squealing and out phased?

[betocosano]

(Moved from Lutherie and Repair by sumgai.)

Hello everybody! I recently bought an ASAT classic from 1998 (smaller MFD's, neck/bridge, 1 volume 1 tone.). I had tried ASAT's before (a brand new one from 2008 i guess) and loved the MFD's sound, my asat isn't an exception but...

Here we go with the issues... when I bought it, the neck pickup had been replaced with a HARMONIC DESIGN mini strat for tele model, the original MFD pop was included In the case so a friend put it back for me.
The sound is what I expected however I have a feedback problem that especially happens with the bridge pickup, even though for some reason it has a lot less gain than the neck one???
I read on another forum that the issue is actually the bridge and not the pickups?? that putting double sided tape/melted wax under the front end of the bridge fixes it?
The problem is that English is not my first language so I don't get the entire point of the solution... Does it mean I need to remove the "ash-tray" bridge and put some tape underneath the front (closer to the neck I assume??) or is it under the strings' saddles (hopefully saddle is the right word...)

Also cause if this difference in gain/volume (neck pop considerably louder than bridge) the middle position sound very "nasal," I don't know how to describe it but the middle position doesn't sound good at all now... I think my buddy might have confused the soldering and now the pick ups are "phased out"

(neck pop) The black wire is soldered to the 3 way switch and the white to the back of the volume pot, I assume that by reversing those the phase issue would be fixed???
I hope that somebody can throw some light on the subjects. Thanks!

[newey]

betocosano-

Hello and Welcome!

First of all, your English is fine. If you don't understand the solution to the bridge pickup problem that was posted in the other forum, we will need a link to that forum before we can figure out what the solution posted there means. Normally, feedback or squeal issues indicate a problem with the pickup, but I suppose it's possible that the pickup may be transmitting some vibration of the bridge to cause the feedback.

If the poster on the other forum had the same problem with the same model of guitar as yours, his solution is certainly something you should consider. So, please post a link to that so we can understand what the person is saying.

As far as the out-of-phase issue, switching the leads of the neck pickup should fix that. However, switching the leads of the bridge pickup will do the same. Since it sounds like you may end up working on the bridge end of things to fix the first problem, it might be easier to rewire the bridge pickup rather than the neck.

By the way, if you're learning English, the frequent use of slang in English is going to be one of your biggest challenges. So, please don't take this as a criticism. But, one of our bits of slang here at GuitarNuts2 is using the shorthand "pup" to mean "pickup" ("pickup"= "p-up", therefore "pup"). You have used "pop", which calls to mind a certain type of noise, like a small explosion. While I understood you meant "pickup", others might be confused by that.

[betocosano]

Thanks for the reply! I know I meant PUP sorry!
So I finally reversed the wires coming from the neck pickup (before reading your answer, otherwise I'd done the bridge.)
I don't have my amp with me but I'll test the middle position again tomorrow and see how that worked out. I did test it with a very cheap PA just to check the middle position sound and it seems to have improved a lot, but I want to try it with an amp.
Now the volume difference between the pups seems to still be there, the neck definitely has more output is very noticeable. I wonder what the average output is for mfd's? I know they are closer to a P90 than to a single coil...
Related to the bridge plate I finally asked around and understood what the point is but i don't want to do it until I figure out what is wrong with the pickup...
Here's the link for the forum...

www.guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1650

[newey]

The link advises that the problem is usually the pickup itself. The sequence for trouble shooting is, first, install surgical tubing over the pickup adjustment screws. Easy enough to do, and if it solves the problem, you're done!

Second is checking the pickup (as described there) and perhaps a repotting.

Third is using some wax to dampen out the bridgeplate, if it appears to be not-quite flush.

I'd do the tubing, examine the bridgeplate for fit, and then focus on the pickup if all else fails.