Excessive noise

P

packratlouie

Member
Hey guys. When I plug an amp into any wall socket in my basement, then either a guitar, or bass (either humbucker or single coil pickups), when i turn my guitar in any direction except for one specific one, I get a large amount of noise through the amp. It's like it's acting like an antenna. How can I solve this problem without ripping into the walls? Any ideas? Tried different cables etc etc. It doesn't do this even 5% as much on main floor or upstairs. Thanks
 
Stand on a rubber mat if you have a concrete floor in your basement. A longer (shielded) cable so you can put more distance between the guitar and amp may help too. And if you are using any efx pedals make sure they are well insulated from the floor. Concrete retains a small amount of moisture and creates a grounding problem, rubber mats or rubber backed rugs usually help. You might also want to check (or have checked) the circuit(s) in your basement, something may not be grounded properly.
 
Shielding your guitar may help, as well as using incandescents, if you happen to have flourescents in your basement. They are a big source of noise.
 
packratlouie said:
Hey guys. When I plug an amp into any wall socket in my basement, then either a guitar, or bass (either humbucker or single coil pickups), when i turn my guitar in any direction except for one specific one, I get a large amount of noise through the amp. It's like it's acting like an antenna. How can I solve this problem without ripping into the walls? Any ideas? Tried different cables etc etc. It doesn't do this even 5% as much on main floor or upstairs. Thanks
Click to expand...

This is most likely EM noise from AC circuitry; grounding probably won't help you. Fluorescent/neon lights are a common source for this; turn off any that you are using and use only incandescents. Is there underground power in your neighborhood? If so, there may be a buried trunk line right near your basement, in which case there's not a lot you can do about it. Shielding your guitars may help a bit, but low frequency noise like this is hard to shield from.

I've got a similar situation; there is a set of medium capacity overhead power lines running up the side of my property, and I get the same noise in my studio. It's a PITA. I have had the city power folks come out and measure, and sure enough, I have a pretty strong field in my studio from those lines; whenever I record a single coil guitar through high gain, the guitarist has to stand with the guitar perpendicular to the field. Humbuckers have it as well, but the problem is not nearly so bad.

I feel your pain.
 
packratlouie said:
Hey guys. When I plug an amp into any wall socket in my basement, then either a guitar, or bass (either humbucker or single coil pickups), when i turn my guitar in any direction except for one specific one, I get a large amount of noise through the amp. It's like it's acting like an antenna. How can I solve this problem without ripping into the walls? Any ideas? Tried different cables etc etc. It doesn't do this even 5% as much on main floor or upstairs. Thanks
Click to expand...

This is most likely EM noise from AC circuitry; grounding probably won't help you. Fluorescent/neon lights are a common source for this; turn off any that you are using and use only incandescents. Is there underground power in your neighborhood? If so, there may be a buried trunk line right near your basement, in which case there's not a lot you can do about it. Shielding your guitars may help a bit, but low frequency noise like this is hard to shield from.

There is a set of medium capacity overhead power lines running up the side of my property, and I get the same noise in my studio. It's a PITA. I have had the city power folks come out and measure, and sure enough, I have a pretty strong field in my studio from those lines; whenever I record a single coil guitar through high gain, the guitarist has to stand with the guitar perpendicular to the field. Humbuckers have it as well, but the problem is not nearly so bad.

I feel your pain.
 
Dani, Easychair, and ggunn, thank you for your responses. I never considered there being a buried line near my house, so I'll be checking into that. I'm pretty confident that this issue is coming from the electrical work done in this basement. Not to seem like a jerk son, but my father was the one who did the electrical work down here haha. I wonder how he'll respond when I tell him about this.

What did you mean when you said to sheild my guitar? I hope you aren't suggesting I wrap it in tinfoil... because I already tried that... joking of course haha.

Thanks alot guys.

-Tyler
 
packratlouie said:
Dani, Easychair, and ggunn, thank you for your responses. I never considered there being a buried line near my house, so I'll be checking into that. I'm pretty confident that this issue is coming from the electrical work done in this basement. Not to seem like a jerk son, but my father was the one who did the electrical work down here haha. I wonder how he'll respond when I tell him about this.

What did you mean when you said to sheild my guitar? I hope you aren't suggesting I wrap it in tinfoil... because I already tried that... joking of course haha.

Thanks alot guys.

-Tyler
Click to expand...

You can get shielding kits, or you can DIY with aluminum foil. The idea is to encase the electronics in the guitar in a grounded conductive chamber. Depending on whether the pots are mounted on the pickguard or from the back in a routed cavity, the method of doing it varies. Honestly, though, shielding probably won't help against noise like this.
 
Alright, well I won't even bother with trying to shield it then.

I looked out my upstairs window today, and noticed a repeater station, or some large radio tower about 2km away in the EXACT direction where I point my guitar to get it to stop making that sound. The way I look at it, when I point the guitar at the tower, and I hear no buzzing, it's like the guitar is acting as an antenna receiving very little signal strength, and once I turn it, it's like an antenna with increasing better strength. I need to figure out why it's happening in the basement alot, and not even close to as much upstairs. It's also possible I'm making the wrong assessment regarding the tower to begin with.

I've also tried unplugging a second fridge, and freezer we have down here, which rectify the situation.


Any other suggestions or ideas would be helpful. Thanks though for everyone's input.

-Tyler
 
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