Loud Buzz/hum

[OmaPlata]

Ever since I wired up my guitar, I've experienced a very loud buzz/hum(I don't konw the difference). It is quite audible, but goes away when I place my finger on the metal end of my guitar chord(aka where my chord plugs into the jack, the metal part on the actual end of the chord).

The sound does not get nearly as quiet if I touch anywhere else. Any ideas? If you guys need more info to help me deduce, please let me know. I'm still new to this.

[BNichols]

do you know if you were touching the strings or bridge when you touched the jack/cable? i have also had this problem and am trying to fix it. I know that the reason for mine is because I haven't gotten around to sending a ground wire to the bridge. When I touch any metal that is a part of the electronics (pots, jack, etc.) and the bridge or strings the hum goes away. if this is the case with your guitar you may need to check the ground connections inside

[biliousfrog]

head over to guitarnuts.com & read through the wiring & shielding sections. It sounds like a grounding issue (or lack of) but rather than going through every possible problem & solution it might be worth reading through those articles to get a better understanding of how the wiring works & you might be able to troubleshoot it yourself.

[OmaPlata]

head over to guitarnuts.com & read through the wiring & shielding sections. It sounds like a grounding issue (or lack of) but rather than going through every possible problem & solution it might be worth reading through those articles to get a better understanding of how the wiring works & you might be able to troubleshoot it yourself.

Alright, so I spent some time reading the wiring and shielding sections. It had a lot of good info, but I'm not sure I found anything that applied to my situation(I hope I read the right thing).

Anyways, is there a method of process of elimination that I can follow to isolate the problem? After doing some reading, my guess is a grounding issue as well, considering when I(aka a grounded object) touch the bridge, strings, or jack the noise goes away completely.

[SwedishLuthier]

It’s definitely a grounding problem to start with. You don't write anything about what type of guitar it is. Is it home built?

You should have an electrical connection between your bridge (e.g. the strings) and the signal ground. If it isn't a home brew type of guitar you should have a (most often) bare wire sticking out from the control cavity wall. It is coming from the bridge studs, from under the bridge, from the trem spring claw or similar and should be connected to ground (back of pots or whatever). If you have made this guitar yourself you will have to find a way to get connection to ea metal part connected to the strings. A wire from the TOM studs is generally inserted before the bushings are pressed in. It is possible to solve it anyway. I missed that on a guitar I made a few years ago. What you do is drilling a hole from the cavity to the bushing through the jack hole. Insert a looong dry wall screw until you have contact with the bushing. Now you solder the wire to the screw head and to ground.

[GregP]

+1 that it's a ground issue of some sort.

In most cases, some or all of the 'grounded' components aren't being grounded to the jack. You need to trace ALL of your grounds and see if they make it to the ground lug on the jack eventually.

[Acousticraft]

Your pots, selector switch, output jack and bridge must all be connected to a common ground wire otherwise you become the earth when the strings etc. are touched by your hand.