Preamp problem plz help

[JamesT]

Hi I have a pretty new (4-5 month old) Larrive OM-03 that has a L.R. Baggs preamp on it.

A vibrating/buzzing sound occurs when I pluck the open A, G and sometimes B strings with the flesh of my thumb. It also occurs sometimes when I play 12th fret harmonics of these strings. The buzzing is not consistent, that is, sometimes there is no buzzing, particularly when I softly wiggle the preamp from the inside or the outside of the guitar, or activate the pop-out/battery change feature.  However, the buzzing occurs every day, particularly when I change between alternate tunings, and often cant be avoided and occurs mid-way through a song. Interestingly, the buzzing does not occur when the preamp is upside down (when the soundhole is facing me). I've tried manipulating the two (output and input) wires that are hooked up to the preamp (inside the guitar) and it dosent seem to make a difference, so I think that the buzzing has something to do with the tightness or the way that the preamp is mounted to the instrument.

The preamp is fastened to the side of the guitar by 4 screws. 3 of 4 of them are tight so today I tightened the 4th screw. This definitly reduced the degree of buzzing, but sometimes the B string still buzzes. I could tighten it more, but Im afraid of over tightening. When I tightened the screw, the whole guitar actually felt tighter, and the string tension increased. I definitly prefer it with the increased tension because the open strings dont vibrate with as large of an amplitude as they usually do, and also it seems that barre cords are easier 

Anyways, I want to tighten it more, to completely get rid of the buzzing, but Im scared of over tightening it and damaging the guitar. What should I do?

[unclrob]

All the screws should be snug.Also check the nuts around the tuning post and the screw's that hold the tuners in.Also if your using a drop tuning there may not be enough tension on the strings.You'll also want to put your hand inside the guitar to make sure there aren't any loose wire's.After checking all this if there's still buzzing bring it too your favorite tech/luthier a different pair of eye's and ears might help.

[JamesT]

Hey, thanks very much for your reply. I took unscrewed the whole thing and took a look at it, tightened what I could and put it back in, making sure each screw is 'snug'. So far so good! I really hope its fixed because it was a very annoying problem on a very expensive guitar!

[unclrob]

Did you also check the wire's inside?They sometime's aren't tight.

[JamesT]

I did check the wires, but I dont think its them thats the problem because the buzz sometimes goes away when I wiggle just the pickup itself. It started buzzing again today and I just couldnt take it any longer so I took the strings off and unscrewed the pickup again to take another look at it. Im going to send it in to L.R. Baggs to have them repair or replace it, I actually think it might have a crack in the side of it, which would (I think) explain the buzzing and the decreased buzzing when I tighten the whole thing. The only thing is I have no idea how it would get cracked, because I never use the pickup and never EVER bump my beautiful larrivee against anything..

Will the guitar be playable while my pre amp is sent away and theres a big whole in the side of the guitar?

Again, thanks for your help

[Michael T]

Will the guitar be playable while my pre amp is sent away and theres a big whole in the side of the guitar?

Again, thanks for your help

Of course it'll be playable, you're just gonna have a big ole ugly soundport. You will probably like being able to hear it from that barndoor.

[unclrob]

Did the unit come with a gaskit that it would sit on the outside of the guitar?If you have a tech have him/her check for any cracks and fix them now.

[JamesT]

It definitely didn't come with any sort of cap to fit over the whole.. also, its the pre amp that I think is cracked, not the guitar itself (thank god). I wish I could upload a picture of the part of the pre amp that looks cracked but I dont have a camera  .. though I will have access to one this time next week so if I havent sent in the preamp to L.R. baggs by then ill upload a picture of it.
I thought about taking it in to a music store to have a tech look at it but I wasn't sure if anybody but the people at L.R. Baggs could actually fix it if it was cracked?

[unclrob]

If the unit itself is cracked and its a new guitar then Baggs/Larrivee should fix it.Is the unit one of those smokey grey transparent one's?If so I believe that Baggs has them made over sea's.Its better to replace it then to fix it.

[Southern Cross]

James,
I had a defective LR Baggs preamp on my LV-03RE, and I must say that the people I dealt with at LR Baggs were topnotch.  They replaced the entire unit no questions asked, and were very speedy in getting it back to me.  If you haven't contacted them, I found the number on their website.  If it is a preamp problem you need to go straight to LR Baggs.  Good luck, and I hope you get it fixed soon.
Clifford

[JamesT]

I went to Tom Lee music today to pick up a new set of strings and I spent a while talking to one of the employees about my problem. He said it was totally common and not a big deal, and that I just need to bring it to a tech. He said sending the preamp in to LR baggs would be silly because the buzzing could be from MANY things, not just the preamp system. So.. Im not going to send it in to LR but rather am going to bring it to a tech and get them to go over it with me and (hopefully) resolve the issue. Also, I checked out a bunch of Larrivees that had the same preamp as me and came to the conclusion that my preamp isnt cracked- they all just have a suspicious looking line on the side of them..
Anyways, I really appreciate the replies I got to this post.. it has made me much more comfortable with this whole situation.

[Gary45]

I have experienced the same problem, thank you for the information
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