I have been chasing a crazy loud buzz for days, and came across this video. I had no issues up until recently, and the problem persisted between multiple amps, guitars, cables, etc. So I went into my garage and experimented with my body to figure out if that was the issue, and sure enough it was. Turns out, when it got hot this summer I decided to play barefoot. If I put my sandals on however, boom no buzz. I could literally touch a bare foot to the concrete and it buzzes, take it off and it stops. Thanks so much for this, saved me who knows how much time and money trying to fix it!

Im new to playing electric guitar as I've played acoustic for years .. I got my first electric guitar and amp yesterday and the hum was driving me crazy.. the second I touched the strings or the guitar the humming stopped .. this video saved me from ripping my walls apart thinking it was my outlets

This is the most helpful video I watched in a long time. The buzz was driving me crazy, it appeared when I did not touch the bridge or the strings. I resoldered everything and even made sure the guitar is fine with a multimeter. But the buzz was still there. Then I saw this video and understood the problem. I went on installing shielding in the cavity and now it is dead silent. Thanks for sharing.

So glad u made this video. U helped me greatly. I've been contemplating what was happening when I was getting all this buzz but yet it would go away when I would touch the strings. I couldn't find anyone addressing this until I ran across your video. Before I watched this I was already contemplating that it may not be a ground issue though I wasn't 100% sure. When I watched your video u it became clear...I really appreciate your knowledge.

Very informative. I have a Telecaster that exhibits this problem. When I touch the strings or the metal volume/tone knobs, the hum goes away. I was just about to crack it open and check all the wires, etc. But I did your test of touching a metal pedal on my board and touching a metal input jack on an amp I am not plugged into, and the hum stopped. Thanks for saving me the trouble a lot of wasted time debugging the issue!

Thanks for this! I just spent an hour re-soldering everything and then decided to do some research. Thanks for this!

Thank you so much for this video. I had exactly this problem of unwanted noise which was making a great guitar and amp almost unusable. I was getting a bit despondent listening to your explanations because I couldn't see what the solutions might be. Then you mentioned the magic word "dimmers". The ceiling light in my practice room has a dimmer switch and that turned out to be the issue. With guitar strapped on and loads of unwanted noise, I turned the light off and, bingo, the unwanted noise went away and I was left with a great guitar and amp sound. So I went to my local electrical store today and bought a regular on/off light switch to replace the dimmer switch. The result is total guitar karma. So thanks again for your great video.

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome! So glad it worked out!

Thank you, thank you Kevin. You just saved me a lot of time & effort. There is nothing wrong with my 2 beautiful strats.

thank you kevin! ive had this problem for YEARS and have searched the whole internet for thi but i havent found anything as clear as this… thanks for this video!

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome!

THANK YOU! This was one of the clearest video's on youtube I've seen in a while, great slow and steady, but not too slow explanations.

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to comment!

@goodun2974

2 жыл бұрын

@00- , you have a defective amplifier! This is a very dangerous situation! You should *never* be able to "feel" electricity on the strings. If one hand (or both) is on the strings or metal hardware of the guitar, and you happen to put your lips to a microphone, or you're standing barefoot on a concrete basement or garage floor, or you touch a water faucet and a sink, or anything else that has an earth ground, The voltage leaking out from your amplifier will try to pass through the guitar strings and through your body and 2 whatever grounded object you are otherwise touching. You could easily be electrocuted. Does your amplifier have a grounded cord with the round 3rd pin? If it doesn't, or if it originally had one but somebody removed it, then not only does that need to be to be repaired or replaced so that you have a ground to the amplifier again, but whatever is leaking voltage inside the amp to the metal chassis and therefore to the guitar strings will need to be repaired. If it is a vintage tube type amplifier it might have a defective coupling capacitor from the power cord to the chassis, of the type that is sometimes referred to sarcastically as a "death cap". If the amplifier has a ground switch or polarity switch, then it almost certainly has one of these capacitors and the amp's interior wiring will need to be upgraded for safety. Worse yet, it could be a "Widowmaker" amplifier, with a Transformer-less power supply circuit sometimes referred to as an AC/DC circuit ( Which has nothing to do with the famous rock band). These amplifiers have no power transformer and the only transformer you will see on the chassis will be a small output transformer that feeds the speaker. These things are highly dangerous and generally not worth putting the effort or money into to make them electrically safe. Not to mention that the audio output power is invariably less than 2 Watts, tone quality generally isn't very good, and they are noisy and buzzy by design. If it has weird tubes such as a 50C5 or a 50L6 and a 35Volt rectifier like a 35W4 then it is definitely a "widow maker" type amplifier and you really don't want anything to do with it. Amplifiers of this type can no longer be manufactured because they don't meet electrical code and they are extremely unsafe.

