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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Guitar Pickups Vs Amp Transformer Noise
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 15 2013, 02:46 PM
Hello guys. Sometimes we have to play in the small clubs, being close to the guitar amp. No matter how good Your guitar shielding and pickups are seems like We can't win with the electro-magnetic field, generated from the amplifier transformer. Aside from some obvious things have anyone of You heard of any ultra advanced tips of how to handle this?
We using humbuckers mode the level of it is...let's say...acceptable in the whole mix but...when switching to single coil it's unusable :/ I know single coils are what they are but when increasing the distance the noise level get's low enough to handle it.
Have You ever heard of any unusuall methids other than:
1. Active pickups
2. Noisless single coils
3. Increasing the distance
and similar?
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 15 2013, 08:32 PM
Very interesting topic Darius - tell me, are you constantly modifying the distances between pickups and strings or getting as far as possible from the amp?
Posted by: Mertay Sep 15 2013, 08:43 PM
Posted by: klasaine Sep 15 2013, 08:44 PM
I use one of these ...
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DecimatorV2?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=none&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CKWmlcuTzrkCFQ9BQgodVAkAiQ
The best out there in a guitar pedal.
*Having said that there are some clubs I will not bring a single coil pkup guitar to.
I have also found that using a high quality power supply for your pedals definitely helps. Voodoo Labs PP2 and T-Rex 'fuel tanks' are really great.
Dunlop 'brick' and 1-Spot type pwr supplies are super convenient and inexpensive (I use 1-spots all the time) but they will amplify noise from the funky power inherent in clubs that don't have isolated power for the stage area.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 15 2013, 10:21 PM
Cosmin - nope I didn't meant any pickup height adjustments...I only mean the problem of being close to the amp and having 60 Hz (or 50Hz in Europe) hum interfering the pickup.
Ken - to make thinsg clear. I hava pass all the ground loops, power supply, chords, electric adventure. I'm 100% sure I did best all I could in case of those and guitar shielding.
Sometimes there trick Youll never guess and someone knows them...I was wondering if some of you might know any of those in this particular situation.
For now I have to keep the 90 degrees angle to the amp because this field is directional but I was hoping there is better solution.
My rig is currently 100% veryfied and when (like You sad) there is independent power line for the stage, then it's completely silent. But sometimes happens to have the amp too close and the field is too strong.
Posted by: Mertay Sep 15 2013, 11:37 PM
Been a loooong time since I've been on stage 
what about shielded cables rather than classic ones?
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Wire,_cables/Pushback_Shielded.html
Posted by: klasaine Sep 16 2013, 06:00 AM
There are situations and settings where, with single coil pickups (or mismatched humbuckers), there will be noise - no matter how good your gear is. If the power is dirty at the venue (wherever that may be), there's nothing you can do. That's why I sometimes use a noise gate (ISP Decimator).
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 16 2013, 07:34 AM
Hey Ken - do you have the pedal or the rack one? I am using the pedal and it is a great addition to my pedalboard. I found that for the gear that I have and in most of the situations, if I keep it somewhere at 10-11 o clock, it works super - the notes don't stop too abruptly and the noise canceling works as well.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 16 2013, 12:00 PM
I tried...I do have shielded Archer cable as a must-be part of my rig...but seems like no one has invented any solution for the particular transformer field vs pickups issue...damn...I would have to make myself an aluminim box and close in there for a gig time
Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 16 2013, 02:07 PM
If it's not the building power where power conditioning can help, then look at
http://www.ilitchelectronics.com/strat-bpncs/
Posted by: klasaine Sep 16 2013, 03:52 PM
The pedal, and I set it almost exactly as you do.
*The Illitch system (video above) is very good but in really noisy environments your single coils will still hum. The more gain you use the worse it is. It's a good re-design of what used to be called a 'dummy coil' (google dummy coil). It can be tuned for one's needs but at a certain point your tone will change.
