Is a Lifeson noisier than a non a non piezo lp?

[roodboy]

I have a Lifeson axcess s/n in the 740's.
It seems a bit noisier than my GO.
Bot have WCR godwood/crossroads.
Had two techs check it out and they found nothing wrong.
One heard the additional noise, other didn't.
Maybe I'm nuts, but I'm not one those bat eared types.
I'm thinking of popping in new pots.
Two questions:
1) Is your Lifeson noisier than a non piezo lp?
2) If you replace pots can you use regular Les Paul pots or do they have to be different because guitar body is thinner?

 

[dspelman]

1. A piezo guitar should not be noisier than a non-piezo guitar. In fact, the piezo shouldn't be noisy at all. One of the nice things about my Variax guitars is that the single coil pickup models (fed by piezo saddles) are dead quiet -- it's even a little disconcerting at first if you're used to P90 guitars.
2. Regular pots (I have an Axcess Custom)

It's likely that whatever noise you're hearing is actually coming from intermittent grounding issues, cold solder joints or some other problem with wiring, not from the piezo or its associated electronics.

 

[roodboy]

1. A piezo guitar should not be noisier than a non-piezo guitar. In fact, the piezo shouldn't be noisy at all. One of the nice things about my Variax guitars is that the single coil pickup models (fed by piezo saddles) are dead quiet -- it's even a little disconcerting at first if you're used to P90 guitars.
2. Regular pots (I have an Axcess Custom)

It's likely that whatever noise you're hearing is actually coming from intermittent grounding issues, cold solder joints or some other problem with wiring, not from the piezo or its associated electronics.

Thanks for the reply.
I guess its not the piezo, since it has the push/pull bypass.

 

[MineGoes211]

You can send it to me, and I'll let you know....!!!

 

[b3john]

What dspelman said. You aren't the first guy to complain about noisy electronics in a Lifeson Axcess. Show us a gut shot of the control cavity.

 

[roodboy]

What dspelman said. You aren't the first guy to complain about noisy electronics in a Lifeson Axcess. Show us a gut shot of the control cavity.

I will pickup from tech tomorrow and post a gut shots.

 

[roodboy]

Heres pics:

 

[torqvaw]

What type of noise are you referring too? Pops and/or other sounds of electrical interference, or something else? My Lifeson is much more prone to interference from other sources than any other guitar that I have. It also has a low level "hiss" that comes from the amp on the Graphtech board. I talked to Graphtech and this is normal. Having the pickups mixed through that board will introduce noise especially on the mag side when you are running through a higher gain amp.

I am considering doing the mod to separate the mags from the Grapthech board. Those that have done it seem to very happy.

Btw..It looks like Gibson has changed the way they are grounding the Al. The earlier models like mine were grounded with the pots sitting atop foil tape. Nice to see they went away from that and are actually grounding them with a soldered solution.

 

[roodboy]

What type of noise are you referring too? Pops and/or other sounds of electrical interference, or something else? My Lifeson is much more prone to interference from other sources than any other guitar that I have. It also has a low level "hiss" that comes from the amp on the Graphtech board. I talked to Graphtech and this is normal. Having the pickups mixed through that board will introduce noise especially on the mag side when you are running through a higher gain amp.

I am considering doing the mod to separate the mags from the Grapthech board. Those that have done it seem to very happy.

Btw..It looks like Gibson has changed the way they are grounding the Al. The earlier models like mine were grounded with the pots sitting atop foil tape. Nice to see they went away from that and are actually grounding them with a soldered solution.

Thanks for the reply.
Low level hiss is what I'm getting.
Its not a lot and I wouldnt hear it in a live situation.
I think a MCDLT mod may be in order.
I still hear it with the piezo bypassed which is the thing I dont understand.
If its from the piezo shouldnt it go away when bypassed?
Or maybe its one of those crappy bypasses.
I dont even use the pieazo, I just wanted a solid body axcess, maybe I should just wire it up old school with an RS kit.

 

[dspelman]

Might be time for a go at shielding the various electronics cavities?

 

[roodboy]

Might be time for a go at shielding the various electronics cavities?

What model is that?