@goodun2974

2 жыл бұрын

@00- , feeling electricity on the strings is *not normal*, regardless of the guitar, the type of pickups or the internal wiring. You never said what amp you're using. If you plugged directly into the amp (no pedals or effects) and felt juice on the strings, something ain't right. Here's something to try ---- plug the amp into a modern kitchen or bathroom plug that has a GFCI ground fault interruptor built in (sircuit breaker buttons on the outlet). If it trips, you've got a problem, if it doesn't, you're safe. Or don't. But even stubborn people who refuse to use common sense and logic to solve a problem don't deserve to get electrocuted.

@goodun2974

2 жыл бұрын

@00- it doesn't matter. A faultily wired guitar can hum and buzz like a banshee but it can't put voltage on the guitar strings because it doesn't contain a power supply. Only an amplifier can do that. I've got 50 years of electronics repair experience, including fixing many defective guitar amps, both tube and solid state. My experience and instincts tell me if you're feeling an electrical tingle, somethings wrong. Regardless, do what you want, but stay safe!

thank you for this; I have a hum with my fender ultra telecaster, it disappears when touching the metal knobs/metal on the bridge. Is that a different situation?

I have the same thing with my guitar every time I turn on the distortion there was buzzing but when I touch the strings it goes away. I was thankful I stumbled across this video because I could have taken my guitar controls and rewired them and still gotten that buzzing sound. Electrically noisy environments are something I have to learn to deal with every time I plug my guitar in.

What about if the hum only slightly goes down when I touch the strings or the bridge, but only completely stops, and gets silent when I touch the metal on the wire plugged into the jack ? Ive grounded everything and shielded the entire inside of my old SG, but it wont go away 😥 please help.

why does your strap pin sound so loud? is it normal for the pickups to pick a lot of the instrument's body noise? I have a bass that sounds like a cajon through the amplifier when I tap everywhere on it. I already tried another set of pickups and the problem is still there. None of my other basses makes this kinda sounds. Do you know what can be causing this issue?

Les Paul when I put my hand near the uncovered bridge pickup it picks up a buzz. The covered neck pickup does not do this. Any ideas?

Oh maaaan! I really could have used this video about 30 years ago. Thanks for sharing!

This has been driving me mad! I have two bass guitars, ones that is active eq yet passive pickups that doesn’t hum, yet I have a cheap passive P bass that does! I’ve tried re soldering, shielding and making sure it definitely is grounded. I’m so glad it’s not my bass or anything broken. Thank you for making this video!

When i select my Bridge pickup i can hear that the background noise of the amp gets louder than on my neck pickup which is also a Humbucker. Also when I touch the lower part of my bridge pickup the background noise gets louder. But if I touch any of the parts on the guitar that should be grounded at the same time as the pickup its not loud. Maybe this is normal?

Hello, both brand new SSS guitar and Amp and this problem is happening to me... How can I solve this? Can I just stick something to the tuning pegs in order to stop the noise?

I have a squier tele that's particularly bad compared to all my other guitars, very loud buzz until i touch metal. I changed the pots and put a 4 way switch, im not sure If i did some thing when i changed that, but i don't remember it buzzing this way before. It has cover ground, i resoldered all my grounds, doubled checked them, guitar has shielding, buzzes no matter what location im at(tried at home and the local shop), even two guitar techs checked my wiring. Could it be these specific pick ups or pots? Im thinking of changing them but i want to stick with medium output single coils.

