New PRS CE Semi-Hollow Pickup is physically vibrating

[Attorneyriffic]

Just got new CE. Everything was good until i switched from 10s to 9s. The only adjustment i made was the trem springs.

Now certain notes physically vibrate the pickup. I can pluck the offending notes while pushing on the pickup (so it doesn't touch the pickup ring) and that stops it.

Any ideas?

 

[Stephen J.]

Did the adjustment screw get backed all the way out of the leg when lowering the pickup?

I would think that spring tension would pretty much keep it stationary. If not, stick a little foam under the pickup. Thick enough to stabilize it, but not so thick that the tension is greater than the spring on the adjustment screw.

 

[dogrocketp]

You can always just put on heavier pickup springs on the guitar. Check What Stephen J said first. I've had to change the pickup springs on a couple of my SE's.

 

[AP515]

What are the offending notes (in Hz.)? If they are multiples of some fundamental it is possible that you are experiencing a resonant frequency vibration. I once had a McCarty that was so resonant you could pick one string and the two lighter gages above it would ring loud enough to come through the amp. Cowboy chords were impossible. Had to play like SRV and cover all the strings I was not playing (which bore no resemblance whatsoever to SRV).

 

[Attorneyriffic]

Did the adjustment screw get backed all the way out of the leg when lowering the pickup?

I would think that spring tension would pretty much keep it stationary. If not, stick a little foam under the pickup. Thick enough to stabilize it, but not so thick that the tension is greater than the spring on the adjustment screw.

I did not lower or raise the pickup at all before the vibration started. Just changed strings and adjusted the screws on the trem claw. I haven't removed the pickup to see if something got backed out. I can still adjust the pickup up and down just fine so i don't think anything is wrong there. Do you mean foam between the pickup and the pickup ring? Because that is what is vibrating together. When i push the pickup slightly so that it isn't touching the pickup ring the vibrations stop. This is the neck pickup by the way. I notice the bridge pickup is perfectly level but the neck is slightly off and tilted towards the neck.

You can always just put on heavier pickup springs on the guitar. Check What Stephen J said first. I've had to change the pickup springs on a couple of my SE's.

I may try that as last resort. Are those purchased from PRS or 3rd party?

What are the offending notes (in Hz.)? If they are multiples of some fundamental it is possible that you are experiencing a resonant frequency vibration. I once had a McCarty that was so resonant you could pick one string and the two lighter gages above it would ring loud enough to come through the amp. Cowboy chords were impossible. Had to play like SRV and cover all the strings I was not playing (which bore no resemblance whatsoever to SRV).

It was more vibrating around certain frequencies. B, C, C# on the A were the worst. However, I adjusted the pickup height screw a bit and when i did that the vibration stopped with those notes but reappeared elsewhere depending on whether i adjusted up or down.

Thank you for all the replies. Looks like i'm going to have to see if something came loose underneath the pickup and go from there.

 

[dogrocketp]

You may still need to change the pickup spring. My SAS had to have a spring change on the neck pickup. It took about 2 years for it to happen. I changed the spring, all better