Too Much Hum In Distortion

[ZorgBlaubaer]

so ive got another problem with my eletrics...

since i get a sound now, its really crappy. as long as i stay in a clean sound, its mainly allright, hum is just a bit above normal level. but whern i switch to distortion, its humming nearly as loud as my guitar sound is... a allready tried to shield and stuff, and while doing it i realized that if i touch the ground while playing the hum grows to an enermous amount.. i always thought it had to be the other way round O_o

please help me otherwise i will go insane X)

[Paul Marossy]

With a high gain distortion circuit, any kind of hum will be greatly amplified. If you have some hum before distortion, then you're already at a disadvantage. It sounds like something is wrong with your grounding scheme. Are you absolutely positive that have all grounds connected, and properly?

[kings_x]

Your problem is not shielding, it is grounding.

You need to make sure all your pickups, pot casings and bridge are grounded in a single location. Usually a pot casing. Also make sure that you have the pickups wired correctly.

[lovekraft]

Does it hum even when the guitar cord is unplugged from the amp?

[ZorgBlaubaer]

why should it hum if the guitar isn't even connected to the amp??

i didn't ground the bridge because when i connect the bridge to my grounding circuit it does hum even more. and i also cant ground to a potchase cause i dont have any pots. only 2 pickups, a two way switch and an output.

[kings_x]

Look at the output jack on the guitar. Try switching the wires. You may have the ground tied to the "hot" side and the "hot" tied to the ground side. I did that the other day and it caused a very loud buzz.

And definitely ground your bridge.

mdr

[Paul Marossy]

Look at the output jack on the guitar. Try switching the wires. You may have the ground tied to the "hot" side and the "hot" tied to the ground side. I did that the other day and it caused a very loud buzz.

And definitely ground your bridge.

Yep, I bet that's the problem. And, you definitely want to ground your bridge. Not doing so can get you killed under the right set of circumstances.

[lovekraft]

why should it hum if the guitar isn't even connected to the amp?? 

Just checking to make sure it wasn't your amp. It's a lot easier to fix a problem if you're sure what the problem is.

i didn't ground the bridge because when i connect the bridge to my grounding circuit it does hum even more. and i also cant ground to a potchase cause i dont have any pots. only 2 pickups, a two way switch and an output.

OK, no volume pot, and you've got a ground loop, and probably at least one pickup miswired - try this: correctly identify your pickup leads, wire the hot leads to your switch, and the switch common lug to your output jack. Then connect every ground wire from every component to the ground terminal on the output jack (and nowhere else) - don't forget the bridge and whatever shielding you're using (and if you haven't shielded your control cavity yet, that's where you need to start - do a search on shielding for more info). If that doesn't quiet it completely, try soldering a 500K resistor across the output jack leads. Don't hesitate to let me know if any of that isn't clear - HTH.

[ZorgBlaubaer]

thanks to all of you guys X)

my mistake was really that i mixed up the hot and the ground contact at the output jack... now its all working perfect... also the grounding of bridge and stuff.

i dont know where i was without you all ;D

[Paul Marossy]

my mistake was really that i mixed up the hot and the ground contact at the output jack

You only have to do something like that once and then you'll probably never do it again...

[kings_x]

thanks to all of you guys X)

my mistake was really that i mixed up the hot and the ground contact at the output jack... now its all working perfect...

Thank you, thank you very much.