I have a guitar that when I touch the strings it calms down, however I can walk into my bedroom and the noise is still there but does not quiet at all, so I was curious, I rana wire into my bedroom connected it to the bridge, go into bedroom noise persists touch wire and it calms down, most my noise is amp generated, when I increase volume it amplifies it, increase gain its amplified.. so for me its not my body being an antenna, however, when I am close tot he guitar and its making the noise, I can walk around the guitar like sneak behind it and the noise modulates as if I am an antenna like you say, but why doesn't it go away when I leave the room? I am going to rig a switch so I can turn it all on from my bedroom and see if the noise persists, maybe its the noise gets generated by the amp and its stuck in a cycle cuz my body was acting as a an antenna as you say, so if I turn everything on with no body around it should not start.. this is one of the only guitars out of a hundred or more it does this, and a huge difference is it has an all aluminum plate which acts weird on certain equipment like real metal sounding ice pickish.. I bet I remove the aluminum guard it goes away? have to test that as well and get back, so remotely turn on everything from another room so no bodies are around to create noise, see of that's true or false, then remove aluminum guard if the answer is false, then it would most likely be the guitar? but it very well may not make noise when everything is turned on remotely with no bodies or antennas around, I'll shut everything off, TV wireless router, computers no0 phones around nuttin, fact I'll unplug everything..

Great video! Lots of good information. I do have a question about my situation however, what does it mean when touching a metal object (TV for example) makes the hum sound a lot louder and also gives a small shock to the finger? Thank you

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

It means that there is a difference in the ground potentials between your TV and your guitar gear. That should not happen if they are plugged in to the same wall outlet and correctly grounded. My laptop runs off a two-pin adapter, has no ground. When I touch the metal laptop case I can feel the weird electric tingle. When I plug in one of my pedals into the USB port, the case is grounded through the pedals and the tingle stops.

When I touch the bottom screw on the middle pick-up on my strat, I get a little static click. How do I fix that? And I hear it on a clean channel.

can you help I dont know what my problem is when I touch my guitar strings it makes sound but not like buzzing its like pat pat like car exhaust shooting but when I touch the string it comes what this problem called

I have two different strats with classic single coils but with one of my strats (the cheaper one) there is slightly more hum of which a bit goes away when I touch strings, bridge etc. On the other strat (more expensive) nothing happens when I touch the strings. Does this indicate that the pickups of my better strat are somewhat better shielded so grounding myself doesn’t have an impact?

@spaceberserker

2 жыл бұрын

My American Strat does the same thing, noise is always the same.

I used to do a bike-powered 12v PA system for small hippy festivals. No mains anywhere near, no inverters, FOH, monitors all 12v car amp kit, even built guitar & bass amps using 12v amps. No hum. ;-)

2 brand new guitars and a new bass do this noise, tried with various amps and different outlets, it continues? what can i do?????

Good video. Thanks. I am experiencing a noise, separate and beyond the grounding of my person by touching the instrument. There's another band of sound in there that that isn't diminished when touching the guitar. Another guitar I have is by comparison perfectly silent, touching or no at the same levels of gain.

I've just bought a Gibson Les Paul standard 60's and it has this issue. Why is it that I can plug in my 30 year old Epiphone Les Paul and it doesn't hum at all? Why is it that my American strat has a hum constantly, but it doesn't go away when I touch the metal parts?

Hi! Thank you so much for this video! I'm thankful! This is the clearest video on KZread! Love your videos, keep it up! :)

I need your help, i have one tele and one sg. The sg doesn’t have this issue, but the tele does. So in this case, is my tele faulty?

@pebblenapkins

3 жыл бұрын

sg most likely has humbucker pickups. tele has single coil pickups. single coil pickups will pick up electrical noise, its normal.

I just tried this, and it looks like I have a different situation: My guitar goes directly into my mixer/recorder and I hear the hum, when I touch the strings, the hum goes away. So far the same, but when I touch the ground of a cable going into my amplifier (plugged into the wall but not turned on) the humming gets louder(!). I checked the receptacles with a tester and ground is connected just fine. I wonder whether the issue is that the mixer has a floating ground because it only has 2 prongs, so is not connected to actual ground. Do you think that's the issue/reason, or do you think there's something else going on. PS: I wired the guitar myself as well, and retested, all good, ground is connected to the hardware as it should be.

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

You may be right. I get the same result. If plugged directly into your interface, and you are running a laptop on battery, there is no real ground at all.

