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My guitar started giving me some serious whine recently (never before). It seems to mostly happen when I play the 'D' chord. I have contacted Schecter, and they seem to think, after watching my video (above), that it is NOT the PUs, but that the sound is resonating. This is very frustrating to me, and I would like any advice to fix it. I can't use any of my overdrive/distortion pedals anymore, and my onboard amp distortion isn't any better. I can have my Gain nearly at zero and it still whines. This doesn't happen at all on clean.

Things I have already tried:

switch cables

change strings

lowered PUs

changed PU battery

tried multiple amps

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    does this happen at all when not amplified? I thought it might be a analog (spring) reverb or loose component problem, but you say you tried different amps. Try and identify the exact note (not chord) that makes this happen, and then work from there. If something in the guitar is resonating, it will happen without amplification. I note that there is a preamp in that guitar, so if it isn't the pickups, its the preamp.
    – Yorik
    Nov 29, 2016 at 22:04
  • yes it does make this sound when not plugged into anything, thanks for that new evidence! if I do happen to find a specific note, not chord, then what?
    – scott.schaffer
    Nov 29, 2016 at 22:29
  • If you can narrow down the note it will help you reproduce it more reliably. Put your ear close while unplugged and localize the sound. This can be the pickup covers, loose wires, the nut on the tension rod. I had an acoustic where a 1 inch section of the binding kerf was vibrating with A and the paper label had a bubble in it that vibrated like a drum at certain odd resonances
    – Yorik
    Nov 29, 2016 at 22:37
  • If there is an actual preamp in this, it might still be an electric squeak. Also if there is a spring in the toggle switch, you might try and mechanically dampen it. It really does sound like a sort of reverb, unless that is a plate echo from the recording
    – Yorik
    Nov 29, 2016 at 22:41
  • What happens if you put some felt or some thing to damp the string areas above the nut and behind the bridge? Also, if you mute the strings in a different place in the neck the ringing sound doesn't change?
    – Todd Wilcox
    Nov 30, 2016 at 4:14

1 Answer 1

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I think @Todd's comment is right. This sounds a lot to me like the symptom I have on my twin neck SG. Whatever I play I get the same nasty squeak/ringing noise. I researched it, and found wolf tones on acoustic instruments - especially cellos so thought I'd do some checking.

It turns out the structure of the bridge and tail seemed to encourage resonance at this frequency, in two of the short tails of strings behind the bridge.

The solution for me was to add a rubber damper to the strings behind the bridge. Instant, and very cheap as we had the rubber bands in the house anyway.

enter image description here

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  • what exactly did you do with the rubber bands?
    – scott.schaffer
    Dec 5, 2016 at 14:20
  • Intertwined them between the strings behind the bridge. I'll get a picture and update my answer
    – Doktor Mayhem ♦
    Dec 5, 2016 at 15:10
  • WOW.. your suggestion worked! I put a sock in that spot behind the bridge, and BOOM, no scream.. You just saved me packing up and sending my baby to Schecter for warranty work.. thanks again!
    – scott.schaffer
    Dec 5, 2016 at 18:14
  • Brilliant! I am glad - I honestly was baffled when it happened to me, until I tracked down that wolf tone article. This is simple and effectively free (my daughter plaited the rubber bands)
    – Doktor Mayhem ♦
    Dec 5, 2016 at 18:16

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