[jacksonknox27]

i got a d sonic and a paf 7 installed in the brige and neck, respectively. On the lead channel on my 5150 the d sonic buzzes at very low volumes and at high volumes it squeals uncontrollably (even through my noise suppressor). Also, when i roll the volume off, the squealing goes away (so its not my amp). My PAF 7 is completely silent all the time, even at really high levels (by the way, i LOVE this pickup, one of the best neck pickups ive ever played). My Jackson KE3 has a duncan custom in the bridge, and that is probably just as quiet as the PAF, and has normal feedback when played at high gain and volume. Is this a microphonic issue with the d sonic, and should i send it back and get a new one?
Ive heard about taping the back, but id rather get a new pup if that was the issue...
any suggestions?

[The Dark Wolf]

Mine does the same. The DS7 is a noisy pickup. I use 2 gates generally to take care of it. I think it's a flaw with the pickup, personally. If you can get the nosie under control, it's terrific. If not, the PAF7 at the bridge will get you similar results without the noise.

[Elysian]

x2n7 does that, you got to figure out where the best place to stand is, otherwise its gonna feedback through your amp pretty hard

[zimbloth]

Dude, change the battery on your noise supressor. Or get a better one. What suppressor do you use? It should not do that. Yes the DS7 is prone to noise than most other DiMarzios, but if you have a decent gate it shouldnt feedback at all.

[The Dark Wolf]

Yeah, without a gate, it's a squealer. (Aside - the Dimarzio Blaze is one of the quietest pickups ever. Zero hum, and about zero squeal, at insane volumes and gain.)

But with a good gate, the squeal is killed on the DS7. It sorta seems to depend on the room and where you stand, like Elysian says. At home, my DS7 is totally quiet when I'm playing though my amps. No hum, no squeal. But I played at a dude's house the otehr day, in an unfinished basement, with my amp resting on a bare concrete floor, and woo! Did it squeal. Had to adjust my gate (I was only using 1 gate that day, too) to get rid of it. It worked perfect after that, but yeah, it can be noisy in some applications.

[jacksonknox27]

i use a boss ns-2 in the effects loop, with a godlyke power supply for all my pedals, should i put it before the amp and not in the loop?

should i get a different pickup? I play lots of fast, technical riffs, and i dont want my sound to get muddy, or squeal for that matter.

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by jacksonknox27

i use a boss ns-2 in the effects loop, with a godlyke power supply for all my pedals

should i get a different pickup? I play lots of fast, technical riffs, and i dont want my sound too get muddy, or squeal for that matter.

Get a gate for right after the pickup (or try the NS-2 there.)

Personally, I find two gates (one right after pickup, one in loop) to be perfect for ANY pickup, when you play our kind of music (fast, technical, high gain).

2 NS-2's is perfect, especially if using it right after the pickup doesn't work. Nick (Zimbloth) can tell you his NS-2 settings top help you out.

If all else fails, try your PAF7 in the bridge. Or, get a Blaze pickup, if you want higher output (the sound is kinda sorta similar to the DS7. But, the plus is it's super quiet.

[jacksonknox27]

ok, thanks for the help/info, i think ill try and fight it with supressors

i was looking at the isp decimators, are those better gates?

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by jacksonknox27

ok, thanks for the help/info, i think ill try and fight it with supressors

i was looking at the isp decimators, are those better gates?

Most people seem to like the ISP WITH a NS-2.

NS-2 after pickups, ISP in the loop.

[scott from _actual time_]

if the pickup really is squealing, not just ringing with normal rockin' feedback, then it might be microphonic. the test is to get the pickup squealing, then without muting the strings grab the pickup real tight with your fingers. if the pickup stops vibrating and stops feeding back, then the problem is the mounting not holding the pickup tight enough to isolate it from vibrations. that usually only happens with pickguard or mounting ring guitars, not with direct mount. if you grab the pickup and it doesn't stop feeding back, then the problem is inside the pickup.

for some reason, the DiMarzio 7-string pickups are sometimes microphonic right out of the box. i've had New 7s, TZ7, and PAF7 act up like that. of course, high-gain amp sounds and loud volume and standing close to the amp make it worse.

but DiMarzio is really cool about fixing this. call them up, talk to a tech, and explain the problem. they will offer to repot the pickups for free if you ship them back to their plant--"extra bullet-proofing" they called it. they did that with all of mine that were microphonic out of the box, and it fixed them right up.