Vintique-style bridge--does it help cure microphonics?

[MichaelG]

This is my first post in the new format. :)

Does anyone have experience with the Vintique (or similar Barden) bridge which adds a couple screws at the front? My Tele bridge (traditional six-saddle) is microphonic and I don't think it's the pickup. I'm thinking about drilling a couple holes in the front of the bridge to see if that helps.

[Michael Murphy]

Yeah, they help with that.

The Vintique bridge itself is thicker and heavier than the stock item, and is a lot flatter as well (the stamped Fender isn't always). Don't know about the Barden. The two screws pretty much remove any possiblity of it vibrating.

You can try pooling some wax under the stock bridge by dripping a candle on the body and then reinstalling the bridgeplate while it's still soft. If a slightly warped bridge is the problem, this will alleviate some of the microphonics. The two screws on the front lip will help as well.

If/when you install them, have the main mounting screws loose by a couple of turns, then screw the front pair down tightly, and tighten the main screws afterwards. Otherwise you may snap the heads off of the two at the front lip, or at the very least strip the wood out trying to get them tightened down.

-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[Lance]

Yeah...the Vintique bridge was a perverse extravagance. That said..it's made great...

But - I can't say there's any affect on the tone or if it's less microphonic.

[Michael Murphy]

Well, if you weren't specifically having a microphonics problem before, you probably didn't notice an improvement.....

Lots of factory Fender bridges as noticeably un-flat. If this is the case and it is vibrating, you will notice a difference with a Vintique. It won't do anything to cure a microphonic pickup, however.

I noticed a tonal difference in two different pickups (a Tx. Special, and a Harmonic Designs Vintage Plus) with the Vintique bridge, caused by the effect the non-ferrous stainless vs. the carbon-steel stock item has on the magnetic field surrounding the pickup. In both cases they were brighter sounding, and a little more responsive to pick attack.

-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[Phil Jacoby]

Screw down the bridge front as described above, it really helps.
I find that heavier bridge plates ala Gotoh, Fender AM STD etc sound more "fundamental" to me and less of that quirky, etherea,l warm-in-its-own-way sound of the stock crappy stamped plates. YMMV. The old style Wilkinson 6 way with the aluminum bridgeplate is a split between the two IMO.

[rickyralph]

ive had some sucess from replacing metal springs on pickups with surgical tubing . this is more like early fender way of mounting pickups. the next and proably best thing is to pot pickups in 150 degree wax for 60 sec let cool 4 min then 45 sec .let cool 4 min then 30 sec then let cool at least one hour before assy. any extra cax can then be rubbed off. i stress though not to heat hotter or longer than i have stated or you will melt your pickups. also you should swirl the pickups around while in the liquid wax. i have come up with these times by doing about 25 sets of pickups over the last few years. good luck rickyralph

[MichaelG]

Thanks for the feedback (so to speak).

I had Lindy Fralin pot the pickup; even so, I'm not convinced that it solved the problem. The bridge is the ferrous type and it is fairly heavy (my guitar is a G&L ASAT Classic semihollow) and it's already using surgical tubing over the pickup screws. I'll try screwing down the front and see what happens.

Thanks again!

Michael

[dawin12]

How 'bout nylon pickup mounting screws y'all? Seems like an extenstion of the rubber tubing in terms of reducing vibration transfer from bridge plate to pickup. There might be a suitable one in the Smallparts catalog.

[PeterUK]

I got this tip from Dan Erlewine's book "How to Make your Electric Guitar Play Great".

Interestingly, he credits this tip to Jay at Vintique.

Take off the bridge and either:

1. Grind it flat on a belt sander; or
2. Get a piece of (flat obviously) glass and a sheet of wet 'n' dry glass paper and grind the bridge plate until it is flat. It'll take ages doing it this way but you can see the progress.

You'll be amazed at how uneven the bridge plate is and it does make a difference to the assembly and palyability.

If after that you still have the same problem, try drilling the extra 2-holes but I bet the above tip works.

Good luck.

Peter

[MichaelG]

Originally Posted by PeterUK

1. Grind it flat on a belt sander

Peter--

Thanks for the tip! I'll give that a try before I attempt drilling the holes.

