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Thread: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

  1. #1

    Default Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    I'm having trouble with a tapping noise from pick ups on each of two mandolins I use. One is a Fishman M-200 on a Stiver and the other is an end pin inserted pick up, (both transducers) on a Kentucky Master Model. I've tried to isolate exactly where the sound is coming from, but unless I totally make no contact with the bridge, it's always there. I do not tap on the bridge or the finger rest and my contact with the bridge is very light and minimal with my wrist. The preamps I've used with each are a LRR Baggs Venue and a Fishman GII. I've experimented with limiting the gain but then I need to turn up the volume and that seems to not help at all. Using a microphone is not an option and when I talked to Repair at Elderly Instruments, they could not help. The noise sort of gets lost when the whole band is playing, but when you isolate the mandolin, it's pretty obnoxious.

    Looking for ideas, can you help?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    How do you have your EQ set? While you'll never really eliminate the tapping, rolling down your low and mid frequencies will help control the noise.

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL

  3. #3
    Registered User mando.player's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    As Len points out, this can be minimized with a decent EQ. I had a similar problem with pick click on my Clark (K&K twin transducer). Do you have an EQ in your signal chain? If so let us know what it is.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    What is the endpin inserted pickup? A transducer needs to attach and inserting something in the end pin, unless it is an endpin preamp, doesn't seem right. If you have an endpin preamp are you using another preamp or putting it into a high Z input?
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    Registered User almeriastrings's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    Roll off everything below 196Hz hard. Really hard. If you have access to a digital console with a RTA (Real Time Analysis) function you can actually see all the frequencies responsible and then target those too, in addition. If not, do it by ear. Take off all that low stuff below 196Hz first, because that is usually where most of it is concentrated. I'll use the variable High Pass filter on a digital console to do this, plus the parametric to home in on additional peaks causing issues. Not all external preamps have filters that are precise or steep enough (I quite like the Headway EDB series for this), so you may need to experiment. If going into a good digital console you do not need an external pre, just a suitable DI with good headroom and an input impedance of circa 1M.
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  6. #6

    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    Many thanks for all who have taken the time to help me here. I really appreciate it and am quite sure that this will be enough information to help me solve this problem! One question was about the end pin pick up and I really don't know what make/model it is in the Kentucky, but since I'm have the same problem with both pick ups it probably doesn't matter, and the Kentucky is not my main axe anyway. I'll be working with the EQ and our new digital console.

  7. #7
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trouble with tapping noise from my pick ups

    its like thumping on the end of the Microphone.. vibration into an electric signal is what a Pickup Does
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