Nasty, over-the-top 60 cycle hum

Brian Miller

Brian Miller

New member
Hey everyone,

Ever since moving into this new apartment 2 years ago I've been combating the nastiest 60 cycle hum ever. I'm positive that's what it is - the kind of hum that comes and goes as you rotate throughout the room. I can find the two 180 degree points in which to stand where it diminishes (but it's still bad). It happens with amp sims when I go DI as well.

This isn't just with coils. The hum is nasty even with humbuckers. It's UNUSABLE with coils. Not just my equipment either. Buddy of mine came over to jam, and his equipment, guitar, amp, did the exact same. He couldn't believe it.

One night I turned everything off. Every light in the house. Unplugged everything from walls that I could. Turned router off. Wifi. Bluetooth. Shut down my phones, tablets, and computers. Sat in pitch black and plugged directly into a 40w digital amp. STILL just as bad.

Is there something I'm missing? Or does it mean the source of the hum is coming from outside my apartment?

Suggestions? Thanks guys!

Brian
 
Brian Miller said:
Yes, that's been painfully obvious. Do you think, then, that it's something outside my apartment causing the interference?
Click to expand...

I'm no electrical engineer. Do you live near power lines? I think it might be something inherent to apartment living. Too much electricity flying around for too many people. It's an electrically noisy environment. Or maybe it's a grounding thing. Maybe it's sub-par quick and dirty construction, like most apartments usually are.
 
Sounds like a grounding problem. I would notify the landlord and tell them it's a safety issue. Don't want little kiddies getting shocked...
 
ocnor said:
Get one of these and test all of your receptacles.
Click to expand...

:thumbs up:

One of the best little tools for checking AC wiring.

When I got my current place, before anything else, I went around and checked EVERY receptacle for correct wiring with one of those testers, and also I opened every switch & receptacle and tightened down the screws holding the wires.
For any that had/used the wire insert holes to grip the wires (the cheap-n-easy way to install), I took out the wires and instead used the screw-on connections.
If you have a loose wire, even a little loose, it might not cause hum...but it can cause noise/pops/clicks every time power is run on that line because it can arc, which pollutes your entire AC.

Apartments are a bit trickier, because you can only check so far, and not through the whole building....but still, check anyway.
 
Hey Brian - I'm Brian

I was having a hell of a time with nasty hum coming from my Hallmark 60 Custom (P90 Mosrite style guitar). What worked really well for me was the Electroharmonix Hum Debugger. It's super simple and just has two settings, strong and normal. I'll be damned, but the normal setting solved 90% of my problem. There's a touch of color added by the pedal, but well worth it.

I've tried noise gate type pedals like the ISP decimator but don't really like how they chop the sustain unnaturally. Also, when the gate is open you can hear all of the noise coming through along with the guitar signal. The Hum Debugger somehow filters it out. Now I use them in conjunction and am very happy with all of my single coil guitars again.

That said...it sounds like you have some kind of massive issue with dirty power and/or strong RF signals cycling through your apartment. Maybe a Furman power conditioner would work for you...or perhaps that Ebtech Hum Exterminator.

I hope that helps!
B
 
probably shoddy wiring in the apartment. Good luck getting the landlord to do anything about it...I wouldn't hold my breath for sure.
 
Holy fuck, Jimi. Who let you back in? Does this mean that Greg and the others will be back soon?
 
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