i have a 2000 MIM SSS which i purchased off craigslist. the guitar was fine when i got it (about 18 months ago) but lately it's been very noise and humming. the problem is amplified when played through a compressor sustainer/drive pedals (understandably).

i can't be certain, but i think the noise may have appeared first or shortly after i decided to "open 'er up" while changing strings. i popped the hood to take a look at what was underneath. i was careful as i could be not to disturb the wiring.

anyway my question is: what is a main source for hum in a "noisy" guitar? as i said, the guitar is SSS and it's very noise in any single pickup position, but the hum is cut drastically when in any combination of two pickups (also understandably, but the noise does not completely disappear).

my first guess is: wiring? is this something where if i cleaned up the wiring i could eliminate a lot of the hum? i know that the single pickups will never be completely hum-free, but you should really hear this thing. it's quite un-quiet.

Hi,

check the cable that goes from the trem claw to the volume pot.

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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you most likely knocked a grounding wire loose. you will have to open er back up and carefully check all the black or bare wires. it helps if you have a multimeter because you may have disturbed a bad solder joint. either a cold soldered joint or non fluxed connection. to the untrained eye those are sometimes hard to detect visually.

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If it's quiet in the humbucking positions, then it may be unrelated to opening it up.
Installed any compact fluorescents lately?