axemannate Posted September 29, 2004 Report Posted September 29, 2004 Hi. I just got done wiring one of my new guitars and there is some crazy humming goinig on. I lined the pickup, input and control cavities with aluminum tape and followed the wiring diagram just as it said. Its got 2 7-string humbuckers. When i plug it in, it hums realy bad, but when i start to play, the hum goes away a little bit but is still there. when i touch the volume or the tone knob, and the sheilding tape, it hums even more. i had a grounding wire to the trem, but i took it off cuz of the excessive humming when i touch the strings. can anybody help me out? Quote
Dugz Ink Posted September 29, 2004 Report Posted September 29, 2004 Before you start taking apart, you may want to look around the room. Does the problem occur when your in a room that has one of those dimmer switches for the overhead light? Does it happen when you're sitting near a computer that has one of those big fat CRT video monitors? Either one will create hum (even in "hum-buckers") that cannot be eliminated by re-wiring your guitar. Rule out the environmental causes before you tear your hair and your pickups out. D~s Quote
Saber Posted September 29, 2004 Report Posted September 29, 2004 (edited) There is surely a break somewhere in your ground circuit. Check the continuity between the ground of your output jack and all the points on your guitar that should be connected to it (like the bridge, strings, pot bodies, shielding tape, etc.). If it buzzes when you touch it, then it's not connected to ground. Edited September 29, 2004 by Saber Quote
Dugz Ink Posted September 29, 2004 Report Posted September 29, 2004 If it buzzes when you touch it, then it's not connected to ground. Almost always true, unless the hum is RFI that is introduced by something like a large capacitor (CRT video monitor) or high-voltage resisitance (dimmer switch on 110 wiring)... then certain types of grounding can actually pick up and transmit the RFI. That's the only reason I mentioned checking the environment first. If he's playing in front of a CRT monitor, then he needs to take the guiatr to another room to see if the problem persists. If it disappears, then he doesn't need to take anything apart. D~s Quote
axemannate Posted September 30, 2004 Author Report Posted September 30, 2004 Thank you guys so much for the help. It was actually the grounding connection, but the computer monitor DID play a part in the hum. Quote
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