Godin A 8 Mandolin booming.

[briankilcawley]

Need a bit of help on this one, has anyone come across Godin A 8 electric Mandolin booming out of control even with volume control down can work great for a while , at a gig the other night just boomed even though was not being played at the time ,Thanks Brian.

[dcoventry]

Can we get a definition of what "booming" is? That'd help a bit, methinks.

[briankilcawley]

Can we get a definition of what "booming" is? That'd help a bit, methinks.

bOOMING IS LIKE FEEDBACK STARTS WITH A LOW HUM AND ENDS UP LIKE A FOG HORN

[dcoventry]

Oh, you mean honking. Vocabulary is always an issue!

If the pick-up is a contact type and not in the saddle, that can start a problem if the instrument is aimed at the speaker. /i suppose a saddle style could have an issue, too, since it is just sensing vibration.

If the volume really is all the way down i.e. no signal paaing though the cable, that is a mystery. Is the volume affected at all by turning the volume pot? If not, there's a possible issue.


DAve

[Steve L]

If the pickup system is active, check the battery.

[Rodney Riley]

Yep battery. Changed one a couple weeks ago cause I couldn't remember when it was last changed. The one I put in had been in my bag for awhile and had no way of checking the charge on it. (thought it was new/never used) Thankfully was at the control board when it started to take off... Put the old one back in and am still using it.

[Tim2723]

Battery on the way out.

[briankilcawley]

Thanks for advice will try new Battery gigging at weekend see what happens, even when working well tends to boom a bit on low strings have bronze strings might change to silver light gauge
see if it makes a difference thanks again for comments Brian.

[Mandobart]

Maybe a dirty or worn volume pot?

[Rodney Riley]

Mine was battery causing it to start at a hum and took off from there till it was in the red on the soundboard when I muted the channel. Changed back to the other battery and been playin good ever since.

[mfeuerst]

Where is the battery located? I don't think I've seen one. What's its purpose?

[mandroid]

Where is the battery located? I don't think I've seen one. What's its purpose?

there is a hatch in the back. flip it open to change the 9v battery.
it powers the on board Preamp with its tone and volume pots.

[Rodney Riley]

...might change to silver light gauge.

Have noticed on mine with lighter strings that it is a little flat on the intonation at the octave (fret 12). Due to the bridge/pickups permanently located. I only notice it on the tuner. With my old ears it still sounds like music

[briankilcawley]

Have noticed on mine with lighter strings that it is a little flat on the intonation at the octave (fret 12). Due to the bridge/pickups permanently located. I only notice it on the tuner. With my old ears it still sounds like music

Thanks Rodney ,Battery cured main problem but still find hum starting on lower strings [g] even after adjusting mixing desk its a pity because its a beautiful mandolin when working ok.

[Tim2723]

That could be a ground fault. Maybe a loose connection somewhere? Also, try it with a different cord. If this is something that has recently developed I would be suspicious. I love the Godin personally, but I don't trust their wiring. It always seems a little fragile to me.

[davyb]

hello all.i have been having the same prob.very anoying as love the A8.The prob is intermittent,sneaks up during gigs and is unstoppable.Giged at weekend with in ear monitor so was able to 'play' with it after i muted channel on desk.Its defo nothing to do with string or top resonence but is centered in the pre amp(new battery at every gig).,turn all eq down,volume down even unplug lead...still their when plugged back in and bring volume up.seems to sort its self out when left for a while,mabey something heat related?checked wiring visualy and tugged away and nothing obvious.thinking i need to replace preamp. any ideas before i do? has the prob happend again on you A8?
Tried talking to godin but no help their.

[Gene Korte]

Had a similar thing happen when practicing w/my NS DESIGN electric bass (piezo PU). My "A" string would start to vibrate for no apparent reason. It was doing it when we were playing and when there was no sound at all. Was told to just touch the string, and it stopped, but started up again and had one heck of a time trying to play while constantly muting the "A" string.

Was advised it was probably feedback. FINALLY, the sound guy EQ'd it out. Soooooo.... it could be just a matter of properly EQing your instrument or a pesky battery. Either way, hope you find a solution soon. It can be real frustrating.

[Tim2723]

Hi davyb and welcome!

As Gene said, electric problems can be frustrating, but don't give up. Every time I've had a preamp honk (Godin or Michael Kelly) it's been a low battery. Not a dead one (that makes no sound at all) but one where the voltage has dropped below a certain threshold. If you test the battery you get a reading and maybe think it's a good battery, but the Godin preamp can tell the difference. Batteries have to be new and fresh, in my experience. Even brand new batteries in the package can loose power to the point they won't work for some preamps. If you're unplugging it for a few minutes, then it's OK at first, but then honks, I'll bet it's a battery (or batteries) that are just on the verge of the failure threshold. A battery can 'recover' a little bit while resting and be OK for a minute or two, but then drain below the threshold when you start playing.

To save battery life unplug when not playing. The jack is the on/off switch, and the preamp is drawing power all the time.

As to a string vibrating wildly, I'm not exactly sure what that is but it seems to happen to the A string. The instrument is just sitting there when all of a sudden the string just starts to vibrate all by itself. I've seen it go so far that the string snaps! The only thing I know to do is turn down the volume on the preamp when not playing. I think it has to do with high gain and other sound sources vibrating the top just right, but I'm not sure. Never had it with a mandolin.

[davyb]

hi and thanks for replys.
its nothing to do with string vibration,fully aware of that one and as i said had chance to fully dismiss any kind of acoustic resonance. new batteries every time,always unplug active instruments during sets.check batteries after and always still at full charge.
mentioned i had spoke to godin with no luck,to be fair they responded quickly and suggested i take it to a specialist.anyway after posting on here i had a thought and have mailed rmc direct,should have done that in the first place.if anyone can understand the prob it should be them.
will report back with any news that may be of use to anyone else
thanks

[briankilcawley]

Hi davyb what you described is exactly the same problems i am having was on to Godin and they responded quickly suggesting overheating at battery connection but battery holder and connection already changed,let me know if you get sorted ,very annoying, thanks.

[Don Julin]

I have been gigging with an A8 for over ten years and I have experienced this uncontrollable low frequency roar on occasion. In my case I contribute heat as the culprit. I determined that I could make the feedback happen if I pointed a hairdryer in the direction of the preamp. (the volume and tone sliders) I have been careful not to leave it in the direct sun at gigs and have not had a problem in years.

[Jimbeau]

My Godin A8 is now experiencing a similar problem. It is intermittent. I changed the battery and it seemed okay, but then I noticed that it abruptly lost volume, or increased in volume. And I've had the out of control howling situation. Just wondering if anyone found out what is causing this? Thanks!

[Tim2723]

Hi Jim. As you can see, the jury has been out for quite a while on this. I don't have anything new to offer. In my experience it has always been a battery issue, or at least it seems that way. Judging from some of the others' experiences it sounds like it could be a fundamental design flaw such as an undersized capacitor in the preamp circuit. But thanks for resurrecting this thread. Maybe someone has found out something more concrete.

Oh, I will add that after this thread was started over a year ago I haven't had a problem. I've kept only the freshest batteries in it. From what I'd heard from other sources this does seem to be a systemic problem. Those who haven't had it happen yet have only to wait a while.

[Steve Ostrander]

If the pick-up is a contact type and not in the saddle, that can start a problem if the instrument is aimed at the speaker. /i suppose a saddle style could have an issue, too, since it is just sensing vibration.

The A8 has saddle piezo pickups.

[Jimbeau]

Tim, thanks. I'll go buy a brand new battery and see if it helps. I love the A8 and this issue has been irritating.