Feedback Noise from MFD PUs?

Hey Fellas!

recently got my Doheny and totally fell in love with the guitar. There's just two things I currently a bit unsure or upset about.
First, there is a weird feedback noise coming from the guitar when I'm playing on the OD Channel and the Volume Pot on 10, so far the only cure has been rolling it down until it stops.
Just bough a Boss NS2 to tackle this, but the problem still persists. Does anyone have a clue about this?

Second, its the first guitar with a Trem for me. Playing in drop C, i had to fiddle with the Trem a bit to get it down, since i'm using 12/54 strings. Will it cause any damage to the vibrato system if there is more tension on the bridge than advised? There is just a little room to wiggle now, so its not totally locked down.

(excuse my lingo, i'm not a native speaker)

Sounds like your feedback issue is a potting issue with the pickups. If you bought this new, it would be worth it to take it back to your dealer and have them fix the issue in house or return and get a new one. Alternatively wax potting the pickup yourself is not very difficult but can be messy and fiddly.

Regarding the trem. Make sure to read the set up procedure in the knowledge base section of this website. There are instructions on how to set it up. Default setting is to have this system float. Since you are using drop C you will have to adjust the springs to make sure it stays in spec.

Yeah, the trem is still floating, but with very limited range since i dont really use it that much. Could this harm any of the parts or no need to worry about it?

Didnt think about the potting before, my first guess was shielding. Is there any way to test in on a potting issue?

Thanks for your quick answer btw!

It won't harm any parts but you won't be able to get the action set properly and there may be issues with the feel and playabily since it is out of spec. The bridge/tremolo should be parallel to the body. Take a look here on page 4. You need to have a 3/16 clearance between the body and tremolo to be in spec. The tremolo should be parallel to the body. To do this, you will need to adjust the springs in the back of the guitar. From there you can adjust the height of the action on the saddles.

http://glguitars.com/wp-content/uploads ... manual.pdf

Note, this is an old manual from back in the day when they used the three bolt neck. That part won't apply but the basic principles for getting the floating trem and action set up still applies.

Thank you! I'm gonna take a look later, so far action height seems to be good and i could get a proper intonation with the heavier string gauge and the trem setup.

In case of the pick up problem, i took some time for research and you might be right. It is the same nasty squeal that shows on microphonic PUs. Gonna get in touch with the dealer and see what they can do about it.

It won't harm any parts but you won't be able to get the action set properly and there may be issues with the feel and playabily since it is out of spec. The bridge/tremolo should be parallel to the body. Take a look here on page 4. You need to have a 3/16 clearance between the body and tremolo to be in spec. The tremolo should be parallel to the body. To do this, you will need to adjust the springs in the back of the guitar. From there you can adjust the height of the action on the saddles.

http://glguitars.com/wp-content/uploads ... manual.pdf

Note, this is an old manual from back in the day when they used the three bolt neck. That part won't apply but the basic principles for getting the floating trem and action set up still applies.

See this post in our Knowledgebase for the current factory setup: Current Factory setup for G&L guitars with vibrato bridges.
Notice that the distance between the body and the bridge plate is 2/16" not 3/16".

We have the various setup manuals in our Gallery in the Album: Instrument Manuals and Wiring Schematics.
You will see that each of the two Owner's Manuals Album list what years they cover. Version 1 covers 1980-1987 and Version 2 covers 1988-2008.

Hope this helps.

I think this could be totally normal.

I have a USA Doheny as well, but I had a Telecaster with Lollar pickups before this and the Doheny's behavior is not particularly different.

OP you don't say what your amp is or how it's setup, how much gain, how close you are to the amp, how loud the volume level is.

Guitars aren't supposed to be completely eliminating feedback because sometimes it's desirable.

My Amp is an Orange Rocker 15... I leave the gain channel around 1:30 on the dial. My Doheny will generally not feedback like this.

But if I kick on a drive pedal or particularly my Big Muff pedal I get controllable feedback. If I want it to go away I can walk a little further away from the amp, or start turning down the volume knob.

IME the bridge pickup on both my guitars is a little more susceptible to this feedback.

I don't play with the volume/tone/bass on 10 very often on the Doheny for what it's worth. I am forgetting my exact pickup heights but if I remember correctly I have them set to 3/32" on the bass side and 2/32" on the treble side while holding the string down at the 21st fret.