Stupid sound

What would cause a guitar to make a high pitched feedback like sound. IT sounds like mic feedback and guitar feedback. The "feedback" sound is constant while not playing. It begains immediately after playing stops. I just got a new switch put in thinking that the problem was fixed and it didn't. When I put the switch on full bass sound the feedback goes away. The guitar has two pick ups. The switch has 3 positions. I'm guessing that one is one pick up the other is both and the other is the other one. My other guitar doesn't do this sound ever with the same settings on my amp. I was thinking that I might need a new pick up for my guitar. Anyone know what is causing this?

I think i meant to post this in tech

sounds like exactly the same thing I have, when you touch the strings or the hardware does it stop?

no it only stops when a note is played

Hamberg - I guess you need a noise gate pedal.

English Enigma - May be you should check the grounding of your equipment.

I already got a noise gate; the "feedback" sound is pretty loud. This guitar did not always do this.

Hmmmm .
The only couple of solution I know for this kinda trouble is a nois gate pedal , or using less distortion !
If you think the pickup might be the problem , swap in the pickup from the other guitar , and see if the problem goes with the pickup.

the sound does only occure when the distortion is on; however the distortion level is low and my other guitar doesn't make this noise without a noisegate. Also my other guitar is a fender and the broken one is a 69 les paul and I don't think the pickup will fit in it correctly.

You can swap both pickups of the same guitar .

The p/u could be microphonic, have you tried touching the p/u and putting a little downward pressure on it?.........

No I haven't tried applying pressure. If it is microphonic what would solve the problem. The neck pick up looks like its the same one on the bridge, and im not having a problem with that one. Did they make microphonic pick up on older guitars? This one is from '69.

Originally Posted by: SLYYou can swap both pickups of the same guitar .

Thats a good idea.Ill try that.

No I haven't tried applying pressure to the pick up. If it is microphonic what would solve the problem. The neck pick up looks like its the same one on the bridge, and im not having a problem with that one. Did they make microphonic pick up for older les pauls? This one is from '69.

I did a quick search on "microphonic pickup" , and I've found this ... It seems to be the solution for you exact problem.

pstring - What's a microphonic pickup ? I mean is it a category of pickups , or just a term used to describe faulty pickups ?

It's a term used for faulty pick-ups, it's not real common in humbuckers but fairly common in single coils especially telecaster p/u's, for whatever reason, ( dropping, banging, old age and repeated guitar playing related mishaps ) a winding on a coil, a backing plate or bobbin can get a little loose and become so sensitive that anything will make it vibrate at a high freq. so you get the squealing thru the amp, especially in high gain situations.

The reason I asked if it stopped when downward pressure was put on the pick-up, if it is a backing plate or loose mounting hardware vibrating, then that would kill the vibration and it would be a easy fix.

The reason only one p/u is squealing is because only one is bad.

So best case, loose hardware, easy fix, 2nd best, loose winding, p/u needs to be potted, worst case, potting sometimes doesn't work, p/u is bad and needs replaced, it is a 35 year old p/u.

Disclaimer, these are my best guesses, it is very hard to get it right over the internet everytime, good luck and good hunting...........