You also have to rout your guitar for it and not have a reverse wound middle pickup (reverse wound middle pkup is the normal way a 3 single coil axe works). So you'd need a custom wound set of pkups or at least a custom wound middle pkup.
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 16 2013, 04:20 PM
Good topic Darius. This is the reason why I don't use single coil for dirty sounds. I'm very curious to know if there are effective solutions to this issue. However I haven't seen many high gain guitarists using these type of pick ups live.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 16 2013, 11:25 PM
I don't use high gain...rather crunch but it's enough to destroy my small club peace
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 17 2013, 08:34 AM
How does Malmsteen do it? I guess that he uses rather high gain and he also plays in clubs and he plays single coils - Correct?
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 17 2013, 08:48 AM
Malmsteen uses his signature noiseless pickups. I have similar pickups in my start but it's a huge tone difference between vintage output "humming" traditional single coils. I got them exactly because of the issue I mentioned...but - My proportion of playing humbuckers / singles is like 80/20 % of time so I usually just split the coil. I had once a pair of old Lace Sensors...pretty nice pickups and those were made a bit differently - humbucker was just a 2 singles on one plate...both were noiseless.
This is probably the only possible solution I found yet.
To be honest I can't become the 100% humb type of guy either the Single-Coil-Dude. I love both - I miss the brightness and dynamics of Neck Single Coil while playing rhuthm or solos on the crunch tone. Noiseless have less crispness so...it's always something that's not like I want :/
Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 17 2013, 09:09 AM
Could be worse, you could have p90's!
I think a lot of guys who want to use their vintage style single coil pickups get very used to putting up with hum whilst playing and rolling volume down when not playing or switching to 2 or 4 position
Posted by: tonymiro Sep 17 2013, 09:19 AM
If you can run your AC leads perpendicular to any mains power cable
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 17 2013, 10:20 AM
This is probably the only possible solution I found yet.
To be honest I can't become the 100% humb type of guy either the Single-Coil-Dude. I love both - I miss the brightness and dynamics of Neck Single Coil while playing rhuthm or solos on the crunch tone. Noiseless have less crispness so...it's always something that's not like I want :/
oooh - I see
I had no clue his pickups are noiseless, but the thing is that I am a humbucker guy as well, although I'd like to have a telecaster for instance, to get that 'twang' you know
Posted by: Mertay Sep 17 2013, 12:35 PM
Actually one can use 3 p90's to make them noiseless, 1 hidden inside guitar only to eliminate noise.
I sometimes read the seymour duncan blog. Not long ago someone posted there that modern noiseless singles are much better today, I didn't investigate but it was mentioned they are built different.
I only split my guitars neck humbucker when I need an acoustic guitar like sound (norton does this well with screw poles). Parallel might be not a bad idea but usually they don't bleed highs as much as singles though it might be worth to try something bright like "humbucker from hell" in parallel mode.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 18 2013, 08:48 PM
|I just had modern STK-S4 Seymour Duncan set and Yeah...they are better but needs some compensation with treble eq to get close to the regular single tone. I've just replaced set of those with SSL-52 and it's way better. Thanx for some cool tips. I think I'll try to test the "hidden pickup" method.
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 19 2013, 07:47 AM
I sometimes read the seymour duncan blog. Not long ago someone posted there that modern noiseless singles are much better today, I didn't investigate but it was mentioned they are built different.
I only split my guitars neck humbucker when I need an acoustic guitar like sound (norton does this well with screw poles). Parallel might be not a bad idea but usually they don't bleed highs as much as singles though it might be worth to try something bright like "humbucker from hell" in parallel mode.
What a cool trick! I also found something on a forum regarding the P90s which could be interesting - check it out:
Solving hum issue on a '56 Goldtop with P-90's - 60 Hz hum is excessive. Anyway, after searching for all sorts of fixes on the web, it seems that converting one of the pups to a reverse wired, reverse polarity was the answer. However, every post talked about swapping wires (i.e. cutting and/or resoldering) on the pickups. I was not interested in that so I figured there had to be a better way. There is, and it's easy. I did it last night, but unfortunately, I didn't take pictures. I think you'll be able to follow it anyway. It took me about 15 minutes (minues the re-do because I had the magnets wrong; see Tip).
