Mains hum?

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wilko

wilko

Marking my territory
I have a Boss GT-3 guitar processor. I take the stereo output of that into my BOSS BR1600 and I get so much hum its not funny..... If I plug my guitar straight into the BR1600 and use the onboard effects there I still get a little hum but not nearly as much . The trouble is, the onboard effects are limited so I really want to use the GT-3.

What can I do to reduce it or get rid of the hum? :confused::confused:
 
Troubleshoot! Try plugging the power cables into different outlets. Try using different power cables, try using different instrument cables. Avoid crossing Audio and Power cables, if they have to cross try to do so at a 90 degree angle. Never tried the hum eliminators so I can't vouch for those....

Hope this helps,
-Barrett
 
Have you tried running your guitar into an amp (both with and without the GT-3)? Maybe its your guitar cord, or maybe you've got a problem jack or pickup.
 
Both of those recommendations pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one.
 
For a long time I've been making my own cables and I think that they are better than what you buy.

I use Canare, Neutrik or Switchcraft plugs and Mogami cable.

The cable has more shielding than normal.

It has two signal conductors and one ground, and I use one of the connectors for the line and the other for the ground.

Then (important) I attach the braided ground wire to the signal ground only on one end. The other end is left hanging. So what you have is a shield for the ground. That's an old studio system that is known to prevent ground loops.

It works and studios have been doing it for decades. If you don't understand what I mean I will draw a pic and post it.

Also, you can run a ground wire to the Boss case or you if that helps.

A friend of mine did a video shoot with the Buddy Rich Big Band and they spent hours trying to get rid of the hum on the bass. They ended up running a ground wire to the bass player's wrist and that did it. The video is available and you can see the wire attached to the bass player.
 
Last edited:
wilko said:
I have a Boss GT-3 guitar processor. I take the stereo output of that into my BOSS BR1600 and I get so much hum its not funny..... If I plug my guitar straight into the BR1600 and use the onboard effects there I still get a little hum but not nearly as much . The trouble is, the onboard effects are limited so I really want to use the GT-3.

What can I do to reduce it or get rid of the hum? :confused::confused:
Click to expand...

is your rig connected to the wall with three prongs (including the ground) or two? Or rather, hows the setup pluged in to the power source. (Might be different connections in New Zeland)
 
I was having the severe noisys today too.

I swapped guitar cables, and then several different outlets....

then I went to the POD I was using and turned off the Compressor and it reduced 90%. I then slipped in a EQ and took out some more.

It was strange in a way because i haven't had this happen a lot?

same guitars...just me and the recorder and simple setup....sitting in front of the monitors with a single coil! ....but it was worse than normal today. weird stuff.

anyway, try the effects if nothing works, thats my 1 penny's worth for the day.
 
and as my 2c,
just went thru this same thing today and it ended up being a patch cord. Cool.

Like was said, start by eliminating links in the chain and work from there.
Hope ya find it...hums piss me off. :mad:

:D
 
I had an electrician put 2 x 4 way sockets into the wall and he rewired the house. The GT-3 is pugged into one of the 4 ways and so is the BR1600. They both have 3 pin plugs so they are both earthed. I have swapped the cables over... No joy.

I am not too sure how to ground the GT-3 though?:confused:
 
wilko said:
I had an electrician put 2 x 4 way sockets into the wall and he rewired the house. The GT-3 is pugged into one of the 4 ways and so is the BR1600. They both have 3 pin plugs so they are both earthed. I have swapped the cables over... No joy.

I am not too sure how to ground the GT-3 though?:confused:
Click to expand...

Is the box wired to one circuit, or two?
 
For a long time I've been making my own cables and I think that they are better than what you buy.

I use Canare, Neutrik or Switchcraft plugs and Mogami cable.

The cable has more shielding than normal.

It has two signal conductors and one ground, and I use one of the connectors for the linen and the other for the ground.

Then (important) I attach the braided ground wire to the signal ground only on one end. The other end is left hanging. So what you have is a shield for the ground. That's an old studio system that is know to prevent ground loops.

It works and studios have been doing it for decades. If you don't understand what I mean I will draw a pic and post it.

Also, you can run a ground wire to the Boss case or you if that helps.

