Mystery Noise

  • Thread starter Thread starter ARedLion
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ARedLion

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I need help!
When playing my guitar at home I get a regular, high pitched, chirping noise through my amp... solid state Johnson (beep,beep,beep,beep...)
So far I've tried:
  • a different amp ...tube Fender (still chirps)
  • a different cable (still chirps)
  • moving from room to room (still chirps)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the solid state Johnson (NO chirp)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the tube Fender (NO chirp)
  • playing my guitar at the guitar repair shop on their amp (NO chirps)
  • playing my guitar at a friend's home on their amp (NO chirps)
Any Suggestions???????
 
Chirps sound cyclical - Do you have a ceiling fan or any other device in the room that cycles? Aquarium, flashing neon beer sign, etc?

If it's the neon sign, then you need to immediately send it to me for further research and diagnostics. That generally takes about 10 to 35 years for turn around.

Ok, I'm thinking the guitar is doing something funky. Any pedals in the mix? Is your cell phone OFF (silent/vibrate doesn't count) and maybe in a different room? When your phone receives text messages, automatic porn downloads, etc. it can create an electrical field that can get picked up by other electronic devices... like your guitar/amp. Even though you don't think your phone is really doing anything.

Just some wild guesses on my part.
 
ARedLion said:
I need help!
When playing my guitar at home I get a regular, high pitched, chirping noise through my amp... solid state Johnson (beep,beep,beep,beep...)
So far I've tried:
  • a different amp ...tube Fender (still chirps)
  • a different cable (still chirps)
  • moving from room to room (still chirps)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the solid state Johnson (NO chirp)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the tube Fender (NO chirp)
  • playing my guitar at the guitar repair shop on their amp (NO chirps)
  • playing my guitar at a friend's home on their amp (NO chirps)
Any Suggestions???????
Click to expand...

Just a question. How close was your cell phone when the amp was chirping at ya?
 
What two guitars are you checking? For example, is the other one shielded or humbuckers as opposed to singles?

+1 on the ceiling fan thing; any unshielded electric motor can cause weird stuff to happen. Any dimmer switches on lights are also suspects.

I also second the cell-phone thing. I heard of something like this before where it was a signal being created by somebody's black berry. It wasn't ringing or making any noise, but something about the data transmission was causing bleeping in other equipment.

I think some computer monitors can also cause weird noise.

I lived next door to a radio tower for a couple of years, and there was no keeping that out of my amp. What else is in your neighborhood?
 
ARedLion said:
I need help!
When playing my guitar at home I get a regular, high pitched, chirping noise through my amp... solid state Johnson (beep,beep,beep,beep...)
So far I've tried:
  • a different amp ...tube Fender (still chirps)
  • a different cable (still chirps)
  • moving from room to room (still chirps)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the solid state Johnson (NO chirp)
  • a different guitar - in the same places - on the tube Fender (NO chirp)
  • playing my guitar at the guitar repair shop on their amp (NO chirps)
  • playing my guitar at a friend's home on their amp (NO chirps)
Any Suggestions???????
Click to expand...

Either:
1. Record a wilderness album - The chirps will fit in well

OR

2. Your first guitar has pickups that are feeding back. Probably loose coils on the pickup.
 
My money's on the cell phone. The first time I heard it I didn't know what the %$^! it was, but just about every cell phone will cause chirps (in Eb, I believe) over guitar/bass amps, keyboard monitors, PA systems, etc. It's a very distinctive sound; once you've heard it knowing what it is, there's no mistaking it.
 
Hey, Mystery solved
After searching through the house for sources of interference, my wife found the unseen culprit!
Underground electronic dog fence.

Unplug the fence and all is quite.
Just have to keep an eye on the pooch while playing.
Thanks to all for your help.
 
ARedLion said:
Hey, Mystery solved
After searching through the house for sources of interference, my wife found the unseen culprit!
Underground electronic dog fence.

Unplug the fence and all is quite.
Just have to keep an eye on the pooch while playing.
Thanks to all for your help.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's outstanding. We now have yet ANOTHER source of noise in in our delicate systems!

Kudo's to your wife for helping you figure this one out. She deserves a little something extra from Santa for that one. That could have gone on for years! (what would that have been in dog years :o)
 
Dog fence. HA! Awesome. I was gonna say "Take off your watch".;)
 
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