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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:56 am
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Location: Dunstable, UK
OK, problem solved. The AM radio trick worked and it turned out it was my music PC. I moved the amp to another part of the (small) room, turned off the noise gate, turned up the guitar volume and the hum's practically gone. Thanks ever so much!

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:02 am
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gcoudert wrote:
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.


Seriously, I think you're on a wild goose chase here. Single coil pickups buzz - ALWAYS when you switch on some OD/Distortion. By the nature of the pickup design, they will pick up even the faintest electrical interference. All sorts of things contribute: bad wiring, electrical devices, dimmer switches, even fluorescent lights. In my basement, if I turn around in a circle with my guitar on, there are only two directions I can face where the noise stops - and the window is very small at that. All my wiring is brand new and done correctly, and my guitars have shielded cavities. It could even just be the location of my house in relation to some outside source of interference.

You have three choices: a) get a noise suppressor pedal, b) learn to use your volume knob when you're not playing, or c) keep chasing ghosts.

Single coils: Bright, sparkling tone, but noisy.
Humbuckers: Muddy high end, but quiet.

I was at a guitar clinic last month with Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady) - he is known for high gain tone and he only uses bright single coil pickups. A kid asked a very similar question as yours about how he can make his guitar stop buzzing. The answer he got was, "Learn to use your volume knob, that's what I do. Great tone has a price."

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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:14 am
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I have used copper sheeting for the inside cavities of my Stratocaster and this made a huge improvement. Note that most guitars now have RF shielding paint in the cavities and the copper may not provide any benefit to these guitars.

http://www.gdpusa.com search for "copper"

If the noise reduces alot when you touch the guitar jack or the bridge, then shielding or grounding might be the problem. Note the bridge and jackplate need to be grounded, but they already should be.

Normal single-coil noise can magically go away simply by you turning at different angles (e.g., turn slowly in a circle while listening to your guitar buzz)


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 1:18 pm
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Location: Wisconsin
Great thread guys. I love the radio trick. I came home last week with a brand new Tele and when I got it all set up and ready to play in my "music room" it sounded like crap. About broke my heart and ruined my magic moment. Same thing after three or four equipment wiring changes. Totally discouraged I turned out my desk lights (both florescent) and a miracle occurred!!! I should have known better :mrgreen: but at that point I wasn't thinking clearly any more. For some reason the Tele is more sensitive than the Amer Strat I usually play.

Great info -thanks.


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:06 pm
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I don't like hum. I'm using noiseless pickup on my Strats and they do the trick as far as "authentic" tone goes.

Lately I've been thinking about changing back to normal pickups and using a Suhr backplate... there are a lot more options when you use normal pickups... and they are simple beasts, which means that they are less prone to reliability issues.
I just need to get enough money for that crazy priced backplate. No such luck with Teles. I'd try shielding first. If it still bugs you - I'd go for the Joe Barden pickup even if it's pretty expensive.


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Post subject: Re: Intolerable hum
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:41 pm
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For "Powdered Toast Man"

I agree with you about sensitivity of single (compare to hum bucker) magnetic field.
For sure you're right by using a huge amplification to make distortion, it amplifies also all magnetic interferences that are induced in the non-shielded parts. That was the case. 8)

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