Really interesting. However, I have 3 identical home-made lap steels, all with identical electronics and aluminum bridges screwed into the wood, (not grounded to anything). Only one of them buzzes and touching anything metal stops the noise, including touching the non-connected bridge after taking strings off. Any ideas?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

Clearly, if only one of them buzzes, one of them is not identical. Sadly, no, unless I had them on a bench in front of me, there is no way I can diagnose it.

i think i have this problem but when i dont touch anything the buzz stops then i starts again and then stops again and repeats that cycle what could be the problem

This video is great. I have the same issue with my Strat. Update - it was the lights in my room. When I turn them off the buzz goes away!

Informative, but what is the remedy to this unwanted noise?

Good video. However, I have two new Squier Telecaster Deluxe models. One purple and one black. The purple one buzzes like crazy until I touch any metal on it yet the black one does not. It is silent by comparison!! Any thoughts?

@keithclark486

2 жыл бұрын

Have you tried painting the purple one black ?

THANKS! this as very informative for me. (heavy distortion player)

Hi Kevin! I have been playing Acoustic guitar for the past 5 years, and have just recently gotten in to electric guitars. When my inner forearm or elbow touches my bridge, I get a little zap. Nothing crazy, a bit like if I was getting poked by a needle. Do you know why this is happening? I'm obviously worried as it's not something to play around with as it could be a serious hazard. I'm also getting buzz that you just explained in the video. I'm using a Fender Stratocaster and a Fender Champion 20 which is hooked up to a power board. Thanks!

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Nobody should be getting a zap at any time. That would indicate a fault in the amplifier and that would be a safety issue. The amp should be checked out and replaced if necessary. If you bought it from a store give them a call right away. But I’m also wondering why you don’t get a zap if you’re just playing with your hands. Which makes me wonder if just you have sensitive nerve endings in your arm or elbow that when they touch the cold bridge feels like a zap but isn’t really?

@luciano0593

2 жыл бұрын

@Samuel Pearce did you solve this issue? I have the same problem as you did.

My brand new guitar has hum when I do not touch the strings, but not my 16-year-old guitar using the same cable, both have humbuckers, and amp with no peddles just the cable from guitar to amp. I am stumped, but after testing grounding etc... I bet it is the humbuckers being different, but I have no idea.

Glad you explained everything simply, you earned a new sub

When I touch my split coil pickups on my p bass it gets louder but when I touch anything else it gets quieter examples cable, strings, amp and pedal is that a grounding issue

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Possible. Does the pickup have a ground plate or metal cover? I'd be checking those kind of connections.

I just installed some “noiseless single coils” and had this happen to me. When I touched the handle on my amp the sound disappeared and I wasn’t sure if it was my soldering, or if some wire was touching something it shouldn’t be. Now (thanks to your video) I know what it is👍🏻.

So the pop that happens when you do touch the strings or metal parts are also part of this natural occurrence then? I notice that this happens no matter what amount of gain or distortion i have, but it only happens when my amplifier is connected to the wall outlet and not running on batteries (it's a katana mini). Now of course i get that the noise would in general be reduced when it's not directly connected to a wall outlet, but does that mean that the "pop" or "crackle" that occurs when touching the strings is completely normal and something to just get used to?

@johndoe-xf2ih

Жыл бұрын

This pop is making me go crazy ive been wondering about since i got my telecaster

@johndoe-xf2ih

Жыл бұрын

Please tell me if you fixed it

Thank you! Saved me some time that I would have spent re-soldering all the pots in my bass.

Thank you thank you thank you for this video. You saved me so much time!

Loads of thanks for pointing out this issue. It would be great if you made another video about possible solutions,

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

The point is that it's not a problem with the guitar, the solutions are to find to source(s) of the noise and switch them off. Might be fluorescent lighting, a dimmer switch, old TV or computer monitor, transformer, etc. may not even be in your home or building, could be outside.

Im getting crazy with my gretsch jet. When I touch the strings it gets silent as it should. But when I turn any of my 3 volume pots ground noise gets louder instead of shutting down. Thats not normal. Any advise or thought about what could be happening?

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a wiring problem somewhere but you need to take it to an expert near you. I don't think it can be diagnosed without someone taking the wiring harness out of the guitar for testing.

Today i tried to put 2 old Epiphone pickups to a Les Paul, did the soldering and both sound very very week, i don't get any reading with multimeter touching a cable connected to the jack of the guitar, and neither from pickup cables , I also hear a very loud buzz noise that goes away when i touch metal parts of the guitar. Any ideas what's wrong? is it the pickups? thanks!