1. Take off the strings by any method you want (I just loostened them and removed the tailpiece from the bolts). Remove the cover screws on the bridge pickup (doesn't matter which, but the bridge seemed to have a bit more wire slack. If not, open up the vol/tone cover and carefully snip a cable tie to free up the cables)
2. Carefully lift the pickup out of the hole. It should be waxed together, so nothing should fall out. Take a Sharpie and mark the outside edge of the two magents above the bottom plate. Also mark the top of the bobbin. This is very important as magnet polarity is key.
3. Unsrew the pole pieces (six screws on top) and the two screws holding the bottom plate to the pole plate (thin metal strip that sits between the magnets). Carefully take out the magnets. Since everything is waxed together, gently pry apart with a small screwdriver.
4. Flip the bobbin over and arrange the plate and pole plate between the bobbin bottom (used to be the top) and the plate. Put the magnets back in between the bobbin and the bottom plate, making sure that the edge that you marked is now on the inside against the pole plate. If you have a compass handy, make sure that the pickups now have different magentic polarity (one should attract N, the other S as you hold the compass perpendicular to the pup face).
5. Re-attach all the screws and re-install the pup and cover. Congratulations, you now have humbucking P-90 axe when playing in the center position.
Tip: If the center position is hum-free, but sounds thin and nasaly, the magnets are not installed correctly.
Why does this work? Because the 60 Hz hum only interacts with the coils, so reversing one causes a phase inversion that cancels out the hum. The strings interact with the entire coil/magnet system, so reversing the magnets reverses the phase once again, resulting in a zero phase reversal, just like the original.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 19 2013, 08:49 AM
I'msorry that I have to chill You a bit Cosmin..but...this already happens in 2 and 4 position of strat. Even if I could do this with P90...then...it aplies only when pickup play together...
Unfortunately I use those positions....almost never :/ Nice clean, percissuve tones...but doesn't work for me
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 19 2013, 09:34 AM
Unfortunately I use those positions....almost never :/ Nice clean, percissuve tones...but doesn't work for me
No problem man
I thought it would be interesting to share, that's all 
You seem to know a lot about this stuff so, I appreciate your thoughts whenever, so I can learn more myself!
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 19 2013, 10:05 AM
I thought it would be interesting to share, that's all You seem to know a lot about this stuff so, I appreciate your thoughts whenever, so I can learn more myself!It always nice to share any "backstage" tips so thanx Cosmin for this...some users might find it usefull
From All we have collected by far I think that the "backplate coil" solution would be probably best of those. Ken's got a good point about middle pickup issue...but..I could sacrifice it - rarely use it I feel like I'm "getting old" and more to strat/tele tones
Those have such a wide dynamics - I mean when You "rape" it..it screams with full amount of treble and then just touch it soft so the treble makes hidden but doesnt loose the clarity.I was always adding coil split and using both - humb and single modes of neck pickup. After some noiseless solutions probably best I found by far was the Lace Sensor "double-single coil" humbucker type. My thoughts on those were that they add some extra treble and instead of many pickups they don't stay transparent (I don't judge if it's good or bad but indeed many pickups stay close to the main guitar tone just adding some harmonics while those seem to be a bit more independent)
Posted by: Mertay Sep 19 2013, 11:09 AM
My final idea 
try if you can find the previous steve lukather guitar. EMG single's is far from "popular" but it might be worth to try as I heard they are very silent compared to traditional pickups.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 19 2013, 12:26 PM
try if you can find the previous steve lukather guitar. EMG single's is far from "popular" but it might be worth to try as I heard they are very silent compared to traditional pickups.Ha ha
Have a set of SA in the closet also had an 89 with coil split and it does the job...but once again never ending - stage comfort vs tone issue Posted by: klasaine Sep 19 2013, 04:31 PM
If you don't need a middle pkup position then the 'dummy coil' or Illitch system is an excellent option.
