hi, not sure where to post this. sorry. pickups hum / buzz

[Jay C]

i just got a new amp and guitar. there is a bad hum / buzz.. when i aim my guitar at the floor or ceiling i get louder hum / buzz. i had a friend come over with his amp and guitar and some extra cords to test out, and his gear did the same thing.. there is a sweet spot where the hum / buzz get very quiet, but it's really hard to keep in that position. i normally wouldn't care but, i want to do some recording... so it seem like directional, but i don't know, i think it's a ground problem or emi.. again sorry if this is the wrong place to post this..

 

[Lt. Bob]

You have to always include what kind of guitar and amp it is for anyone to really be able to help.
What kind of pickups?
If it's say, a Strat or a Telecaster with single coil pickups that's pretty common and somewhat normal.
It's why humbuckers are called humbuckers .... because they 'buck' the hum by having two coils that are wired so they cancel out the hum.
If you have sinmgle coils the only fix is gonna be to sheild the guitar. There's lots of tutorials on the web about how to do this.

If you ( or his) guitar has humbuckers then you might be in a spot where EMI is very bad and I'm not sure what to do about that but maybe someone will.
But first question you're gonna get asked by everyone is what kind of p'ups does your git have?

 

[TheAquired]

Hi, what kind of pickups are they? Also, I know that florescent lights can cause a hum on an amp, so turn those off if you have any around you. Humbuckers were invented to cancel out the hum, or buzz. If they are single coil pickups, as far as I am concerned, it just comes with the territory. Maybe a smarter person could give you a better answer

 

[Jay C]

You have to always include what kind of guitar and amp it is for anyone to really be able to help.
What kind of pickups?
If it's say, a Strat or a Telecaster with single coil pickups that's pretty common and somewhat normal.
It's why humbuckers are called humbuckers .... because they 'buck' the hum by having two coils that are wired so they cancel out the hum.
If you have sinmgle coils the only fix is gonna be to sheild the guitar. There's lots of tutorials on the web about how to do this.

If you ( or his) guitar has humbuckers then you might be in a spot where EMI is very bad and I'm not sure what to do about that but maybe someone will.
But first question you're gonna get asked by everyone is what kind of p'ups does your git have?

the pickups are EMG's the amp is a Blackstar HT 60.

 

[Jay C]

i live above a restaurant i work there, so was able to go down and turn off all the lights on night, and there was no change, my room is right above the kitchen, so who knows. i just hope there's a way to a least turn my room into a repellant for emi.

 

[Lt. Bob]

the pickups are EMG's the amp is a Blackstar HT 60.

not the brand .... whether they are single coil or humbuckers is what we need to know.

Generally EMG's are gonna be quiet but if they're single coil they can still be bad about picking up noise.

 

[Mr Clean]

Try turning your PC monitor off and any florescent bulbs nearby. Plug the amp direct in to the wall, not a strip.

Single coils, as stated above, will buzz to a certain extent, but you can limit the noise.

 

[Jay C]

tried all that, and my friend's gear did the exact same thing, he had humbuckers, they bucked no hum that's for sure. like i said there is a sweet spot where there's no hum, so it can't be a ground issue. the buzz is worst when the guitar is facing the floor or ceiling. quietest when it's perfectly straight up and down, but not if i stand the guitar up. no change from touching metal or anything like that.

 

[Lt. Bob]

tried all that, and my friend's gear did the exact same thing, he had humbuckers, they bucked no hum that's for sure. like i said there is a sweet spot where there's no hum, so it can't be a ground issue. the buzz is worst when the guitar is facing the floor or ceiling. quietest when it's perfectly straight up and down, but not if i stand the guitar up. no change from touching metal or anything like that.

ok ..... well then you have a bad source of noise around.
First .... it's totally normal that it's worse or better depending on where you point the git. The guitar and you are a directional antenna and so it picks up noise worse when aimed in certain directions.

As for shielding the room ..... it can be done but it's be hard.
Basically you'd have to build a faraday cage around the room and ground it.
That would consist of put wire mesh of some kind on all walls/ceiling/floor .... not very practical but doable if you have access to a bunch of screen or some kind of metal mesh.

But I'm thinking that's unlikely.

I hate to say this but I have seen places that were just noisy and nothing practical could be done.

 

[Jay C]

ok ..... well then you have a bad source of noise around.
First .... it's totally normal that it's worse or better depending on where you point the git. The guitar and you are a directional antenna and so it picks up noise worse when aimed in certain directions.

As for shielding the room ..... it can be done but it's be hard.
Basically you'd have to build a faraday cage around the room and ground it.
That would consist of put wire mesh of some kind on all walls/ceiling/floor .... not very practical but doable if you have access to a bunch of screen or some kind of metal mesh.

But I'm thinking that's unlikely.

I hate to say this but I have seen places that were just noisy and nothing practical could be done.

well, i'll just have to be a good sport. lol. after all i do live above a restaurant.. but i have to say this is the best answer i found online so far. lol. i'll just try stay in that sweet spot the best i can.. thanks a lot for your time and help...

 

[Lt. Bob]

well, i'll just have to be a good sport. lol. after all i do live above a restaurant.. but i have to say this is the best answer i found online so far. lol. i'll just try stay in that sweet spot the best i can.. thanks a lot for your time and help...

Over the restaurant ..... maybe an exhaust fan or a cooler or freezer? Probably can't turn those off to check but they're possibilities.

