Members indigoguy Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 Having a problem with my mustang, thought some of you guys might have the know how to help me out. I've getting a mad amount of hum off my guitar when i let go of the strings. This pretty much stops when i touch all the strings, or the bridge, control plate or the screws that hold the pick up selecter switches. It is, however vastly increased if i touch the pickup screws. This might not sound like a huge problem but its a pain to get a crackle everytime i switch between chords etc. I should mention that this is something that has just occurred so its not simply the noise of single coils, i've had lace sensors in this guitar for a couple of years which have been pretty quiet generally and not been a problem. Is this a grounding issue or something? Something that i could perhaps do something about myself despite having very little knowledge of the guts of a guitar (i would take it to a pro but i have a gig on sunday so was hoping it was something i could fix myself quickly). thanks for reading this far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 When you touch the bridge, strings, etc you are completing the ground connection. When you take your hands off the ground opens up and you get noise. It's the nature of the beast really when dealin with single coils in general. Double check all your connections and make sure everything is proper. Shielding your guitar control cavity can help a bit. Also, outlets that are improperly grounded, TV's, ceiling fans, neon lights, etc can all contribute to unwanted noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members indigoguy Posted October 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hey, yeah, i realise i'm never gonna get silence from single coils but the weird thing is that it seems to have gotten worse today - same amp and effects plugged into the same power supply etc, i don't know if thats even possible or if my mind is messing with me. Poss a stupid question but if it is a power issue could what someone has switched on in a neighbouring flat have an effect? What is the range at which this sort of thing can have an effect? (in case you hadn't noticed i am an electronic doofus :-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reginald Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 I was going to come in here and tell you that car threads have nothing to do with an on topic guitar forum. My Tele is kind of having a similar problem, although it's not as bad as yours sounds. I'm going to start by shielding the cavity and checking the grounding. If this doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hey, yeah, i realise i'm never gonna get silence from single coils but the weird thing is that it seems to have gotten worse today - same amp and effects plugged into the same power supply etc, i don't know if thats even possible or if my mind is messing with me. Poss a stupid question but if it is a power issue could what someone has switched on in a neighbouring flat have an effect? What is the range at which this sort of thing can have an effect? (in case you hadn't noticed i am an electronic doofus :-) ) It could, depends on how close the other flat is. For example....If the ceiling fan on the first floor of my place is on and I am jamming on the second floor right over it, I get some buzz (depending on the guitar).If you have all sorts of power supplies plugged in for effects and such then that could be amplifying the noise problem. For example....I have a delay that when I plug it's power supply into some outlets it creates a nice audible hum through the amp. Others it's fine.You might want to strip down your rig and just go straight into the amp and see what happens then. Also, some outlets in where you play may be grounded better than others. Try plugging into a couple and see what that does for you.BTW...you can find "sweet-spots" that cut down on noise. Just walk around the room your in and some places will get you more noise than others.Don't forget that using alot of gain will increase any noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jacobarber Posted October 25, 2007 Members Share Posted October 25, 2007 If the humming stops when you touch one of the metal parts, it means that not everything is grounded correctly. Maybe one of the solder joints broke. If you're comfortable with opening the guitar up yourself, do a light tug test on all the connections. Otherwise I'd take it to a guitar tech and have them check it out. Probably won't cost anything more than $25-30 unless they need to replace a part, which isn't likely at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members indigoguy Posted October 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2007 thanks for the replies people, looks like i might have to put up with it for a while and take it in to someone when i have a chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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