If you want dead quiet in any and all position (buckers and singles) - EMG is far and away the best for that.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 19 2013, 07:24 PM
Easy!! GET A NOISE GATE!! Seriously, you have several options, here a couple.
1.)MXR Smartgate ( I use this one personally and it's great)
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m135-smart-gate-noise-gate
2.)ISP Decimator II - This one has FOUR inputs/outputs so you can run it through your effects loop and directly in and out to your amp. So it reduces noise inside and outside your amp.
http://www.isptechnologies.com/portfolio/decimator-ii-g-string-pedal/
You can try all the shielding you want, but in the end you just need a gate/noise suppressor to really hand it well. Some folks have a really hard time setting the devices properly and end up CUTTING OFF THEIR SUSTAIN!! So it's worth taking time to get used to the controls to find the "sweet spot".
Single coils are just noisy buggers which is why I try to avoid them unless using a neck/middle pickup combo setting. Dimarzio made some "noiseless" single coils for Yngwie.
http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/hum-canceling-strat/hs-3
So pretty much, your looking at buying a gate/suppressor, and/or replacing your pickups!
We using humbuckers mode the level of it is...let's say...acceptable in the whole mix but...when switching to single coil it's unusable :/ I know single coils are what they are but when increasing the distance the noise level get's low enough to handle it.
Have You ever heard of any unusuall methids other than:
1. Active pickups
2. Noisless single coils
3. Increasing the distance
and similar?
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 19 2013, 10:42 PM
No way Todd...
Of course Your right partly - I use noise gates...mostly one in the amps fx loop, sometimes also one between guitar and preamp but..it work ok for my heavy rockin' collaborations
The real problem comes when I play with pop/blues/fusion bands. This is completely different story And my playing is also 180 degress reversed - more legato, more dynamics, less drive, less notes, less picking - more fingers, less humb - more single coil
When it comes to operate with wide range of dynamics - having mid range gain on the amp and doing most of the job with guitar volume knob...You know Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck stuff...then The noise gate goes out of the game. The level of 60 Hz (50 Hz in Poland) is way to big so the noise gate treshold would kill to much sound.
Of course...I will just remind that we're talking about very specyfic situation - small pub, amp like 50 cm close to You (it sucks but sometimes it happens). I have no problems with my rig (I've spend years on research and fixing issues by little tiny steps, focusing long time on single one until it's solved).
Please don't get me wrong - it might sound arogant...I'm only writting this to avoid some regular advices that are already familiar to me - the basic ideas are probably all tested.
By far active pickups or noisless single are solution but here comes the "tone preference issue" also
OPne on the tip that could work and I will try it (thanx guys) is the hidden, reversed coil.
But of course thanx for interest in the problem and Your will to help Todd!
Posted by: klasaine Sep 20 2013, 12:52 AM
Not all NR is created equally.
The ISP 'decimator' that Todd mentions and both Cosmin and I use does not kill the note until it gets super quiet - just at the very end of it's decay. So really the ISP is a gate - you set a noise threshold. It's not any type of EQing that tries to mask the offending frequencies.
Here's a super quick demo.
IC_B_012.MP3 ( 2.94MB )
: 67
Tele, single coils, tube amp and medium hot OD - a Menatone 'Howie' with both channels engaged.
The 'hiss' you hear is the air from the amp/speaker being up about half way and the OD. Also, the mic from the hand held recorder about 40 cm (16") from the speaker. Closer than any ear should be to a speaker.
*I place the NR first in the chain right after my guitar. I just want to kill the single coil hum from the guitar.
Hope that helps a little.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 20 2013, 12:57 AM
No Way Me!
