String Humm! <-- Help

johnwoods

Hey,

Ive had no probs with my strat for 3 years or so but now I get this really annoying hum whenever I dont touch the strings, Even on the clean channel, which is how I know it wasnt there before, and even when i touch the strings it doesnt totally go away, just keeps on droning, I know its prob to do with earth on pickups so how do I fix it??

Nice one,
John

Doctor J

The fact that it stops when you touch the strings suggests your earthing is ok. You may need to shield the pickup and electronics cavities though.

68 lost souls

Not necessarily Doc, it could be the grounding on the bridge, in which case it would gowhen you tough the strings because you create a ground with the current comeing up the strings through you and into the ground.

johnwoods

Thing is though, It wasnt there before so is there someting I can do to make the guitar not Humm on the clean channel like before without making some crazy mod?

When was the last time you set it up? I had the same problem with my bass, but one of the tonal pots were gone. Cheap enough to repair.

johnwoods

Papa Smut wrote:

When was the last time you set it up? I had the same problem with my bass, but one of the tonal pots were gone. Cheap enough to repair.

Yeah, I think this is the problem, Cause thats what one of my mates suggested and he knows alot about that kinda stuff, were would I go to sort it man?

WetDaddy

Have you recently started practicing or playing somewhere new? Like did you move house / rehearsal room or anything? Could an earthing problem in the actual building itself.

In my parents house in Malahide (old house) I used to have the same problem, but in nearly all other places the same amp + guitar combination is grand.

Johnny Storm

deathfunk wrote:

Have you recently started practicing or playing somewhere new? Like did you move house / rehearsal room or anything? Could an earthing problem in the actual building itself.

In my parents house in Malahide (old house) I used to have the same problem, but in nearly all other places the same amp + guitar combination is grand.

Agree. Or possibly are you sitting at your PC while playing?

Eoin Madsen

68 lost souls wrote:

Not necessarily Doc, it could be the grounding on the bridge, in which case it would gowhen you tough the strings because you create a ground with the current comeing up the strings through you and into the ground.

Have you ever ungrounded your bridge? I did it once while troubleshooting this exact problem and noticed that it actually buzzed louder when I touched it. Either way, the problem would be a loud and obnoxious buzz rather than a hum if that were the case here.

What's described is a common problem. Though I've never heard of it being caused by a faulty pot, and it doesn't really make sense to me given the circuit. Pots can oxidise a bit, so cleaning and resoldering them might be a good start. I think it's still not likely to be the cause of this problem though.

I reckon between what the Doc said and what Deathfunk is suggesting lies your answer. If you're handy with a soldering iron, there's a few things you could try to reduce the noise. "Star grounding", where all of the earths are wired straight to one place (the jack ground), might be worth a look. It helped a lot for my bass, though there's still a slight buzz when I let go of the strings.