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Post subject: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:21 am
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I got my first Tele yesterday and until now, I had only played around with clean tones. However, as soon as I crank up the gain on the amp or FX box, I get this loud, annoying 'hum' which I don't get with the Les Paul. At first, I thought I had a ground loop so I unplugged everything else in the room but it made no difference whatsoever. Taking the effects out didn't help either and the noise is still there if I stand in a different room. Reducing the volume on the guitar helps a little.

Is this due to the single-coil pickups? What can I do to get rid of it? I can't possibly rely on the noise gate, which messes up the tone of the guitar or should I? If it were the cable then surely I'd have the same problem with the LP, wouldn't it?

Thanks,

Gilles
(also posted on TDPRI and guitars.co.uk)

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:53 am
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Well, single coil pickups pick up interference in the form of 60 cycle hum which can come from many sources, such as: Fluorescent lights, lots of pedals (Or one noisy pedal), not so clean electricity, and television (I thought it was cool as hell that my strat could pickup the signals from my remote control ^^). May I ask what kind of amp/fx are you playing through and and fluorescent lights? Usually there is always hum but it's not prominent enough to be considered a ground loop.

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:59 am
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Good morning gcoudert, hope you're having a nice holiday. :) Typically, with single coil pickups there will be some hum, and that hum will become much worse when using gain/drive/distortion, that is just inherent with single coils. Some guitars, like the 3 pickup Strat, will have noise canceling in positions 2 and 4 of the pickup selector switch, due to a reverse wound/reverse polarity middle pickup. These 2 positions put 2 pickups in parallel, with 1 pickup being the opposite polarity to the other (sort of a humbucker mode) which will reduce the hum. That is also why you won't have this much noise when using a humbucker equipped guitar. If you have a 2 pickup Tele there will be no noise canceling position. :)

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:54 am
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Capo wrote:
May I ask what kind of amp/fx are you playing through and and fluorescent lights?


My amp is a Marshall Valvestate (model 8080), which - despite its name - is a solidstate amp. We have no fluorescent lights. My effects unit is a 'cheap' Behringer X V-Amp but I get the hum even without it; at least, it has a noise gate!

Would a set of Fender 'noiseless' pickups help or should I not bother? How can I shield the electronics?

Thanks for the replies, guys!

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Vintage V100 Les Paul (flamed honeyburst)
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Korg ToneWorks AX3000G effects
Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:36 am
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Hello there. I know that the hum can be quite annoying, my younger brother has a Mexican Standard tele and the hum is quite noticeable in that particular guitar, my American Special still has some hum but it's significantly less. My best recommendation for getting rid of the hum would be new pickups, noise suppressors are tone suckers, and thats what it's all about, TONE.

Here is an example of a new one (only neck here)

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0992116000

DiMarzio makes a nice humbucker stack for the tele with a few options for different tone

http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/

Seymour Duncan has similar humbucking style pickups that are designed to fit teles and look like the natural pickup

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/e ... e_stack_f/

Hopefully this info helps!

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:06 pm
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Thanks for the suggestions, jamanon, I will consider them.

I seem to have reached an acceptable compromise by turning down the volume on the guitar by 1/8 of a turn, using only a little noise suppression on the Behringer and increasing the output volume on the amp a little to compensate for the guitar volume loss, which doesn't mess up the tone too much. You're right, in the end, it's all about tone.

Thanks!

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Black MIM Telecaster Standard with 3-saddle bridge
Vintage V100 Les Paul (flamed honeyburst)
Stagg A4006 electro-acoustic
Korg ToneWorks AX3000G effects
Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:51 am
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Agreeing that the single are sensitive to common mode noise (e. g. Fluorescent hum noise), I'm asking also about gounding and good shielding of all wires. I said that because I've a Tele 52 RI and I've no noise at all even when I use clean channel and a very little and acceptable one on drive channel on my 7ender BDRI or my Vox.

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 12:25 pm
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Tis-san wrote:
Agreeing that the single are sensitive to common mode noise (e. g. Fluorescent hum noise), I'm asking also about gounding and good shielding of all wires. I said that because I've a Tele 52 RI and I've no noise at all even when I use clean channel and a very little and acceptable one on drive channel on my 7ender BDRI or my Vox.


There is no difference when I touch the strings of metal parts of the guitar so I guess grounding is OK.

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Black MIM Telecaster Standard with 3-saddle bridge
Vintage V100 Les Paul (flamed honeyburst)
Stagg A4006 electro-acoustic
Korg ToneWorks AX3000G effects
Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 2:37 pm
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I had a Strat with single coil pickups and if I was too close to my computer I would get a hum also. I have a Deluxe Tele with SC noiseless pups now and theres no hum at all.

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:35 pm
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Location: metro Chicago USA
We have a big sodium vapour street lamp about ahundred feet away, that plus the general house "noise" made for "intolerable hum," especially on the big single coils like on a Jazzmaster and Mosrite.

Solution: Electro-Harmonix Hum-De-Bugger; 'had it 3 years, love it, use it a lot. Highly recommended.


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 6:10 pm
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Welcome to the world of single coil pickups. Sweet tone has a price.

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 7:58 pm
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Gilles, take a battery powered AM radio, synthonize it between two stations, where there is no noise, and crank the volume up to the max. Then you walk around in your practice room until you find a place with no hum. You can track any source of electro magnetic interference with a device like that, but you can test it's sensibility first by bringing the radio near a computer, a light dimmer or a wall thermostat. When you've found the source of the EMI, you can either shield the place or move your gear. Good luck.
Claude. 8)


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:05 am
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Thanks, Claude, I'll try this. We happen to have a portable AM radio that we use to listen to French radio on LW.

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Black MIM Telecaster Standard with 3-saddle bridge
Vintage V100 Les Paul (flamed honeyburst)
Stagg A4006 electro-acoustic
Korg ToneWorks AX3000G effects
Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:56 am
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Good earth doesn't mean good grounding, let me explain.
If you have a gound loop for instance one gound connected of your guitare connected to earth by a pedal supply for instance and also connected to earth through your amp, there is a ground loop even better if the earth is good. In order to idendify if you have a ground loop, make a schematic of all connections adding "parasitic" resistors-coils and let me know. 8) 8)

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:04 am
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Tis-san wrote:
Good earth doesn't mean good grounding, let me explain.
If you have a gound loop for instance one gound connected of your guitare connected to earth by a pedal supply for instance and also connected to earth through your amp, there is a ground loop even better if the earth is good. In order to idendify if you have a ground loop, make a schematic of all connections adding "parasitic" resistors-coils and let me know. 8) 8)


OK, I get you. I assume there can be no ground loop, having unplugged everything else in the vicinity. Only the amp was plugged in and I still got hum.

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Black MIM Telecaster Standard with 3-saddle bridge
Vintage V100 Les Paul (flamed honeyburst)
Stagg A4006 electro-acoustic
Korg ToneWorks AX3000G effects
Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp


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