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

Difficult to correctly diagnose at a distance. Could be the pickups but I'll bet there is at least one wiring or soldering error too.

thanks for this. it double confirmed I have some elusive grounding problem.

In my case, I have an old Squire Tele that does the exact opposite, with a drive pedal switched on to create some natural hum, if I touch my laptop (which is sharing a wall socket with my amp and pedal board), the hum gets louder. I've stopped this by adding a noise killer pedal to my signal chain. Note: My other Telecaster that I wired from scratch myself does not do this half as bad, I just always assumed this was because the pickups are less hot? What are your thoughts though?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

Sounds normal, am I'm guessing here's why. My setup does something similar. My MacBook power adaptor is only two prong; even though it has a three-prong plug it is not actually using the ground. The case is "virtual ground" to the negative side of the power adaptor but not to the wall outlet ground. When I touch the laptop casing there are two grounds at different voltage levels, i.e. it's a ground loop. I can feel the voltage difference between the guitar and laptop through my fingers! BUT when I connect my Yamaha THR 5 desktop amp (which is truly grounded at the wall outlet) to the laptop via USB, the laptop is now grounded via USB to the wall ground, and the issue vanishes. If the laptop is running on battery there is no issue.

@KyTaundry

Жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar Wow man I never considered this, this actually makes perfect sense now! Thanks for clearing that up, we learn something new every day 👍.

Hi DrKev..i have same issue..and what is your thought on my current solution...i connect one point of wire to metal chassis on pedalboard (eg patch cable connector) and another end to the ground pin of my outlet....it removed the hiss....

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

If it works, great! As long as you connected to the *ground* of the outlet with *zero* risk of accidentally anything else, obviously!

I have a 100 year old house with a newer extension added. When I plug my amp + guitar into the old half of the house, I get a horrible buzz from the amp, even without any distortion, until I touch the strings. It's so bad it makes it completely unplayable. I don't get any noise when I plug into the newer half of the house. Is this EMI or a ground issue? Do I need to get an electrician for the house, or is this something I can fix by buying a power conditioner? What else can I do? This is on a Gibson Les Paul with humbuckers. Thanks

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

Get an electrician out. It’s prosaibky a grounding issue within the old part of the house and could be dangerous unless you get it fixed.

So how do I help eliminate it? Move to a different home?

I recently moved homes and immediately noticed electrical noise coming through my amp. At my previous home there almost no electrical noise. I took my guitar and amp to my neighbors house and there was almost no noise. I have tried expensive cables, surge protectors with emi/Rfi filters and different electrical outlets with no success. I then purchased a wall plug tester and checked every outlet. I found 2 outlets and 1 wall switch wired incorrectly and 1 outlet that was half faulty. After I corrected the wiring and replaced 1 outlet the noise was substantially reduced.

@Ilikefreibier

2 жыл бұрын

How can an outlet be wired incorrectly? Like there's only 3 cables to connect, no?

@solkinar

2 жыл бұрын

@@Ilikefreibier the neutral and hot wire were reversed. Reversed polarity. Yes it works but the risk of getting shocked is increased.The ground was correct.

@Ilikefreibier

2 жыл бұрын

@@solkinar I don't see how that could affect the noise, I mean with AC it doesn't matter which way it's connected... Correct me if I'm wrong

@solkinar

2 жыл бұрын

@@Ilikefreibier I am not an electrician. Yes A.C. still works no matter which way it is wired but there is a correct way to wire it. The tester identified the incorrect wiring. I am sure the wall switch being wired incorrectly was a bigger problem. I believe the LED light it controls was the root cause for the noise. I suspect it was back feeding interference into the wiring.

@solkinar

2 жыл бұрын

After months of trying to solve my "buzz" problem it was a neutral to ground fault in the house wiring. Ground faults create EMF. I purchased an EMF meter and saw high magnetic fields on the meter that were unexplainable and seemed to move around. Another thing to keep in mind is if your main breaker panel is grounded to the city water supply it might also be a source of the problem. If your neighbor has a neutral to ground fault and is also grounded to the city water supply then they might be the cause of EMF.

Hey, I got a Jackson js32 and i went the other day to band practice. I play through a Boss Gt100. When I am using a tone with distortion when the volume on the guitar is 0 there is no hum. When the volume is up there is hum but it goes away when i touch the screws of the input jack or the screws of the humbuckers. Is this the same thing you explained or is this a wirering issue?

