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Thread: El Rey humbucker noise

  1. #1

    Default El Rey humbucker noise

    Hi all
    I am testing an Eastman El Rey, and am curious if anyone else is experiencing the same issue with a noisy humbucker?

    It sounds like 60cycle hum, when I don't touch the strings. It's less but still present, when I touch the strings. If I touch the pole pieces of the humbucker, the noise goes up.

    I am curious if this is expected on the El Rey?
    Also, if anyone could tell me if the pole pieces are exposed on the underside of the pickup? Then I suppose they could be grounded with some tape or wire.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    Sounds like a faulty ground connection, due to a bad solder joint or a missing or broken wire. And there should be some sort of ground connection to the tailpiece.

    First, make sure your cable is good! And use a cable that has a metal jack cover, not one that is plastic or covered with heat shrink.

    Then, if you've got a lead with alligator clips, clip one end to the tailpiece, and the other to the cable's jack cover. Take your hands off the instrument. If the noise is gone, check to see if the ground connection to the tailpiece is missing.

    A less likely cause would be a faulty pickup. You can check a pickup by tapping the poles with a screwdriver while it's plugged in. Check the poles for both humbucker coils.

    If the above doesn't work, the problem is somewhere else. Since there's no easy access to the electronics on an El Rey, you'll have to decide how much further trouble you want to go to. You would have to at the very least pull the pickup to inspect the connections there. If you didn't find anything there, then you would have to pull everything else, then fish it back into place after you found and fixed the problem. For most of us, fishing parts on a hollowbody electric instrument is not much fun.

  3. #3

    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    Quote Originally Posted by rcc56 View Post
    Sounds like a faulty ground connection, due to a bad solder joint or a missing or broken wire. And there should be some sort of ground connection to the tailpiece.

    First, make sure your cable is good! And use a cable that has a metal jack cover, not one that is plastic or covered with heat shrink.

    Then, if you've got a lead with alligator clips, clip one end to the tailpiece, and the other to the cable's jack cover. Take your hands off the instrument. If the noise is gone, check to see if the ground connection to the tailpiece is missing.

    A less likely cause would be a faulty pickup. You can check a pickup by tapping the poles with a screwdriver while it's plugged in. Check the poles for both humbucker coils.

    If the above doesn't work, the problem is somewhere else. Since there's no easy access to the electronics on an El Rey, you'll have to decide how much further trouble you want to go to. You would have to at the very least pull the pickup to inspect the connections there. If you didn't find anything there, then you would have to pull everything else, then fish it back into place after you found and fixed the problem. For most of us, fishing parts on a hollowbody electric instrument is not much fun.
    I have followed your guide.
    When I connect from tailpiece to jack, the hum is reduced - not gone.

    The pickup clicks on both rows, so its working. Not equal in volume though. The coil next to the fretboard is louder.

    Should the pole pieces be grounded? I haven't lifted out the pickup as the instrument is not mine.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    The pole pieces should not be grounded, just the windings on one side of the pickup. Maybe the case, I haven't seen one of these in person. Ground should be on all pots, bridge, tailpiece, and back of pickup. Does it have an access on the back, you could remove the cover and look at the grounds. If you have to fish all the electronics out the f holes it is not fun, but may be necessary.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  5. #5
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    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    I've looked at pictures of this model. There is no access panel.

    If the owner bought the instrument new, cease and desist and send it back to Eastman for warranty repair or replacement.

    If the instrument is not under warranty and you've been asked to repair it for someone else, you might consider declining the repair. Some or all of the components are going to have to come out of there, and since there is no access panel, I would anticipate 3 to 6 hours worth of labor to perform the repair and get everything back together. Unless the owner is willing to spend a minimum of $150 - $200 for the repair, you'll be doing a lot of tricky work for not much money.

    You may be able to locate the faulty ground with an ohm meter. Take measurements from the jack plate to each pot frame, to the tailpiece, and to the pickup's frame. Then measure between the pots, and from the pots to the pickup frame. If you get anything more than 0 ohms, that indicates a problem. It would also be a good idea to measure between the hot and ground sides of the pickup in case it has a weak coil, but first you would have to disconnect the hot wire between the pickup and any other components to avoid measuring a "sneak circuit." If my memory serves me correctly, the pickup impedance might be anywhere between 5k ohms and 12k ohms.

    If you get very lucky, you might only have to partially disassemble it to execute the repair.

    About all you can do without taking stuff apart is to run a wire from the tailpiece base to the jack's external washer, which wouldn't be pretty. It would give you the same result as the alligator lead from tailpiece to jack.
    Last edited by rcc56; May-21-2023 at 5:28pm.

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    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    If you have to take it apart, I put a vinyl tube that fits the volume and tone control shaft tightly. After you unscrew the nut you can feed the tube down the hole and fish the pots the the f holes. Keep the tubing on so you can pull it back when you are done. Well, you can take it off once it's out, but leave the tube in place to pull it back when you are done.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  7. #7

    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    Great info everyone! Thank you so much.
    I am just testing the mandolin, hopefully not doing any repairs etc. But I can see, that I may need to.

    I hope to hear from others, that own the El Rey - to confirm whether the noise is expected.

    In the meantime, I will get out the multimeter and test as suggested above.

  8. #8
    Registered User meow-n-dolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    Quote Originally Posted by BessieM View Post
    Great info everyone! Thank you so much.
    I am just testing the mandolin, hopefully not doing any repairs etc. But I can see, that I may need to.

    I hope to hear from others, that own the El Rey - to confirm whether the noise is expected.

    In the meantime, I will get out the multimeter and test as suggested above.
    No noise from mine. No hum. None at all.

  9. #9

    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    What is the El Rey plugged into? Have you tried it with a different amp, cable, and/or pedal?

  10. #10

    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    Quote Originally Posted by NDO View Post
    What is the El Rey plugged into? Have you tried it with a different amp, cable, and/or pedal?
    Yes. I have ruled out all other possibilities by A/B testing

  11. #11

    Default Re: El Rey humbucker noise

    If you do decide to take it apart, pull the pickup, and the pots and rest of the electronics will fit through the pickup cutout.
    (At least it did on mine. Took a bit of wiggling though.)
    There is virtually no slack on the ground wire to the tailpiece, so that needs to be detached first.
    Also found it was easier to run a new ground wire to tailpiece than reattach existing.

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