HELP: guitar is picking up electrical noise from pc

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Cookies123

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Hi there. I was hoping you guys could help me with this problem I'm having.

My guitar is picking up noise from my "gaming" pc. As soon as i press the on button on my pc my guitar starts making unbearable noise. The noise gets louder when i get closer to the computer and quieter when i move away from it and rotate the guitar to a certain angle.
I tried a lot of things but with no luck.

Here's a list of things i've tried:
- ferrite chokes everywhere
- plugging my pc into a separate plug
- changing my power supply
- removing all my usb cables including my audio interface
- power conditioner
- changing my guitar cables

Could it be from my pc case since i have a cheap one?
And i changed my motherboard and cpu (i7 9700k) recently. The noise was there before but after replacing my motherboard and cpu it got louder for some reason.

I tried both of my guitars and both picked up the same noise :(. Any help would be appreciated.
 
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Do you know if the guitars are electrostatically screened? If not that will make matters worse but would not be the total source of the problem IMHO. You must therefore look at the computer. Are you sure the casing is actually earthed? Often paint can prevent this, check with a continuity meter from the earth pin of the mains plug to the case. NOT a case screw! The actual can, scratch some paint off if you have to.

If that is ok you need to ensure that all the earthing pads on the motherboard are bonding to the chassis, again, paint or flux can give a high resistance. You might even find a screw missing!

Dave.
 
Just lift the Ground on the PC - and plug it into a different socket.
 
ecc83 said:
Do you know if the guitars are electrostatically screened? If not that will make matters worse but would not be the total source of the problem IMHO. You must therefore look at the computer. Are you sure the casing is actually earthed? Often paint can prevent this, check with a continuity meter from the earth pin of the mains plug to the case. NOT a case screw! The actual can, scratch some paint off if you have to.

If that is ok you need to ensure that all the earthing pads on the motherboard are bonding to the chassis, again, paint or flux can give a high resistance. You might even find a screw missing!

Dave.
Click to expand...
How do i know if they're electrostatically screened?
..
Well, yeah my case feels really cheap and its all painted black.
I'll try that once i get a continuity meter. :)
 
Grounds save lives, guitars make noise. First thing to do. Is your guitar picking up the noise when it is plugged into only the amp and effects? Before I spent time and effort on it, my fender American jazz bass was terrible. Spinning through 360 degrees would determine which way I could face. If it only gets noisy when you connect to the computer system, the problem is almost certainly the digital noise getting out of the computer and travelling back up the cabling to the guitar, where it goes back down the audio conductor. This is to a degree countered by the fact it changes as you rotate. So maybe the devices connected to the computer are radiating the noise, so be systematic. Add cables and devices one by one to see if you can determine where the noise comes from, or you can use the guitar buzzing away as the aerial and make the noise louder by moving it around. If getting close to the pc is worse, that’s the cause, but it could be coming from a cable or other device. The other thing you should do is swap the guitar for anything other one. If they are the same, discount the instrument, but if a different guitar is silent, you’ve found the problem. This was mine. I put in an upgraded set of pickups, not mega expensive but cheap ones with good reviews, and lined it with copper tape. It’s now totally silent.
 
What make and model guitar do you have? As Rob mentioned.......there are easy and cheap ways to shield the guitar from picking up unwanted noise.

Mick
 
rob aylestone said:
Grounds save lives, guitars make noise. First thing to do. Is your guitar picking up the noise when it is plugged into only the amp and effects? Before I spent time and effort on it, my fender American jazz bass was terrible. Spinning through 360 degrees would determine which way I could face. If it only gets noisy when you connect to the computer system, the problem is almost certainly the digital noise getting out of the computer and travelling back up the cabling to the guitar, where it goes back down the audio conductor. This is to a degree countered by the fact it changes as you rotate. So maybe the devices connected to the computer are radiating the noise, so be systematic. Add cables and devices one by one to see if you can determine where the noise comes from, or you can use the guitar buzzing away as the aerial and make the noise louder by moving it around. If getting close to the pc is worse, that’s the cause, but it could be coming from a cable or other device. The other thing you should do is swap the guitar for anything other one. If they are the same, discount the instrument, but if a different guitar is silent, you’ve found the problem. This was mine. I put in an upgraded set of pickups, not mega expensive but cheap ones with good reviews, and lined it with copper tape. It’s now totally silent.
Click to expand...

So I have an Axe-Fx II XL+ which works perfectly when the pc is turned off and I've tried removing all the cables and devices connected to my pc (even my mouse and keyboard) but once i press the on button my guitar starts picking up the noise.

Mickster said:
What make and model guitar do you have? As Rob mentioned.......there are easy and cheap ways to shield the guitar from picking up unwanted noise.

Mick
Click to expand...

I have a Schecter guitar with Fishman Fluence Abasi pickups and an Ibanez guitar and both pick up the same noise. Im certain that the noise is coming from the computer. And i really think its an earthing problem as Dave said (hopefully).
 
You're probably right about the noise being caused by the PC.....but.....it still might be easier to shield the guitar than to eliminate the PC noise. If you plug in headphones to your PC do you hear the noise? How about the speakers connected to your PC...any noise there?

Mick
 
Mickster said:
You're probably right about the noise being caused by the PC.....but.....it still might be easier to shield the guitar than to eliminate the PC noise. If you plug in headphones to your PC do you hear the noise? How about the speakers connected to your PC...any noise there?

Mick
Click to expand...
my speakers do pick up the same noise (when the volume is on max) but my headphones dont.
 
What happens when you have your PC on but not your monitor screen? It's not uncommon for this kind of noise to be coming from the monitor. Or....just turn your screen on without the PC on and see what happens.

Mick
 
Mickster said:
What happens when you have your PC on but not your monitor screen? It's not uncommon for this kind of noise to be coming from the monitor. Or....just turn your screen on without the PC on and see what happens.

Mick
Click to expand...
I already tried that.
My screen doesn't emit any electrical noise when pc is turned off.
 
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