Sympathetic Ringing, Resonation, Noise Issue

plaidgadjo

Hello All,

I wanted to see if any of you have experienced this issue and/or could provide any suggestions...

I currently play a Gitane Stephane Wrembel model guitar through a Schertler Unico amp. I've always had issues with playing it amplified. I've tried the Audio Technica (too much noise/feedback), the K&K piezo under the bridge (less noise/feedback, but I don't care for the piezo sound), and now I just purchased the Krivo DjangoBucker (which sounds like a humbucker).

It seems the main problem is the sympathetic ringing I get (it's even a little too much acoustically with this guitar). I LOVE the sound of a Gypsy Jazz guitar acoustically and would like to go back to the AT Mic (as I think it would be the most authentic representation), but need to find a way to dampen the ringing. Obviously, right-hand muting isn't an option with this picking style, and I can only do so much with my left.

I do have a couple of thin, plastic shims under my bridge and wonder what would happen if I replaced those with something a little more "absorbing" (cloth, leather?).

I also wonder if strategically placing some dampening material inside of the body would work.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much!

pickitjohn

@plaidgadjo

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good luck and

pick on

pickitjohn` :peace:

Craig Bumgarner

You can try adding a little weight in the bridge area. Blue poster putty or modeling clay works well for testing. A glob about the size of your thumb is ~10 grams. Just stick it on the top near the bridge or on the bridge ends. 10 grams should make a noticeable change. 30-40 grams is getting pretty radical. Keep in mind you are de-tuning (in the engine sense) the top when you do this. Added weight in the top, especially the bridge reduces capacity of the top to generate sound. With luck, it will reduce only the sounds you don't want. Play around with as much added weight as you like. Eventually you'll find the guitar is pretty dead sounding. Of course, you can pluck the putty right back off again. You can also experiment with location. Near the bridge gives you the biggest effect for the least amount of weight, but elsewhere might affect the color of the sound. If you find something that really works for you, you can glue the same amount of weight inside the body in the same spot, or added weight to the bridge to make the change permanent.

My experience is the more resonant guitars work better with mics because they are pushing more sound than the drier guitars. To some extent you can control the resonance and ringing with your playing as well as the picks and strings you use.

Al Watsky

What Craig said.

plaidgadjo

Thank you! I'll try it!

Russell Letson

By "sympathetic ringing" do you mean the neighboring strings sounding during single-string passages or the ringing that comes off the segments north of the nut and south of the bridge? Since you mention left-hand damping, I'm guessing the former. George Van Eps addressed this for archtops by devising a damper that could swing onto the strings at the nut--but of course that meant he couldn't use open strings. See http://www.vintagearchtop.com/van_eps.htm

Not much help for your issue, but an interesting side note.

Bones

Don't put anything soft under the bridge or you will likely lose a lot of volume.

Try a Schertler amp and pickup if you know anyone who has one.

Gitanes tend to have a lot of wetness. Might be time to upgrade...

Mandobart

Sympathetic resonance often happens in the string length between the bridge and tailpiece (vilonists call this the "afterlength") and in the string length between the nut/zero fret and tuner posts (no special name I know of for this). Many mandolin players simply weave a leather strip between the strings in these areas. Easy to try and see if it helps.

I've found piezo p'ups can often have that tinny, quacky sound if the impedance isn't matched to the amp's input. Piezo's have a pretty high (10 Mohm) output. If plugging straight in to a mic channel or standard guitar amp the input impedance is much less. Try a DI or pre-amp to match impedance. I use the K&K pure preamp.

Mandobart

maurysmusic.com/inc/sdetail/k_k_pure_preamp/5303

BluesBop Harry

On one very wet Gitane I played I left the wound strings on for as long as possible and only changed the high E and B strings regularly... It helped a lot with the issues you're battling

Bones

Oh good point BBH. I leave my argies on forever. Definitely a darker, drier tone.