Need Advice Tackling Hum From Guitar

M

MoBettaBlues

New member
I'm getting some hum in my studio and I'm 99.9% certain it's not my guitar, amp/Axe or even my cables. I suspect it may be due to sitting near my computer monitor and/or my macbook.

The reason I suspect this is because it subsides if I rotate my guitar. Not neccisarily just turn the other way but if I rotate it. Changed cables to verify it's not them.

Or.... could it be my dimmer for my lights (even though it's all the way up) ?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
It's possible something in your house could be contributing to the noise, but that's just the nature of single coils. They're like old TV antennas ;) Find a position you can sit in where they make the least possible amount of noise, and then use a gate to silence the rest of it.
 
Is it hum (60 Hz and 120 Hz mostly) or buzz (lots of HF content)? And do you live near others, or have dimmers in other rooms?

--Ethan
 
Ethan Winer said:
Is it hum (60 Hz and 120 Hz mostly) or buzz (lots of HF content)? And do you live near others, or have dimmers in other rooms?

--Ethan
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Not quite sure. I think hum. What's the best way to be certain?

I have a dimmer in the room directly above my studio (studio is in the basement). I have neighbors on both sides.
 
I was able to reduce noise from a mate's strat copy by applying copper shielding inside the body like this. Single p'ups, obviously.

Paul
 
I don't think its the guitar to be honest. It's a new Suhr Custom Modern. The hum goes away if I sit perpendicular to my Macbook Pro. Not sure if that's coincidence.
 
Is it possible that a 3G/4G signal is causing this? Do you keep a cell phone near by? How about the WiFi signal going into your Mac, or does your Mac have a cell signal coming into it via a 3G/4G USB adapter? I know if you put a cell phone near a speaker it will cause that speaker to hum as data is moving back and forth over the air. Will humbuckers pick up that signal like speakers do? Is it possible that turning sideways takes your guitar out of the path of some wireless data signal? Do any of your cables run next to power lines, but don't when you turn? Idk, just trying to think of different things to check out.....
 
MoBettaBlues said:
I don't think its the guitar to be honest. It's a new Suhr Custom Modern. The hum goes away if I sit perpendicular to my Macbook Pro. Not sure if that's coincidence.
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I remember reading about laying cables in a particular way or else you might get hum... that might be the issue. Wish I still had that page bookmarked.
 
Have you tried turning the monitors off and listening back through headphones.
You dont say if it's a high gain distortion type of sound or a clean sound your trying to record.
 
MoBettaBlues said:
I don't think its the guitar to be honest. It's a new Suhr Custom Modern. The hum goes away if I sit perpendicular to my Macbook Pro. Not sure if that's coincidence.
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Found the link. Really good info on the site.

Recording Studio Accessories for Home, Project and Pro Studios

Kill the Hum. When laying out your studio, route all the AC cords first. Put them in a pathway that will cross audio cables at a 90 degree angle. Should you use cable ties? I say no, though clearly your studio will look neater if you do. However, you might find that if you ever want to move a piece of gear you have to undo the harness and it's a pain. Avoid all situations where an audio cable travels parallel with an a/c cable as the audio cable will pick up dreaded 60 cycle HUM. Keep audio cables away from wall-warts (adapters).

At a normal listening level, with nothing playing, gates switched off, your audio should be silent. Now, carefully put all your faders to 100% and slowly turn up your amp till you hear noises, hums, rfi. Isolate the most offensive of these noises to single pieces of gear and see if moving the ac/audio cable paths helps. Usually, you can improve your signal-to-noise ratio substantially by running this test, and you learn which pieces in your studio are the noisiest. This helps during the mix as you can make better decisions about boosting a single level or cutting everything else to make an instrument cut the mix.
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