Fender Strat's pickups are buzzing like crazy

[Buzi]

hi guys...
so, I went to the store on Christmas and got me a nice Strat.
Got me a Crate amp (30w) too. Sounded sweet and all, but whenever I've got the pickup selector switch on certain positions, or if I just take my hand off the strings, the amp buzzes like a toster in a bathtub

should I get new pickups ? The ones I have are cheap white ones with the metal circles in the center...don't know what brand / model.

any suggestions ??

thanks, and happy new year!

[sile2001]

Well, you've got a couple of things going on here. First, since you didn't specifically mention it, I will assume you got a Made-in-Mexico Strat. Nothing really wrong with them, but their pickups are known to be a little noiser than others. Second, your Crate amp is a buzz amplifying machine. Some of them sound ok, but I've never seen such amps for intensifying EMI in the pickups. Third, you might want to do a little research into how pickups work, especially when they are combined. What you will find is that when you have the selector switch at positions 1, 3 and 5, then the guitar is using only an isolated single coil pickup, which is much more susceptible to buzz. In positions 2 and 4, it is combining the signals from either bridge+middle or neck+middle, which also has the effect of cancelling some of the buzz. Fourth, the "white ones with the metal circles in the center" is what almost all Strat pickups look like, regardless of how good they are. That's just what single coil pickups generally look like.

[ibanezrocks]

I wouldnt blame the amp too much, I have a 30 watt crate and even at full volume with almost full gain it barely buzzes. Of course that is with humbuckers.

If it is a nice playing guitar as you said, and its just the pickups that are bad, the obvious solution is to replace them. All pickup companies make some hum cancelling single coils, so they shouldnt be hard for you to find. Then you'll have yourself a nice sounding guitar, regardless of the amp.

P.S. Theres a million solid-state amps that are worse than crate, so don't assume its that.

[ez_willis]

Shield it. It seem like a lot of work, but it's not that bad and you will be BLOWN AWAY at the difference! Go to the link below and read through it a couple of times, if you feel confident, do it yourself, if not send it to a tech to have it done. I did it myself on a squire and can't believe the difference.

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

[darknailblue]

Depending on what your looking for, you might want to invest in humbucker pickups. The "cheap white ones with holes in the middle" are called single coil pickups. Humbuckers are essentially two single coil pickups in one. When you put the pickup selector on any single poisition... ie all the way towards the floor, all the way towards you and right in the middle, you are just using one pickup and since it is a single coil, that is why you are getting the hum. Humbuckers cancel this annoying buzz (I bet you play mostly distorted), which is called 60-cycle hum. I like the single coil strat sound for clean tones.... not distorted. I use a strat for a recording guitar and would never use one live. If your a rock player, you might want to invest in at least a bridge pickup, lets a seymour duncan hot rails. This way you'll get more distortion (single coils have notably less volume than humbuckers) and less noise. Humbuckers will also give you a thicker fatter sound. Or, if you like the sound you're getting but hate the hum... shield them.

~darknail

[boingoman]

If you are into the single coil strat sound, nothing else will do except strat style pickups. Hum-cancelling single-coils, Hot Rails, anything else doesn't sound the same. If it is a Mexi strat, some better quality strat pickups could help a lot with the noise and probly be closer to an original strat sound, too.

I just don't take my hands off the strings when the volume is up if it's too noisy.
Some shielding might help, resoldering the thing might help, turning away from your amp, getting a longer cable and moving farther away might help.
Flourescent lights, fish tanks, computer monitors, dimmer switches on lights, televisions, and analog watches with batteries are a few of the many things strat players have learned to avoid over the years.

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by boingoman

Some shielding might help

Shielding WILL help, tremendously.

Originally Posted by boingoman

I just don't take my hands off the strings when the volume is up if it's too noisy. Some shielding might help, resoldering the thing might help, turning away from your amp, getting a longer cable and moving farther away might help. Flourescent lights, fish tanks, computer monitors, dimmer switches on lights, televisions, and analog watches with batteries are a few of the many things strat players have learned to avoid over the
years.

Shielding the strat will eliminate all of this. It takes about 3 hours and is not that difficult.

[boingoman]

Seems like a cool site. I'm gonna try it on my strat. And in his case it may help a lot, as long as he doesn't have a bunk cable, or a wiring problem to begin with, a really noisy amp, or just a set of really noisy pickups.

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by boingoman

Seems like a cool site. I'm gonna try it on my strat.

Post the results, if possible.

[paulmckenna]

Also, do you have any other electronic equipment near the amp? You may be getting ac hum.