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

I cannot say for certain but yes it sounds like the same thing to me.

@kothy7514

3 жыл бұрын

Nevermind, the bridge is not grounded with the other parts because the hum does not go away when I am touching the strings. It goes away only when I touch the Jack screws or the Humbucker Screws. I'll be having so much fun grounding a Hard Tail guitar with no cavity. When i got the guitar i don't think it had this hum so the wire must have disconected since then. This things really almost make me quit

It hurts the back of my hand when touching the strings, is this normal? I just realized this after 3 months of playing

Hey bud I have the same issue but it's only from a specific Squier neck. And yes I've tried to it with different tuners. If I put the neck on other guitar bodies this issue follows it. But I've tried those bodies with other necks and it does not have this issue at all. I can't figure it out.

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

The neck should have zero difference at all. Weird.The strings (and therefore the tuners) should be grounded via the bridge. The neck itself is irrelevant. Something else changed too.

My Gibson SG Standard 61 has this problem for a long time! It really turns me freak. I decide try to use a wire to connect my body to one of metal parts on the guitar. So weird.

When I touch the poles of my neck pickup I get lots of very loud buzz. When I touch the strings/ any grounded aprt of the guitar, the buzz goes away. This buzz happens even when the neck pickup is not selected. Anyone know why?

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

If touching the neck pickup gives a buzz even when the neck pickup is not selected that suggests a wiring problem or faulty pickup. You should have someone with a multimeter check the circuit.

Trying to record an electric guitar i have lots of noise. To minimize it i have to find a certain position, i have to face away from computer, hold a guitar in unnatural position (not even 90 degrees, more like 100-110 degrees), and any deviation from that "safe zone" causes noise in my headphones (monitors are off, of course). It is either with single-coiled pickups or humbuckers (the first ones, obviously, worse). The StudioOne shows quite a high level of noise on a recording channel /quite hearable -33 to -44dB/ even with no sound coming through (when i don't produce sounds on guitar and/or when guitar is in "safe from noise" area). I am thinking about getting Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger pedal... (?) What would you recommend to do and what products to use? That's the main question. Also... ~ I have too much noise when i turn the mix (comp/in) knob towards instrument (1) and a very little headroom for recording, either the signal is too weak or, after moving the gain knob just one little degree, i get distortion, noise and clipping (2). It is either with single-coiled pickups or humbuckers (the first ones, obviously, worse). PreSonus iTwo has a very little headroom, but i suspect that this is not the sole cause: maybe by increasing the gain i increase the noise (interface limitations+ground loop). (1) - waiting for a new interface Topping E2x2 (could/can't record anything with PreSonus iTwo or, recently, SSL2...SSL2 supposed to have a very low noise, but in my case (? why) i had even more noise...returned it while i could). (2) - waiting for a new interface and a ground loop breaker usb power injector for the interface C-port. For recording with a physical amp (Katana) i plan to get a Morley Humno Noise Eliminator. DI boxes (active and passive) seems like do nothing in my case (or make things worse): Behringer active DI20 gave lots of noise; DI Dolamo a bit Increases the noise compared to direct connection (TRS a bit more compared to XLR), but in nut-shell, it does not decrease the noise. Don't have any Gate pedal and not planning because it is tricky and i hardly play heavy music. In recorded track the noise is increasing in quiet times. I have a power conditioner Furman m8x, everything is connected there and it goes to one outlet. No noise-cancelling devices for pc or USB ports or 9V supply. All my guitars are in tact (grounded and shielded). The lights: no lights, some lights, big lights - not much difference. Thank you

@DrKevGuitar

4 ай бұрын

When the sound changes with orientation of your guitar the pickups are picking up that noise. You need to find the source of the noise and eliminate it. Sounds like it could be outside the room you are in.

@DenisVolga

4 ай бұрын

That does not help. I will keep on searching and trying. Thanks for attention.

Thanks for the video! I've got a "problem" with my Rickenbacker 4003. I've checked grounding connection from the bridge/strings and the pickup plate (incl. screws) to the quitar jack ground which are all fine. Also the hum quiets down when touching the strings which I take is the effect you talk about here. However, I sometimes also have some "crackling" noise from the strings which is the thing that bothers me. I would assume this may be an effect of the body charge unwounding as the grounding is perfect? Any insight to this?