That's what I thought. From the sound of it the MXR is hopeless. However, the DECIMATOR is actually exactly what you need from the sound of it. It's not actually a gate. It doesn't crush your sustain/signal, just gets rid of noise. It's the only device I've seen that work in tough situations without crushing dynamics. I'm guessing you may not have tried them? I'm not sure if they are available everywhere but it would be worth a look.
As for tone, if you don't like the way the noiseless dimarzios sound, maybe the noise is just part of the tone then? If it hums a bit, just make it part of the set
Of course Your right partly - I use noise gates...mostly one in the amps fx loop, sometimes also one between guitar and preamp but..it work ok for my heavy rockin' collaborations
The real problem comes when I play with pop/blues/fusion bands. This is completely different story And my playing is also 180 degress reversed - more legato, more dynamics, less drive, less notes, less picking - more fingers, less humb - more single coil
When it comes to operate with wide range of dynamics - having mid range gain on the amp and doing most of the job with guitar volume knob...You know Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck stuff...then The noise gate goes out of the game. The level of 60 Hz (50 Hz in Poland) is way to big so the noise gate treshold would kill to much sound.
Of course...I will just remind that we're talking about very specyfic situation - small pub, amp like 50 cm close to You (it sucks but sometimes it happens). I have no problems with my rig (I've spend years on research and fixing issues by little tiny steps, focusing long time on single one until it's solved).
Please don't get me wrong - it might sound arogant...I'm only writting this to avoid some regular advices that are already familiar to me - the basic ideas are probably all tested.
By far active pickups or noisless single are solution but here comes the "tone preference issue" also
OPne on the tip that could work and I will try it (thanx guys) is the hidden, reversed coil.
But of course thanx for interest in the problem and Your will to help Todd!
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 20 2013, 07:52 AM
I first tried the Decimator with a Mesa Roadking boosted with a Zakk Wylde MXR OD, using the lead channel of the amp. It makes the Mesa even weirder to control, as the tone feels like it jumps out of the amp somehow. I can't quite explain the feeling but that's how it is
As Ken said, it is a very useful tool and I got used to the sound, with MY rig, but as I said, on that Mesa, it's really something else. Now, I would be curious to try the Decimator II, but I don't think that anyone here has it.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 20 2013, 08:34 AM
That's what I thought. From the sound of it the MXR is hopeless. However, the DECIMATOR is actually exactly what you need from the sound of it. It's not actually a gate. It doesn't crush your sustain/signal, just gets rid of noise. It's the only device I've seen that work in tough situations without crushing dynamics. I'm guessing you may not have tried them? I'm not sure if they are available everywhere but it would be worth a look.
As for tone, if you don't like the way the noiseless dimarzios sound, maybe the noise is just part of the tone then? If it hums a bit, just make it part of the set
Ha ha ha
I get Your point. Decimator is a great device but 60 humb is something much worse than what we usually understand by saying "noise" . I did a pretty descent shielding and even on the distortion I can be pretty quiet if the distance from the amp is long enough
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 24 2013, 11:30 PM
The Decimator and Decimator II both work really well at killing EXACTLY the kind of HUM you are talking about But if those are too rare/expensive, you could of course go the simple route and get a Hum Killer box
Between the decimator/decimator II, and a Hum Cancelling Box, your going to get pretty much as much as your going to be able to remove without opening up your guitar and making a Faraday cage around the electronics 
I get Your point. Decimator is a great device but 60 humb is something much worse than what we usually understand by saying "noise" . I did a pretty descent shielding and even on the distortion I can be pretty quiet if the distance from the amp is long enough Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 25 2013, 12:10 AM
Good tip. Gotta try this Faraday'a Cage is already done
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 25 2013, 02:02 AM
Let us know! Hopefully it's quite as a mouse after this
Faraday'a Cage is already done Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 25 2013, 07:40 AM
But I notice there are no switches - it's somehow turned on all the time?