One more thing you could try .... shield the crap outta your git.
It's not hard .... you can use conductive paint or copper tape and cover the entire control cavity and, in fact, as completely as possible cover everything with the tape/paint and then ground that to the common ground in the guitar.
That would probably help some and even though your friend's git is a humbucker guitar it might not be shielded very well.

Humbuckers aren't completely silent in a noisy environment and if it's not shielded they can still pick up stuff.
Other than turning things off to see if you can find the source shielding your guitar would be the easiest and cheapest next step.

 

[mjbphotos]

I had a refrigerator that picked up a local AM radio station ... just saying .... there are many possible sources of EMI (electro magnetic interference). It may not even be in your building. Is there a power transformer on the telephone pole outside the building, or down the street?

 

[Lt. Bob]

I had a refrigerator that picked up a local AM radio station ... just saying .... there are many possible sources of EMI (electro magnetic interference). It may not even be in your building. Is there a power transformer on the telephone pole outside the building, or down the street?

and this too .... a friend in Baton Rouge lived near a local AM station and it was impossible to not pick it up.

 

[Track Rat]

I had a friend that lived under one of the local TV station antennas. We did indeed have to build a Faraday cage around the room. It worked.

 

[Jay C]

Over the restaurant ..... maybe an exhaust fan or a cooler or freezer? Probably can't turn those off to check but they're possibilities.

One more thing you could try .... shield the crap outta your git.
It's not hard .... you can use conductive paint or copper tape and cover the entire control cavity and, in fact, as completely as possible cover everything with the tape/paint and then ground that to the common ground in the guitar.
That would probably help some and even though your friend's git is a humbucker guitar it might not be shielded very well.

Humbuckers aren't completely silent in a noisy environment and if it's not shielded they can still pick up stuff.
Other than turning things off to see if you can find the source shielding your guitar would be the easiest and cheapest next step.

i'm on my way to the jam space in a bit to test it out there, my shitty old marshall doesn't even hum there. lol.. AND, i just found out that my lady and me were just aproved for a mortgage so i'll be moving soon. yay.. no more shitty restaurant.. and i think your right, my room is pretty close to the exhaust and i went down on my day off today and had a look and there are old lighting ballasts lining the edge of the whole place. we don't turn them on, but the building is about 80 years old, so who knows maybe there doing it too. i know it's not the line fridge b/c it was broken for the past week. lol.. but anyway, thanks LT.... i'll look forward to trouble shooting with you in the future .

 

[ecc83]

Hi Jay.
Well you can be PDSure the amplifier is not to blame!

I am not au fait with Canadian electrics. Do you have overhead cables and "pole pigs"? If so you are on a hiding to nothing if close to a transformer.

Glad the situation looks as if it will resolve itself.

Dave.

 

[Farview]

Hi Jay.
Well you can be PDSure the amplifier is not to blame!

I am not au fait with Canadian electrics. Do you have overhead cables and "pole pigs"? If so you are on a hiding to nothing if close to a transformer.

Glad the situation looks as if it will resolve itself.

Dave.

Even when I read this with the appropriate accent, I have no idea what you are saying. what's a pole pig?

 

[ecc83]

Even when I read this with the appropriate accent, I have no idea what you are saying. what's a pole pig?

Well you DO suprise me Jay!

Pole pigs are the local transformers (on POLES!) that take the incoming overhead high voltage (2kV?) down to 230 and 115 for homes and such. YOU KNOW! The things that blow up in a mass of sparks when Rambo shoots them!

They only look to be about a mtr long by 1/2 that across and so cannot serve many homes but they must be hell to live with if you are near one.

Over here we have "substations". BIG mothers, 2 decent sized houses footprints. All on the ground and in brick housings. These serve a large discrict at a time. The juice is distributed rather differently. The traffs have a 230+230+230 OP "star" winding (3 phase) from 11kV always underground, we have almost no overhead cables in towns. Each dwelling gets an alternate phase. Larger premises, factories, supermarkets, get all 3 phases. The centre of the star is ground.

Dave.

 

[Jay C]

Hi Jay.
Well you can be PDSure the amplifier is not to blame!

I am not au fait with Canadian electrics. Do you have overhead cables and "pole pigs"? If so you are on a hiding to nothing if close to a transformer.

Glad the situation looks as if it will resolve itself.

Dave.

yeah took it up to buddy's place and it was fantastic. it's a Blackstar HT Stage 60, go to the factory and kiss someone for me. lol... but anyway im right by a power transformer like u suggest in you later post. it also could be one of the freezers in the restaurant down stairs. either way, i'll just have to wait till i move to record. June 1st. Can't wait.

 

[ecc83]

yeah took it up to buddy's place and it was fantastic. it's a Blackstar HT Stage 60, go to the factory and kiss someone for me. lol... but anyway im right by a power transformer like u suggest in you later post. it also could be one of the freezers in the restaurant down stairs. either way, i'll just have to wait till i move to record. June 1st. Can't wait.

Heh! I am NOT going to snog Cliff, the designer of the HT range (not the HT-5)!
BTW, the 60 is a pretty kick ass amp, never tested one that put out less than about 80-85 watts at clipping.

Re our "star wound" subs. Should have said the centre of the star is earthed at the sub and is also neutral, so incoming to homes is a live (one phase) plus neutral and the armour is earth. In most dwellings the neutral is bonded back to the armour, known as Protecttive Multiple Earthing tho' I understand there are variations.

Dave.