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

Crackling usually suggests either static electricity somewhere (common when touching a plastic pickguard/scratchplate for example), or a loose/dirty connection somewhere.

@jnicholson

2 жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar That's what I thought as well and my next (only remaining) idea was to check all the connections.

@johndoe-xf2ih

Жыл бұрын

I get a single crackle when i touch anything metallic on my tele then the hum quiets but it only quiets after the crackle sound, is this the sound of my body completing the faraday cage? It isnt shielded

@jnicholson

Жыл бұрын

@@johndoe-xf2ih sounds like a static discharge? Btw In my old house all the mains sockets did not have a separate grounding pin (old type) so I took power from a newer mains connection and the problem basically went away (no grounding problems with the bass connections).

Has anyone tried shielding the backside of the guitar yet? Like via the backplate or maybe underneath the pickups?

@DrKevGuitar

4 ай бұрын

Good question! However, it's not necessary if the cavity is fully shielded. Example, if you correctly shield the walls, floor, and ceiling of a room you are in, shielding the ceiling of room below really won't make much difference.

Thank you. I tried to re-solder my new SD Hot Stack set for about 6 times… Thought it was a grounding problem. I just don’t understand why SD promotes those pickups as Noiseless (humcancelling) on their website? This leads to wrong expectations and disappointment 😢

How to interpret if it's getting noisy while touching the humbuckers? I an hear quiet buzz normally but it's getting loud when touching the currently active humbucker.

@DrKevGuitar

Ай бұрын

If the hambucker is covered, the cover may not be grounded.

Excelent video. I solved it by connecting a wire from guitar metal part to my body… regards

so, if you were to turn it up and walk away from the guitar, it should get quieter/go away completely?

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. It does get quieter.

@truttzi

3 жыл бұрын

Was literally about to comment with this!!

suddenly i cant record my guitar like before, there is a static noise that does not go away when i touch the strings, the noise increases when i face in some direction, someone please help me

The ultimate test would be to take the guitar off and stand at the other side of the room. Removing yourself from the equation. That would actually prove that nothing else in your home's circuit could be causing the issue. Touching part of your ground loop is indeed grounding yourself, but could also be cancelling noise from another appliance by using the body's resistor capabilities, hence removing yourself from the equation is the way for it to be 100% conclusive. I might be wrong, though...

@jacquesmurdoch3599

3 жыл бұрын

Mine does it still, even when I take off and leave on the couch.

@truttzi

3 жыл бұрын

@@jacquesmurdoch3599 have you tried a different guitar and cable?

@1dimtim

2 жыл бұрын

im pretty sure that hum comes from a bad ground from the mains!

@GandBman

2 жыл бұрын

I did just this after watching the video. I had a buzz going on, I took my guitar off and placed it on a sofa, no buzz, I put the guitar back on and the buzz came back.

@lurklingX

Жыл бұрын

i have 3 guitars. 1 buzzes. AND buzzes by itself off the stand. so it must be grounding in my case.

what if the hum doesn't go away when you touch the strings but does go away when you touch the input jack and cable?

@DrKevGuitar

5 ай бұрын

Yes, that absolutely could be a string/bridge ground issue. A continuity test with a multimeter would give you the answer to that instantly.

I have this problem with a telecaster I built , if I use a standard guitar lead I get hum , plug in another similar guitar hum not there ... My solution was using a wireless transmitter/receiver I am using ROWIN WS-20

The noise issue changes depending on where you are? So you can’t be the source of the noise now can you if that’s the case. The source of your noise is electrical noise either from your electrical outlet or other electronics outside of your control like your neighbours heat pump or hot tub.

Thank you! From your explanation, I found my buzz wasn't a ground problem with my guitar; it was a ground problem with my electrical outlet! I plugged my amp into a different electrical outlet and the buzz was 10x quieter.

how do you explain this noise coming from one guitar through my rig but my other guitar being completely noiseless?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

I can’t diagnose some thing like that without the instruments in question in front of me on my work bench. Sorry!

Hello I never had background/static noise but now all of a sudden, my two guitars have it. When I turn to my right / left the sound increases. I literally went to the woods with a multiprocessor unit powered by batteries and the pickups of the two guitars behave the same way than when I am at home. The strange thing is that I didn't have this problem before and I changed nothing in the house. Some days ago, there was a storm, I really don’t know what to do. Thx!

