn't work me - so I sent it back. Disappointed !
 
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