But fear not, it doesn’t have to be this way! Strip lighting, fairy lights and dimmer switches can cause guitar amps to hum. Here’s how to tell: Similar to how old-fashioned television antennas were made, any wire connected to itself in a circle can pick up … The Ground Loop. But my 2016 Les Paul Faded T buzzed annoyingly unless I was touching the strings. Turn your amp off, then check each cable connection and wall power connection. If you touch the string and the noise goes crazy, that's grounding. If you're using a ground-lift adapter on one amp that is connected to the other grounded amp through cable, when you touch both guitar plugs at the same time, you will get a jolt of electricity through your body. If you don't have another guitar, plug a cable into the amp and turn the volume up slightly. If it's a buzzing and not a hum, and it goes away when you touch the strings, this is absolutely normal for guitars with passive pickups and is caused by electrical "noise" in the room (lights on dimmers, computers, etc). Of course, my music room DOES have an overhead flourescent light and the a/c unit is just outside.....I'm guessing that it's as good as it's going to be, and just turn down the volume when not touching the strings. You know that by touching your finger to the end of a guitar cable plugged into an amp. Touching the end of the cable with your finger should make a loud hum noise. If grasping the guitar doesn’t stop the hum, try the amp in the room. The awareness comes slowly at first, then builds over time to a deafening crescendo that simply cannot be ignored. A Few Things to Consider When Troubleshooting Guitar Wiring Problems: Since I’m not actually sitting next to you as you work through this issue, I have to make the following assumptions: You know how to use a soldering gun, read wiring diagrams (at least basic ones), and you own and know how to use a digital voltmeter. At some point in every classical guitarist’s life, there comes a time when we realize we squeak. Today I decided to pick it up again, and discovered there is an extreme hum which is actually amplified when I touch the strings, as opposed to the other way around. Your body in close proximity to the guitar induces power line hum into the pickups. The buzz goes away when you touch something becasue the system is partially being grounded thru you. It may be that the circuit is poorly insulated. Describe the problem to them and they should be able to determine if it is you guitar or the amp or the cable. YOU GROUND OUT THE STRINGS:. This can be a very dangerous if there's anything wrong with the wiring inside the amp. I went waaaay overboard shielding it. By the way if the transformer is humming mechanically and the tube rectifier is good that´s not a reason to smack out … And that is both standard and dangerous. I use SVT, Digitech multi-effects pedal and a Ibanez Roadstar II with big humbucking pickups. Reducing guitar amp buzz and hum. But the best way to get rid of hum is at the source, make sure the guitar is properly shielded and grounded (guess what, out of the box very few are). That’s all as it should be. Use downward expansion rather than a noise gate to deal with hum at low volume levels. A hum. Grounding your strings is essential for having a quieter guitar. Since tube amps are made of transformers and other electromagnetic susceptible components, live guitar pickups should not get too close to an amplifier. Many times, someone chimes in with this bit of knowledge: you actually ground your body by touching the strings and that becomes part of the guitar's shielding. Shielded PU covers. The amp volume is sufficiently up. I think a lot of us believe that since the amp is grounded (and by extension so is the guitar), there shouldn't be any untoward noises. No fluorescent lights except in the garage. Fix common audio issues in guitar recording including amp buzz, string squeaks, and pick noise. Buzzing Noise When Not Touching Strings Discussion in 'Tele-Technical' started by zyx345, Feb 6, 2010. The passive isolation transformer makes it possible to keep your amps grounded while isolating one from the other. Can a bad tube cause a hum? If possible, plug in another guitar to the same line to see if it works. Your human body is a fantastic power line antenna. John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images . You can tell if your jack’s wires are backward if the guitar makes a loud humming sound when you touch the strings. The response: It's ok. Use a string winder for speed. Sign In to Reply. This is the correct way to ground a Gibson Les Paul or Telecaster Deluxe. If it's a buzzing and not a hum, and it goes away when you touch the strings, this is absolutely normal for guitars with passive pickups and is caused by electrical "noise" in the room (lights on dimmers, computers, etc). I have also noticed that when I put the guitar down on my bed (guitar is far from my body) and touch the strings the buzz will not disappear. Replace the cable and see if it still does it. The idea is that if your strings are grounded and you are grabbing them when you play and then you touch a "hot" circuit such as a PA mic with an improper ground, you can get electrocuted! Guitars pick up interference and that comes out the amp as a hum. Unfasten the two screws either side of the pickup cavity. Gibson-style braided shielded wiring everywhere. If your bass has a hum that gets louder when you touch strings/metal/bridge you have a grounding issue. Rest the guitar strings on anything that really is earthed (the radiator in your example, but a mic stand holding a mic that is earthed through its cable to a mixer is another very common alternative), and you have mains power now flowing directly through the equipment to find a real ground. The speaker mute switch is not engaged. It's not a problem. The