A friend of mine did a video shoot with the Buddy Rich Big Band and they spent hours trying to get rid of the hum on the bass. They ended up running a ground wire to the bass player's wrist and that did it. The video is available and you can see the wire attached to the bass player.
Reply With Quote
Click to expand...

I think drawing up a diagram of that, and putting it in the DIY section would be a great idea. Just a thought.
 
Something that worked for me

I record to a laptop, and for years i had trouble when connecting keyboards, amps, or effects pedals like you say, and couldn't track it down to any one cable or device, i swapped everything around, moved everything, tried every power outlet known to man, then one day i accidentally pulled out my laptop's power adapter and......
SILENCE
Now sometimes i get hum, sometimes not, but if there is, that always fixes it. I've tried plugging that adapter in all over the place, as well as moving it and aligning it many different ways, and the only way to stop it is to unplug.
So i don't know how much that helps in your case, but i suppose try unplugging as much as you possibly can to narrow it down?
 
That is actually common with laptops. Has to do with the internal power components being so close other components (like the on-board audio, or PCMCIA Slots) in the laptop. Doesn't happen with all laptops, but is is extremely common. Another common one is a hum/buzz when you put in a CD, DVD, or when the HDD spins up. Some of the reasons audio interfaces that are usb, or firewire are so popular.
 
Moley1390 said:
I record to a laptop, and for years i had trouble when connecting keyboards, amps, or effects pedals like you say, and couldn't track it down to any one cable or device, i swapped everything around, moved everything, tried every power outlet known to man, then one day i accidentally pulled out my laptop's power adapter and......
SILENCE
Now sometimes i get hum, sometimes not, but if there is, that always fixes it. I've tried plugging that adapter in all over the place, as well as moving it and aligning it many different ways, and the only way to stop it is to unplug.
So i don't know how much that helps in your case, but i suppose try unplugging as much as you possibly can to narrow it down?
Click to expand...


I will give that a try! THanks!
 
hardwire666 said:
That is actually common with laptops. Has to do with the internal power components being so close other components (like the on-board audio, or PCMCIA Slots) in the laptop. Doesn't happen with all laptops, but is is extremely common. Another common one is a hum/buzz when you put in a CD, DVD, or when the HDD spins up. Some of the reasons audio interfaces that are usb, or firewire are so popular.
Click to expand...

My interface is USB... But i can definitely see how that would happen. Is there any known way around it?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hardwire666 View Post
That is actually common with laptops. Has to do with the internal power components being so close other components (like the on-board audio, or PCMCIA Slots) in the laptop. Doesn't happen with all laptops, but is is extremely common. Another common one is a hum/buzz when you put in a CD, DVD, or when the HDD spins up. Some of the reasons audio interfaces that are usb, or firewire are so popular.
My interface is USB... But i can definitely see how that would happen. Is there any known way around it?
Click to expand...

Not, always. If you already have an external audio interface, and still have this problem odds are no matter what you are going to have it regardless. Also not to say that means it WONT go away, but that it is unlikely. It's one of the reasons I never recommend using a laptop for recording audio.

With laptops there are A LOT of components pushed together into a small space, and that makes them very susceptible to things like audible EMI. There may be some options, but I couldn't say for sure. It's kind of like finding a needle in a hay stack. Odds are against you. I personally have never used a laptop for audio other than playing MP3's in the car (pre I-pod eat it apple!), so i couldn't say for sure.

Another thing to take in to account on this is where in the signal flow is the noise coming into play? For example: If you record something on your laptop, and then burn it to CD do you hear the noise on another listening device (basically is the noise recorded as well?). If you don't then that means your audio being recorded is unaffected. In that case "I" would just deal with it. If you are still training your ear's then it may become bothersome, and you maybe able to adjust to it over time. BUT, again I couldn't say for sure as everyone is different.

While I know this has no real bearing on the main topic of the thread I felt it was important to reply. If you want to know more I would recommended trying to talking to others who record on laptops as I have no first hand experience with recording on a laptop. Only what I have seen, and read from others experiences.
 
I'm still betting on a ground loop.

Are the monitors on the same circuit? Anything else in the chain not on the same circuit?
 
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