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Question: Electric Guitar + Amp has hum/buzz!?
After a couple of years with an acoustic guitar, I just received a brand new electric guitar and amp for my birthday and am thrilled!.
Unfortunately, I'm a total newbie when it comes to working with the "electric" part of an electric guitar!.
When I plug the guitar amp into the wall, and then the guitar itself into the amp, and turn up the volume a little bit, I get a fairly loud electronic "hum/buzz" coming out of the amp!. This "hum/buzz" disappears the moment I touch either a single string on the guitar or the metal whammy bar!. !. (So I assume that this is some electrical issue, not a feeback issue)!. If I strum the guitar with open strings and am not touching either the strings or the whammy bar, the hum is there, mixed in with the chord but, the moment I touch the strings, it disappears!. It gets worse when I move the "pickup lever" to another of the four settings!. The amp is a good 5 feet away from the guitar as I play it!.
I'm, oh, 72% sure that the outlet I'm using is grounded!.
What could be going on!? Is this normal!? What do I do to get rid of this annoyance!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Okay, Before I even read your full question, I was betting you have a Strat style guitar, probably a Squire Strat!.
I was right, huh!?
Okay the problem is not your amp!. Let me assure you 100% that that's true!.
The problem is the pickup design!. That is the big problem for all strats, even the best ones!. The Single coil design is what causes the hum!.
That's why they call Humbuckers Humbuckers!. A humbucker is two single coil pickups wired in such a way as to eliminate the hum!.
I have a strat, and I have a hum in my amp, too!. When the TV is on, it's even worse!.
I just bought an Electric Doubleneck guitar with humbuckers and the same amp gives me no hum at all when I'm playing it!.
It won't matter how far away you get!. It will always hum with a strat guitar!.
There is an old Jeff Beck album called Wired!. You can hear his strat humming if you listen real carefully during some of the quiet moments!.
So other than buying a guitar with humbuckers, I'm afraid your going to always have that hum!.
You might try turning your gain levels down!. the more heavy gain you use will intensify the hum!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
well if its a single coil pickup there lies the problem!. single coil pickups naturally produce whats known as the 60 cycle hum!. humbuckers which are two coils with reverse polarities get rid of the 6o cycle hum!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
yeh it's just the amp it happend to mine toWww@QuestionHome@Com
Everyone else pretty much nailed it!. Just a few tips, though, if that buzz is really bothering you:
- Get your guitar shielded!. Basically, they put copper tape on the inside of the pickguard, and this provides some buzzful relief!.
- If you love the sound of single coil pickups and don't want to switch to humbuckers, they make some fantastic single coil humbuckers out there that sound like single coils, but without the hum!. Check out Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups for a start!.
- Oh, also, try facing away from your amp for a bit!. That usually seems to help as well!.
Hope that helped!Www@QuestionHome@Com