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 25 2013, 10:21 PM
Yup Always on and doing it's job. Here is a link to their web site with more info.
http://www.ebtechaudio.com/hedes.html
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 25 2013, 11:44 PM
http://www.ebtechaudio.com/humxdes.html
This looks interesting though....
Maybe a good mobile device when the reason of hum is a power connections on the stage. Unfortunately...Didn't see european plug version
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 26 2013, 08:31 AM
Thanks Todd!
I think that this plug adapter could do the trick?
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 26 2013, 07:51 PM
No power needed!! Just plug and go so no "euro conversion" needed you plug your guitar straight in.
This looks interesting though....
Maybe a good mobile device when the reason of hum is a power connections on the stage. Unfortunately...Didn't see european plug version
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 27 2013, 08:24 AM
so no "euro conversion" needed you plug your guitar straight in.No power? What does it run on?
Your reply sounded like a commercial for a magical device that people in the universe of Harry Potter would use
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 27 2013, 07:49 PM
Check the link Todd - I've posted some other device they make - the one You plug directly to the "wall" and then You have a filtering for Your full rig...Great when some @rshhole connects lights and p.,s to the same power line
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 28 2013, 08:57 AM
God... I had an awful feedback noise last evening onstage - I have no clue why it happened, but it kinda ruined my whole mood - thing is, at the soundcheck - everything was in place 
I had to play 'Domination' by quickly turning the volume pot on and off between the parts where the guitar is not playing during the verse part
Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 5 2013, 12:19 AM
I am sounding like a commercial These guys to make some spiff gear that loads of folks use in addition to the ISP decimator products to tame noise. These two together are the Magic Sauce of noise prevention I"m sure Harry Potter has a rack mounted Decimator so he can run stereo cabs and have multiple inputs
Todd
Quick thinking!!
Sometimes you just gotta wing it right? I had to play 'Domination' by quickly turning the volume pot on and off between the parts where the guitar is not playing during the verse part
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 5 2013, 11:43 AM
These guys to make some spiff gear that loads of folks use in addition to the ISP decimator products to tame noise. These two together are the Magic Sauce of noise prevention I"m sure Harry Potter has a rack mounted Decimator so he can run stereo cabs and have multiple inputs Todd
Quick thinking!!
Sometimes you just gotta wing it right?It came all of a sudden right before the first verse was starting - HELL! What am I gonna do with all that noise?
The reaction was instantaneous and not forethought - but it was pretty hectic to keep up with it all the time.. yes mate, the stage is such a fun fair ain't it?
Posted by: Blue Willy Oct 19 2013, 11:10 PM
Most of this post is going to seem rather obvious and basic but I just want to state a few things in a simple way.
Probably because I don't use high gain, I don't seem to have serious hum problems even though I've got single coil pickups in my 1954 Gretsch. That said, most of the time when these problems do arise, it is at a club that is in an old building and there are serious problems with the club's electrical wiring due to additions and modifications having been done by people who are not qualified electricians. Many times different outlets and circuits will be out of phase with each other and ground connections may not be adequate. I have gotten some nasty shocks and burned lips from microphones when the PA system was out of phase with my guitar amplifier. Needless to say, in Europe with 240v current you can be killed by this. Add stage lighting circuits with dimmers and electrical noise gets totally out of hand. Most of the time when I have had trouble with hum, it has been due to lighting dimmers which produce all sorts of dirt in the AC service.
A comment was made about P90 pickups producing a lot of hum. I have a 1949 Gibson ES125 with an original P90. I have almost no hum problems with that guitar. Similarly, I don't have many problems with my Gretsch with original Dynasonic (DeArmond 2000) single coil pickups. I attribute this to two things. First, I always stand or sit with my body between the amp and my guitar (my back toward the amp) which shields the amp and guitar from each other. Secondly, I run the volume controls on my guitars wide open or nearly so (which gives a solid signal to noise ratio through the guitar patch cable) and control my volume with the volume control on the amp. This produces a clean sound with very little or no audible hum. If you like a lot of gain and distortion, this won't work for you, but if you like a clean sound it will solve most of your problems.
