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I got my Eastman Pagelli yesterday, and I think its fantastic. I hope to record it for the challenge tomorrow. It projects nicely acoustically, especially for single note lines, and I think it has a clear, warm sound when amplified. And it looks fantastic (as I hope to show).
I have noticed one thing which may, or may not be a problem. When I have it plugged in, there is a slight electronic buzzing that comes through the amp. The buzzing becomes louder or quieter as I adjust the gain, but not the master. If I put my finger on the metal portion of the plug that inserts into the guitar, the buzz disappears. This makes me think its a grounding issue of some sort, but I’m not positive.
Anyone have any ideas. I suppose that it could be the guitar electronics. Might also be the cable (and I haven’t tested this), or possibly even the amp.
Also, if it is the guitar, is it the sort of thing that should be easily fixable, or am I looking at complaining to the seller?
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John,
I have since done that a bit more rigorously. Checked it with another cable. And then with the PRS. Its definitely in the guitar itself, and I think its a grounding issue (and likely a simple one). But even a simple one is beyond my capability to fix without specific, clear instructions.
I sent a note to the seller and we will see what he says. But I think its probably gotta have a trip to a repair person. I’m not about to start messing around with the wiring in an arch top.
Duffy
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I spent 6 months trying to figure out why my Strat does the same thing. My brand new Telecaster with humbuckers doesn’t do it. My solution: Leave the gain on the amp turned down, and use an overdrive pedal instead. No more buzz. Or use a battery powered amp (Roland AC33 is a good one). Or just live with it.
Sunjamr Steve
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That may be what it comes to, but I’m trying to figure out right now whether its a fixable grounding issue. The fact that it completely goes away when I touch the metal contact at the 1/4″ jack makes me think that it probably is a fixable issue.
Secondary question is whether to try to do anything about it with the seller. Possible a wire shook loose in shipment I suppose, but also possible that this is an undisclosed defect.
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Is this a new guitar? For that price, the seller should drive to your home and fix it himself!
I’m trying to figure out if this is a single-coil pickup. There’s always going to be a some hum with single-coils, as that’s part of their “charm.” If you’re playing with lots of gain, the hum can get downright annoying (as I keep trying to explain to the Telecaster-loving guitarist in my band!)
Interestingly, someone else had a similar problem, but with a different pickup: http://www.chubbuckguitars.com/bench/2016/3/21/custom-bartolini-pickguard-mount-2009-eastman-pagelli-pg2-51-lbs
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Does the hum go away when you touch the strings?
I think if the ground had come loose, the guitar wouldn’t hum, it would BUZZ and be pretty much unplayable. So that’s hopeful.
But really, a luthier should be able to sort this out.
If the seller was a shop, you can have them take care of it. Eastman offers a lifetime guarantee. But if it’s a private seller, I think you’re on your own — something might have shook loose in shipping, and that’s not the seller’s problem or fault.
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Marty, it does still buzz when I touch the strings. The buzz goes away when I touch any metal at the 1/4 inch jack. The buzz gets worse sometimes when I play bass notes above the 12th fret.
Amazing find on that repair note website. It’s not clear to me that the pickup is different. He may have been replacing the Kent Armstrong, which is what is on mine. I need to check whether the buzz goes away with the tone rolled off. If so, it may be the pickup that needs replacing.
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I found a couple of other posts complaining about the Kent Armstrong pickups and a few others who replaced them for Bartolini.
If this were a grounding issue, I’m not sure why it would get worse playing up above the 12th fret — unless playing up on the bass strings put more pressure on that side, shifting the ground contact somehow?
It seems to me the ground wire has to be attached to the tailpiece, right? Maybe have a look under that – if I’m right, you should be able to see the wire.
Anyway, this being a jazz guitar, it’s meant to be played without any gain, just the pure sound of your amp’s clean channel.
You can tell I love trying to solve mysteries like this!
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Two more interesting facts:
Touching the pick up, or getting near it, increases the buzz. That’s why playing bass notes high on the fretboard makes it worse.
Rolling back the tone control makes the buzz disappear.
First seems like more evidence of a grounding issue. Second might mean something screwy with the tone pot. It’s definitely going to a tech this week. Kind of disappointed not to have heard back yet from the seller.
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I took the guitar to a good tech shop here in town. The guy couldn’t figure out the problem on immediate inspection. His electronics expert was out, and will take the guitar apart and look at it tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about it, and I’m trying to decide what my threshold will be before returning it.
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I bought it on Reverb. The name makes it sound like an individual, but from the description and number of reviews, my guess is that he owns a small shop, or at least has taken up flipping guitars as a business.
I assume that you are right that the fix ultimately will be simple to fix. What worries me is that discovering the source of the problem may be complicated. But I don’t know a whole lot about electronics, so maybe not.
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Here is an update:
The tech took apart the pick guard assembly and could not find any problem with the ground wires, or find anything that was shorting out. He thought he might have to go in and disassemble the rear jack, but from the issue, he thought it unlikely that there was anything there. Instead he thought there was either something wrong with the pick-up or the guitar design.
I called Eastman. I explained to a service rep about the buzz, and what makes it better and worse. He said it sounded like a bum pickup. He offered to send me a new pick guard, electronics and pickup assembly! It’s maple instead of ebony. I was dumbfounded. I made sure that he knew that I was not an original owner, and it didn’t matter at all to him. Absolutely great customer service so far.
Assembly should arrive next week, and I will know soon after that whether I have solved the problem. If it doesn’t solve it, obviously I will have to return the guitar. If it does, I think I will try to get the seller to pay for the installation of the new assembly. If Eastman is right, he sold me a guitar with a bad pickup, and I highly doubt the pickup went bad during shipping.
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Got a new wrinkle. I contacted Reverb. They say that doing any repairs will void my buyer protection. I understand this policy, but it puts me in a bad position. I can authorize the repair, and be at a slight risk of having a guitar that still doesn’t work properly, or might take a lot more to get working right. Or I can decide to return a guitar that I want to keep, and that was a great deal. I’ve contacted the seller to see what he thinks. He has already said he will reimburse for the installation cost, so this may just be the lawyer in me coming to the fore.
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