Michael

[wes]

Originally Posted by rickyralph

ive had some sucess from replacing metal springs on pickups with surgical tubing . this is more like early fender way of mounting pickups. the next and proably best thing is to pot pickups in 150 degree wax for 60 sec let cool 4 min then 45 sec .let cool 4 min then 30 sec then let cool at least one hour before assy. any extra cax can then be rubbed off. i stress though not to heat hotter or longer than i have stated or you will melt your pickups. also you should swirl the pickups around while in the liquid wax. i have come up with these times by doing about 25 sets of pickups over the last few years. good luck rickyralph

Hi Rick,
Could you advise were I can go to get a more detailed explaination of how to pot my pickups? I have tried everything to get rid of this squeal and I believe this must be my answer.
Thanks! Wes

[Michael Murphy]

Here's a little tutorial on the subject from Guitarnuts.com.

Be real careful and heed all the precautions for doing this- it's potentially dangerous. Kinda like boiling gasoline on a stovetop.

Well, OK- not really that bad, but hazardous nonetheless......


Guitarnuts.com


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[Mike Better]

try wedging a piece of a matchbook cover under the leading edge of the bridge.. works for me..

Mike

[wes]

I have tried everything. Potted my pickups, replaced bridge, melted wax underneath it and tightened the front down. Still it's 'squeal city', especially when I stomp on my compressor.
Can someone help?
Thanks,
Wes

[The Snowman]

My Buck Owens is somewhat microphonic...what happens is this...if I play close to the neck pup...and hit it with the pic..it makes a clikc sound as if ya hit a mic...I have learned to live with it and in fact I like it cause it gives me an additional sound to work with...kinda like a metronone tap...but sometimes I use the sound in a lick and it sounds great at the right time and the right place....don

[MichaelG]

Yesterday I took my guitar to a buddy who's a professional woodworker and cabinet maker. I'd shown him the Vintique bridge photo above and explained what I wanted to do: drill the holes for #4 x 1" screws.

We removed the bridge and drilled two 3/32" holes (I believe that was the diameter) in it. The hardware store only had #4 x 3/4" screws, so we used those. The result: it's still microphonic, but not as bad as before the fix. I tried a high-gain setting at church this morning and still got squealing but, again, not as severe as before the mod. You can still here tapping on the body, but I think that may be more a function of the semi-hollow design at this point. As long as the pickup is attached to the bridge and the bridge is attached to the top, I don't think there's any way around some level of mechanical vibration being transferred through the pickup.

Overall, screwing the front of the bridge down has improved the sound but hasn't completely eliminated the microphonic problem. I may try another pickup in there (maybe a Bill Lawrence L-280) and see if that helps.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Michael

[Kit]

I just got a Nocaster RI and the G string was microphonic- lots of weird overtones. I weaved a piece of felt through the strings behind the nut and the problem was solved. The problem is with the slot in the nut and possibly the string angle.

I will first replace the plastic nut with bone. Then add another string tree if necessary.

Kit

[MichaelG]

A very kind dawin12 sent me some nylon screws to replace the metal screws attaching the pickup to the bridge. Here's my message to Dave:


Hi Dave,

I finally got the nylon screws you sent into the bridge of my G&L ASAT Classic semi-hollow. Unfortunately, they haven't cured my microphonics problem, so I think I'm dealing with a bad pickup. Another issue has arisen as a result of using the nylon screws: the pickup is no longer grounded (as it was by the metal screws). As such, there's an incurable "hum" being transmitted through the amp. This could be solved by running a ground wire from the base plate of the bridge pickup to the bridge, but that's more trouble for me than it's worth at this point; I'm going to end up replacing the pickup, probably with a Bill Lawrence L-280.

So--thanks for the screws. It was worth a try. I suppose if a guy could get electrically conductive plastic screws, that would solve the ground issue. In theory, plastic screws should help isolate some vibration that would cause microphonics; in my case, however, the problem stems from the pickup and not mechanical vibration.

Disclaimer: YMMV 8)

Michael

[dawin12]

Ooops, didn't see that hum comin' . Good luck with your new pickup, Michael! Anyone wanting to try the black screws can just e-mail me. As long as you don't need 'em for grounding!

[MichaelG]

I was able to solve the hum problem this weekend. I had all my effects plugged into a grounded outlet, so I used a two-prong adapter for them and no more hum. The amp was still grounded, though, to prevent a potentially "shocking" experience.

SO--anyone who wants to try the nylon screws but is afraid of hum may be able to solve the hum issue with a ground lift somewhere in the chain.

--Michael