If at all possible, put some distance between yourself and the amp...one meter will usually do the job. I have seen players who complain about AC hum actually sitting on top of the amp while playing! This will absolutely guarantee a lot of hum. One last thing...make sure the ground wire in your guitar is solidly connected to the tailpiece or bridge so that the strings are solidly grounded, this way your body will be grounded when you are touching the strings completing the shielding of the guitar's wiring when you are between your guitar and amp.
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 20 2013, 10:47 AM
Probably because I don't use high gain, I don't seem to have serious hum problems even though I've got single coil pickups in my 1954 Gretsch. That said, most of the time when these problems do arise, it is at a club that is in an old building and there are serious problems with the club's electrical wiring due to additions and modifications having been done by people who are not qualified electricians. Many times different outlets and circuits will be out of phase with each other and ground connections may not be adequate. I have gotten some nasty shocks and burned lips from microphones when the PA system was out of phase with my guitar amplifier. Needless to say, in Europe with 240v current you can be killed by this. Add stage lighting circuits with dimmers and electrical noise gets totally out of hand. Most of the time when I have had trouble with hum, it has been due to lighting dimmers which produce all sorts of dirt in the AC service.
A comment was made about P90 pickups producing a lot of hum. I have a 1949 Gibson ES125 with an original P90. I have almost no hum problems with that guitar. Similarly, I don't have many problems with my Gretsch with original Dynasonic (DeArmond 2000) single coil pickups. I attribute this to two things. First, I always stand or sit with my body between the amp and my guitar (my back toward the amp) which shields the amp and guitar from each other. Secondly, I run the volume controls on my guitars wide open or nearly so (which gives a solid signal to noise ratio through the guitar patch cable) and control my volume with the volume control on the amp. This produces a clean sound with very little or no audible hum. If you like a lot of gain and distortion, this won't work for you, but if you like a clean sound it will solve most of your problems.
If at all possible, put some distance between yourself and the amp...one meter will usually do the job. I have seen players who complain about AC hum actually sitting on top of the amp while playing! This will absolutely guarantee a lot of hum. One last thing...make sure the ground wire in your guitar is solidly connected to the tailpiece or bridge so that the strings are solidly grounded, this way your body will be grounded when you are touching the strings completing the shielding of the guitar's wiring when you are between your guitar and amp.
Heh, I experienced the burned lips thing myself... and the ground wire being dispatched as well. But in the case of the gig last month, I found out there was nothing I could do in mid performance - I even ran away from the amp as far as I could go
Posted by: Darius Wave Oct 20 2013, 11:48 AM
Thanx for sharing Your thoughts Billy! I completely agree with You - even though I'm much Younger I already have expirience in this field and the things You mentioned are very clear to me. I was only hoping to get sort of "magic trick". You know....sometimes people invent something really refreshing for old, obvious issues and that's what I was trying to find. Seems like the best by far would be trying the dummy coil (getting prepared for first tests).
Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 23 2013, 05:08 AM
Sadly there isn't a "magic trick" that I"m aware of that will just put a "Harry Potter" fix on your issues. It would be great if there were though right
Posted by: Darius Wave Oct 23 2013, 09:08 AM
Yep I know But anyway even going through all those obvious things there is still something cool to find, like the hum-canceling devices You mentioned So It's always a tiny step further i the gear setup quality
Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 24 2013, 10:21 AM
Of course there is... don't you guys remember that spell they learned at Hogwarts - Noisius Disparittus?
Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 24 2013, 10:33 AM
I had forgotten about that!!! Good pull!!!
True!!! Never know where new tidbits can come from!
But anyway even going through all those obvious things there is still something cool to find, like the hum-canceling devices You mentioned So It's always a tiny step further i the gear setup quality Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
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