electricity goes from the bad mic, through your heart, out … If you are holding a guitar with single coil pickups while NOT touching the strings, bridge, or control plate, you should expect it to hum. Motoman February 9, 2018 at 8:48 am # Thanks Paul! Unlike hum , which is generally induced directly into the pickup coils themselves, buzz gets in everywhere, so any bit of unshielded wiring can be the source. Any time you have a buzzing when you are not touching the guitar, that is a sure sign of a bad ground somewhere in the circuit. Undesirable Noise. If you experience this problem, reverse the wires leading to the jack. This tells you the amp and cable are both working. Please refer elsewhere for help on the issue, but I would check your ground connection under the bridge just for good measure. If touching your guitar's metal jack socket when your guitar is connected to the amp kills the noise, but touching only the strings doesn't, then you may have a faulty grounding connection inside the guitar. Why does my guitar stop buzzing when I touch it? When you search various forums on this issue, the first answer is always 'grounding issue'. Keeping a “Horseshoe” shape, each pot is grounded once. Before all this began, there was a quiet hum when not touching the strings, now the pickup and electrics are in there, there's a slightly louder hum again which goes away if you touch the strings. The instrument is properly plugged in at both ends. it happens because your body is a moderately-effective antenna, when it's not grounded - this means that in that situation, your body (as-antenna) will introduce noise into your guitar's pickups, because your body is very close to the pickups (the body of the guitar doesn't block the inductance). Most times, the hum is actually at double the line frequency (so 100 or 120 Hz).A very steep notch filter at that freq can be used to reduce hum. I'm trying to quiet a hum from my guitar that stops when I touch the input jack. Remember: Keep the volume low for this type of test. If your bass has a hum that remains constant regardless of touching metal/strings/bridge you have a deeper issue, although I would check the ground wire … If anything is not fully plugged in, that is the likely source of the buzz. You’re not playing it and there’s a noise. Much like the coming-of-age in a boy’s life when he starts to realize that he stinks, and starts deciding to bathe more frequently. It's NOT something wrong with the guitar, and it's NOT something that you need to take to a tech or start chasing around with a soldering iron. He noticed load hum when amp is on but nothing plugged in, and when switched to standby, noticed hum from the amp ... Take the amp to a tech if needed and please don´t touch anything in the amp esp. The building does have sufficiently working electricity. Many of the issues we run into when recording guitars can be avoided by careful setup and proper room treatment. Feedback from Guitar Pickups. Amp connected to speakers without preamp = no hum 2. Also when Im touching the metal parts the amp hums and I expect that this the 60 Hz hum because it is barely noticeable when I select the humbuckers. If so, then take the guitar into your local music store and let them check it for you. It’s not terribly pleasant. The ground loop is another common cause of excessive noise. The instrument volume is sufficiently up. You have a grounding issue. Its likely the ground problem is in your guitar or guitar cable. Q: Why does my bass hum when I touch the strings and play in the rehearsal studio? This on top of the stock shielded PG and factory paint. The noise goes away when you touch the strings because that interference is safely conducted away to ground. If you’ve ever noticed your guitar’s noise gets quieter when you touch the strings, you might have thought your body grounds your guitar’s parts. not the transformer or removing the speakers from the output transformer. Hum and Guitar String Ground. We’ve all heard it, a guitar player with a notoriously noisy rig. The amp is not in standby mode. If the hum goes away when you touch the strings that means the strings (bridge) is grounded. My Fender Telecaster and Ovation and Martin AE guitars were all completely free of hum or buzz in my Fender Mustang II amp. The noise is a ground probelm. Remove the pickups. So here's the problem: You’ve got your guitar plugged in. Thing is, you touch the strings and it’s gone. Amp with preamp connected but no sources connected to preamp = hum 3. The amp is turned on. Made it my least favourite guitar to play. Guitar Squeak: Get Rid of Guitar Noise. Quick video walk through of how to diagnose and fix the problem. Any ideas? The amp is properly connected to the speakers/enclosure. I’m using the Hum X to fix my ground loop problem. It's NOT something wrong with the guitar, and it's NOT something that you need to take to a tech or start chasing around with a soldering iron. If I touch my bare foot to say a metal bit in my signal chain (like the stomp switch on an effect pedal) the hum goes almost completely away, string touching or no. A: There is some confusion out there between what happens when you have a grounding issue vs. when you have a shielding issue. There is a grounding wire from the bridge connected to the back of the volume pot, and the ground is connected to the jack okay, but still the hum persists. Ensure all connections are secure and tight, then power the amp back on. That hum that makes you just want to tell them to stop…please, and the hiss that makes you feel like you’re in a rattlesnake pit. 1. I have a Jazzmaster which is the noisiest guitar on the face of the planet (IMHO). Remove the strings. If the preamp has a low, deep, hum (not a buzz) just connected to the amp with no input then it’s likely it’s a problem preamp and needs repair.