Guitar Buzz and a strange washer...

[radiorabies]

OK, I get a buzz whenever I play the guitar. In fact, I get another buzz that I don't want too. I know this is an old problem but today I finally finished the lyrics off from a song I started over 15 months ago. Anyway, I get really excited about recording it. I set everything up ready for the off and the old problem for getting rid of the electrical buzz my guitar picks up. I run around turning everything elecrtical off and it's still there. If I'm practicing it doesn't bother me but I don't want the buzzing to be on any of my songs. Any tips on how to get rid of this unwanted noise?

I'm using a Yamaha Pacifica 112, I don't know if this has anything to do with my problem (and if anyone can help me on this anyway) but when I first got my guitar the (don't know the technical term) hole where you plug your lead into was loose so I undid the screws and tightened it but when I undid it this little washer popped out and I've no idea where it came from. I'll enclose some photos of the washer etc. to see if any of you guys might be able to enlighten me on where this washer goes...

 

[legionserial]

Not sure about the washer, my first thought is that it would have come from around the end of the jack socket between the end of it and the nut that holds its in place. But from looking at the pictures I'm not so sure.

As for the buzz. Does it stop if you touch any of the metalwork on your guitar? I have had this with my guitar before. If thats the case, a simple way to remedy it is to get a bit of wire, tape one end of it to some of the metal work in a convenient place that wont get in the way. Then get the other end and attach it to yourself somehow, perhaps tie it round your wrist or tuck it into the waistline on your pants. As long as its in contact with skin. Sounds odd but doing that earths you and stops the buzz. That is assuming its the same buzz im thinking of. For this reason the washer could possibly be to link to some kind of earth somewhere but I'm not sure.

 

[radiorabies]

Yeah that's the buzzing I'm on about. It's a real pain. I try to keep my hand on the bridge when I'm playing but this makes the guitar playing somewhat robotronic and rubbish. I'll have to give your idea a go. It sounds crazy enough to work

That washer gets on my nerves. I know it should be in my guitar and it's not. It functions fine without it but still...

 

[Fusioninspace]

That kind of washer is usually used as "lock" washer. So I would normally expect it to be between the nut and the guitar body/pickguard/whatever. But you can obviously use them for just about any washer use.

If this was a used guitar, it might be that someone tried to have a common ground point inside the body and rigged up something with it. If you can take your pickguard off, you might see some loose wire ends and maybe a loose screw/bolt/nut - if the common ground came undone, then it would make sense that you would be getting a grounding buzz through the amp.

If you get a buzz even when the guitar is not plugged into anything, then there's deffinately something loose in there. I have some old japanese guitars that buzz acoustically from the chrome pickup covers vibrating against the chrome pickup-suround pieces.

If you are getting an electrical buzz, then I would suggest you open it up and make sure everything is grounded properly.

 

[Dani Pace]

Yep, it's a lock washer. It should go on the underside of the mounting plate or pickguard. It's purpose is to keep the plug from turning, the pin should be turned toward the uppermost side. The weight of the cable pulling down puts more pressure on the top of the jack tip. Hope my explanation makes sence, anyway I am sure about the washer and where it goes.

 

[Light]

Yeah, it's a lock washer, and it goes against the inside face of the mounting plate. But that is not what is causing your problem.

Pacifica's are notoriously cheeply made, and one of the first things to go in cheep guitar construction is shelding of the cavity. You could get some shelding paint, some coper foil tape, or even some aluminum foil and spray adheasive. I would probably recomend Copper foil tape, as it is easiest to apply. You need to cover all of the surfaces of all the control cavities, and the pickup cavities too, if you can. It probably will not eliminate the problem, as it is impossible to complete the Faraday cage around the pickups, but it will make a big difference.

If you want to completely eleminate the problem, build yourself a Faraday cage large enough for yourself, your guitar, and your amp. There are even studios that do this as a part of their wall construction, for just this reason.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[tourettes5139]

I think that your bridge is not grounded. I had that problem on my guitar, and once I grounded the bridge, it was fixed. Your problem sounds very similar to what I had, so this was just an idea to explore.

 

[goldtopchas]

The strings are not grounded on most newer guitars for safety reasons.
Obviously, the risk of elec. shock is a concern, but most players would rather have the buzz gone.
On my Les Paul I pulled one of the studs for the tailpiece and drilled a tiny hole from it to the control cavity. Then ran a thin wire through and soldered it to a pot. Pushing the stud back into the hole makes contact at that end.

I heard someone say you could use a small value capacitor on the ground wire that would get rid of the hum and also protect you from being shocked....anyone heard of this? Hope this helps.

 

[Light]

The strings are not grounded on most newer guitars for safety reasons.

That is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO not true. Any guitar with passive pickups MUST be grounded to the bridge, and there is no safety concern with it (well, there is, but all you have to do is plug your amp and you PA into the same electrical service).

ACTIVE pickups are not grounded to the bridge, but passive pickups absolutely ARE, ALWAYS.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[goldtopchas]

Don't mean to be a wank...but isn't my 79' Paul a passive pick -up instrument?????? I'm no expert but I've done a handful of pick-up installs and repairs on various passive guitars that didn't have the strings grounded in any way. My 68' gretsch however does have a ground wire running to the tailpiece. My Strat has one that goes to the trem' claw.
There is sometimes a separate ground wire that goes to the back of a pick-up or control cavity shielding, but neither of these would directly contact the strings.
It would seem to me that in this lawsuit crazy world we live in, manufacturers would not want to be accused of selling a "unsafe" guitar that allowed a player to be exposed to voltage in the rare case of an amp malfunction or a severe ground loop.( happened to me once, almost knocked me out of my socks!) I check outlet polarity and ground at every new place I play at now. .................OK, My rant is over.

 

[Light]

Don't mean to be a wank...but isn't my 79' Paul a passive pick -up instrument?????? I'm no expert but I've done a handful of pick-up installs and repairs on various passive guitars that didn't have the strings grounded in any way. My 68' gretsch however does have a ground wire running to the tailpiece. My Strat has one that goes to the trem' claw.
There is sometimes a separate ground wire that goes to the back of a pick-up or control cavity shielding, but neither of these would directly contact the strings.
It would seem to me that in this lawsuit crazy world we live in, manufacturers would not want to be accused of selling a "unsafe" guitar that allowed a player to be exposed to voltage in the rare case of an amp malfunction or a severe ground loop.( happened to me once, almost knocked me out of my socks!) I check outlet polarity and ground at every new place I play at now. .................OK, My rant is over.

Unless someone has altered it, a 1979 Les Paul came out of the factory with a ground wire to the bridge. In fact, every single Les Paul I have ever worked (some thousands) on had a ground wire to the bridge. Look around, it is either already there, or someone did a half-ass job of rewiring it.

I check outlet polarity and ground at every new place I play at now.

As well you should. As well should we all, in fact (and yes, I do to).


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[goldtopchas]

I'm the original owner, it wasn't grounded.

 

[tourettes5139]

I think that your bridge is not grounded. I had that problem on my guitar, and once I grounded the bridge, it was fixed. Your problem sounds very similar to what I had, so this was just an idea to explore.

This was the guitar I built, just to clarify, and when I was assembling it, I forgot to ground the bridge. Just so someone doesn't get worried about a certain brand of guitar being noisy. (And to up my post count. )