How to remove Guitar Pickup from ceiling

[zmf]

Originally Posted by YamakiMan

But he’s slowly adjusted his pattern so that the tapping is loud enough to keep us awake but hard to record.

Perhaps you need a seismic recorder. There's an iPhone app for recording vibration-- we once used it for measuring vibration after renovation of a building housing labs with a lot of sensitive equipment.

[J185-4Me]

Originally Posted by YamakiMan

This has carried on for 14 months. He’s been assessed more than $50,000 in fines but refuses to pay. I won a small claims case against him. But he’s slowly adjusted his pattern so that the tapping is loud enough to keep us awake but hard to record. We thought perhaps a contact pickup would work better than a microphone but we were wrong. We can’t let him get away with this simply because he learned how to foil our recordings.

This is exactly why people invented single-family dwellings.....

Seriously, tho', I'm sorry to hear about the shenanigans (sounds like a raucous Irish band) of your upstairs neighbour. Perhaps Jim Dunlops might've worked better....

Fred

[Wardo]

I had good results using a Beatbuddy through a 100 watt amp to control noisy neighbors. Took about three or four treatments but eventually they got the message.

[JayBee1404]

Think laterally - soft foam ear-plugs… https://www.amazon.com/Flents-Quiet-...%2C182&sr=8-13

[Dogma]

Originally Posted by YamakiMan

OK, so this is my first post, and it's a weird one.

Our upstairs neighbours have been driving us crazy for 14 months tapping on the concrete floor directly above our master bedroom, most often between 10 PM and midnight. We don't need any help with that, but it explains why I would buy a Schaller Oyster pickup and stick it to my ceiling hoping to pick up the sound better than through the air.

That it didn't work, even with a pre-amp. I suspect guitar body vibrations have much greater amplitude than the 9" thick concrete slab separating our apartment from that of the cretin.

Now, how do I get the Schaller off the ceiling with minimal damage? I stuck it on with a sticky pad that came with the Schaller, and a first attempt to scrape if off with a spatula didn't budge it. I don't want to peel the ceiling paint off if I can avoid it, and wondered if anyone knows how to remove these things, and whether there's a recommended easier way?

Thanks, and to keep this on topic for this forum, I haven't used the Schaller for any of my guitars since they all have piezo pickups under the saddles.

So, I'm really curious. What does this neighbor say? Are they just like "Screw you" or do they claim to know nothing about it? Do you have any sense of what it could be? Who taps on the floor for two hours? Is it possible that it is some mechanical system in the building that is causing the noise? Clothes dryer? Anyway, I know it's not what you are asking about but, like you said, it's a weird one and makes me curious.

[KevinH]

I'd just do the best you can getting the pickup off the ceiling (a phrase I never thought I'd utter), then get some drywall patch and repair it.

Re the recording, have you tried a microphone? I just did a test with my Shure MV88+ plugged into my iPhone with the gain all the way up. It easily detected a very weak fingernail tap on my desk several feet away. With a little audio processing I'm sure you could remove most background noise to amplify the tick even further.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by J185-4Me

This is exactly why people invented single-family dwellings.....

Seriously, tho', I'm sorry to hear about the shenanigans (sounds like a raucous Irish band) of your upstairs neighbour. Perhaps Jim Dunlops might've worked better....

Fred

After having lived in apartments when I was younger, we bought a condo on the top floor. I can't stand hearing people walking around above me. It doesn't bother some people, so they would be fine living on a lower floor.

Tony

[b1j]

Ever see Pacific Heights with Melanie Griffith? Michael Keaton was the renter who slowly obliterated his space. Everything was trashed. Maybe your neighborhood is working on a similar project.

[Scott O]

I think I saw a similar situation once in The Three Stooges and they were successfully able to find a solution. However, I need to warn you, you may either trip into a vat of hot rubber, fall on a bear trap, take a hammer to the skull, and/or accidentally eat some glue and get your mouth sealed up. Good luck!

[Murphy Slaw]

I always go straight to the source, in this case, the tapper...

[edcmat-l1]

I thought this was gonna be an anger issues thread......

[Gasworker]

I love a good mystery on the AGF. I personally would like to see a picture! Is it in the middle of the ceiling above your bed? Great post!

[YamakiMan]

Originally Posted by Fatfingers12

To quiet to record….loud enough to keep you awake?

Too quiet to be heard easily on a recording with ventilation hiss and electronic noise, but yes, loud enough to keep you awake. Just about any irregular audible "tick, tick tick" can keep one awake, but especially so if it's deliberate and ill-intentioned.

[YamakiMan]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

I always go straight to the source, in this case, the tapper...

I sued and won. The noise continues. It's been measured more than 100 times at a peak impulse loudness averaging 59 dBA, with peaks as high as 72 dBA. The police won't attend. The building council is fining them $200 per day. The total fines have exceeded $50k and the noise, the denials, and the refusal to let the building council investigate all continue.

[KevWind]

The best way to remove a pick up stuck on the ceiling (depending on ceiling height) Is to get a nice piece of bamboo about 2-3 ft shorter than ceiling height ( 1 inch PVC pipe can be substituted)
And then at 4:00 am every morning, start tapping all around the pickup, eventually in the next 5 years or so, it will fall off