Your tips for getting rid of hum and hiss from amps

[videodrone]

(1) upgrade cables

 

[justwantyou2kno]

don't play a guitar with crappy single coil pick-ups

 

[videodrone]

humcancelling pickups, hell yeah

loev my humbuckers,

 

[Cave Dweller]

proper gain stages! ie dont crank up the crappy digital effects (who said DOD fx7?) and then have the amp on 1.

 

[Track Rat]

don't play a guitar with crappy single coil pick-ups

I don't think so.
Shield the electronics cavity in your guitar and make sure everything in there is well grounded. Turn off TVs, monitors, lights with rheostats (even in other rooms). Other possible noise makers; aquarium pumps fluorescent lights (the ballast units), motors in general.

 

[James Argo]

...cellphones, rotary fan, your wife...

 

[darrin_h2000]

Ground them.

 

[TheGuitarMan]

don't play a guitar with crappy single coil pick-ups

I don't know exactly what you mean here.

Are you implying that:

A) Single coils are inferior to humbuckers? (in which case you would be wrong)

or

B) Cheap single coils will hum more than expensive single coil? (in which case you would be wrong)

Single coils and humbuckers are two entirely different creatures. No better, no worse than each other. It's all about the SOUND. You can get rid of the hum.

 

[tubedude]

Umm, turn the gain down?

 

[Clive Hugh]

Try a behringer DI Box, I recently got one and it cuts the hum really well, far easier than turning down the wife.
They have a built in radar that triggers the moment you start recording, it's genetic.

 

[M.Brane]

1: Make sure that outlet is really grounded.

2: Make sure there are no neon/fluorescent lights, CRT's, dimmer switches or electric motors on the same circuit as your amp.

3: Get a new set of tubes and caps.

4: Use EMG pickups.

5: As was already mentioned: back off on the fucking preamp gain!

 

[Even]

Grounding has come up a few times, obviously it is huge. With that in mind, do not plug all your gear into a circuit that has ANYTHING else in it. Have a seperate, high amp breaker for the gear. Install a new, independant breaker in your electrical box exclusively for your rack.

Good preamp with gobs of headroom.

A million LEDs that ellude to clipping......