'Buzz' from pickups? What to do?

Karl Hungus

I had a problem where my amp was making a 'buzzing' sound when I wasn't doing anything on the guitar, and I thought it was due to the fact that my amp is rather old at this stage and I was playing bass though it also before I got a bass amp, and that it 'Damaged' it slightly.

But I had been informed that it might be due to one of 2 things.
Leads.
Or dust in my pickups.

Now, I dont bother going overboard on my leads, because I rarely need to replace them, so I get rather cheap imitation Gold-plated ones. So while the lead currently used with my guitar is pretty new, it could be that.

But I doubt it is, because I dont have a hardcase for my guitar, so all signs point to the pickups, despite that I was told it could easily be the leads.

The pickups are the standard BC Rich humbucker, I haven't replaced them or got anything 'Flashy' in there.

So what's the deal?
Can I get these cleaned/fixed?
If so, how much?
Or do I have to replace them?

If the latter, what should I be looking for in future?
Are there pickups out there that are resistant to, or prevent this kind of damage?

Also, if I was to be getting new pickups, what are best reconmended?
I think a few of you will have an idea of the sound I go for, so if there's something along those lines you could mention, muchos thanks.

And, if shelling out on new pickups, would it be possible to fit an extra pickup between the two humbuckers? Seymour Duncan hotrail being the ideal one after reading about it on another thread.

I'm probably not going to shell out right away if I do need new pickups, because I dont really mind the buzzing that much, just that when I will be playing live or recording, it mightn't be a good thing to have and could inhibit the sound.


Advanced thanks for any help dished out.

-Angel

NeMiSiS

Right..bad leads = bad buzz straight off,like plug in the guitar and flick the lead with your finger in the middle or tap on it with your foot..if you can hear that coming through then times are bad,so get a decent insulated lead !

As for cleaning the pickups..I aint ever heard of that im guessing you could use a vacum cleaner..I do know you can get them rewaxed,that wouldnt or shouldnt cost **** all ill PM you the fone number of a guitar tech if you want..?

Thats all im gonna cover..feeling very hungover this morning

night night

NeM

bombidol

almost certainly the leads, spend about €30-€40 Euro on a good cable and it will sort out most of the buzzing and youll never need to buy another cable. Does it buzz on the clean channel or just when distorted?

gar

Don1

It's probably the leads.

If not does the buzzing stop when you touch the strings? If so you need to get the guitar earthed.

As for fitting a middle pickup. You'll have to rout out a hole for it and channels for the wiring. You'll need a new pickup selector switch and then you'll need a scratch plate to cover the mess!! Too much hassle for something that'd rarely be used.

As for the dust? If you like big distortion and you want a wall of sound out of of the guitar go mad and get EMG active pickups. They are very pricey though. The dust won't affect em either as they are covered.

Pugsley

Your moniter can do it if you keep your guitar or amp near the moniter. Happens my brothers guitar alot.

Karl Hungus

Right...
Just checked now, there's no buzz at all when I have it clean.
And I tried tapping the leads with my foot, neither sounded through.

Also, the buzzing does stops when I touch the strings.
(I'm assuming you mean touching them as to stop them ringing out, rather than picking a string?)

Now, could this be down to the leads/amp not being able to take distortion? I dont particularly use any really heavy distortion, or de-tuning, I just have a rather Metallica kind of sound with more reverb, and a hint more trebble.

Thanks for the advice on the EMGs Don1, but I'm not exactly looking for 'Big Distortion' and I find that creating a 'Wall of Sound' through your own musicianship sounds a lot better than adding layers of distortion. Either that, or needless blastbeats. But I think I'll try and experiment a bit, see if I can find any guitars in dublin already fitted with EMG, and try 'em out.

Also, is it possible to do what I was asking about the Seymour Duncan Hotrail?

ferdi

yeah my i get buzz of my bass in higher frets now which never happened before. it can be heard even when i'm not pluged in.

i know this is probably totally wrong but when i look closely and listen it actually looks like the problem is the the strings are too close to the pick ups or something - it sounds like crap i know but its p!ssing me off

help?

Pugsley

Originally posted by ferdi
yeah my i get buzz of my bass in higher frets now which never happened before. it can be heard even when i'm not pluged in.

i know this is probably totally wrong but when i look closely and listen it actually looks like the problem is the the strings are too close to the pick ups or something - it sounds like crap i know but its p!ssing me off

help?

Im getting the same!! :eek:
It only happens me on frets 15-18 on my 3nd and 4th string. Damn hateful because I need to play alot down there for Powerslave

Karl Hungus

I think that'd be fretbuzz... Not at all what I'm on about.

But try and get your intenation(Sp?) set, that should sort out a lot of the buzz.

Sterile Fish

my amp makes a buzing sound when the volume is high, because if the volume is high, every little detail your pickups get is being amplified and heard, ive known a fan to cause buzzing when thje pickups get hit by the wind, so maybe its just tiny things like that that the pickups are getting. If it is, then get the pickups dipped in wax, will cut out feed-back, and will cut out most noise but still leave you with proper sound for playing, have no idea how much it costs, but i know it works!

NeMiSiS

http://www.google.ie/search?q=guitar+intonation&ie=ISO-8859-1&hl=en&meta= To sort fret buzz

Giblet

Angelwhore, yours seems like a grounding problem if you are touching the strings and its stops making sound, it's because your are the ground. A guitar tech can resolder the wires or add a sheilding device.
And adding a hotrail to you guitar isn't the best idea, as you would have to dig a hole in your guitar, and wire up the tone pots and volume, and also, it doesn't sound to great in the middle position.

Fret buzz is caused by dead frets, or the strings are too low.

Karl Hungus

Ok, I've tried it out, and I think it is mostly due to the leads.
Got an insulated lead from a friend of mine, and it's sorted it.

So, yer...
I'm a paranoid klaxon-esque extremist.

120_Minutes

Giblet is right, its a grounding problem. An insulated lead will take care of it, but thats not where the problem lies. The strings and bridge are not connected to earth, so that when you touch them you're actually earthing them. what you need to do is solder some copper wire from the bridge block (round the back where the tremsprings are, if you've got a trem) to the earth in the pickup wiring, that should solve it.

ZoSoPage

Hey dude, just to let you know that sometimes, the lights and some electrical equipment (tv, stereo etc) in a room operate at a frequency that can mess with your pickups and cause all sorts of dirty interference. Try plugging out everything else in ur room/practise area and see if it sounds a bit better.

Good hunting.

polarbelly

we've a wee problem with our bassist's bass when recording, it seems that when he changes pick up there can be a bit of a buzz off one and not the other...

it might be that, probably not, but dont rule it out, your best bet though is to give it in to your local music shop and get them to give it a once over, cant do ya any harm