@DrKevGuitar

Ай бұрын

I don't think the storm had anything to do with. Possible likely a electrical transformer somewhere near your house? If you can find, call your electric supply people and ask them to fix it. It's often a fixable fault. The direction you face when the noise is at its strongest is the direction to look (either directly in front or behind you).

I've got this problem, and I was actually hoping you would provide a solution. But either way, it's good to know that it's not a grounding-issue

About the noiseless single coils, it would be interesting to hear what happens if you turned the guitar 90 degrees, i.e. toward the camera.

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

While I stay still? Good question! Unfortunately, I don't have them in the guitar anymore.

Yeah I thought it was the new pedal I just bought only because I needed more distortion. But yeah that's what it is but I put a noise gate at the start of the chain and it stops the initial little noises when I don't have the strings muted, but as soon as I play it is noticeable in the notes I do play. I moved the noise gate to after the cab and I get the noise both ways. But when I touch the bridge and play there is way less. So I think this is the issue.

@DrKevGuitar

11 ай бұрын

I think you’re probably right. But also remember, it’s an important skill for every electric guitar player, especially when we play with distortion, to make sure that we are touching the strings and roll the volume control down to zero when we’re not playing. It needs to become second nature, immediate instinct.

How can we reduce "body noise" Like the sound of hands touching the body or, as you pointed out, the "STRAPLOCK" sound.

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Less distortion. That's pretty much it. Distortion limits or compresses the loudest parts of what we play and pulls up background noises to the same volume, noises that would other wise be imperceptible. You could try a noise gate too but some people don't like that. But also it shouldn't be a problem when you actually play, learning to silence our guitars when don't play is important - rolling back the volume knob as soon as we stop playing is very effective! In fact it's so automatic to me now I do it even when unplugged.

@BrandonKJohnson

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar ok good deal. I got all those boxes checked 😄 it's only on certain guitars that are more noticeable than others. I've always guessed that it's got to do with each individual guitars/wood resonance properties and some being more "lively" than others Just didn't know if anyone had a "cure" for it. Thanks!

That was very beneficial thank you so much

hi KK, i'm getting electric shock from my guitar but it is connected to an audio interface to the PC. how is this even possible??

@DrKevGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

If it’s a mild buzzy sensation it sounds like a grounding issue. Try changing some cables and see if it goes away. I get that if I touch my laptop when I am plugged into my desktop amplifier or interface when they are not connected to my laptop. Once they are correctly connected via USB it goes away. If it’s an actual real electric shock don’t do another thing until you call an electrician!

Will a hum exterminator/eliminator plug help this? Thank you.

@DrKevGuitar

11 ай бұрын

Probably not. The noise source could be a dimmer switch or an appliance in another room, a transformer in the same house or down the street.

Great video! You're 100% correct. I fixed the issue by using a cheap wireless guitar system from Amazon. No more buzz or hissing.

@PrantikNath

3 жыл бұрын

what about latency in wireless system?

@ChugDealer

3 жыл бұрын

@@PrantikNath In this particular system, it isn't noticeable at all

@micksurfer69

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed! Only thing that worked for me too.

Thanks for the video! Please help. Why dose my guitar hum alot when even at 0 volume? And my other guitar doesn't hum at 0 volume most is at 10-80% volume but less at 100%? But everything is completely silence when I use battery from pedal. I do use a battery powered speaker. Im so confused I use a 1 spot power supply..

@DrKevGuitar

12 күн бұрын

@@AhrnNilsson Hi Ahrn. One of your guitars almost certainly has a wiring problem or faulty volume pot that needs to be fixed. The other one might do also, or the one spot may be faulty, I cannot diagnose over the Internet. You need to bring them to a professional and have them checked out.

@AhrnNilsson

6 күн бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar Hi again I have tried a lot of things new cables and power supply. It hums only on bridge pickup. So I guess there a problem somewhere in that circuit the neck is completely silent even with distortion...

Hi guys, I am a 13 year old guitarist, who owns an ibanez 121 par kbf, is in a big problem, which could also lead me into leaving Guitar; the problem is that, whenever I use the volume pot on my axe it starts humming and a buzz sound starts coming out of it, this sound does not come when the pot is turned all the way up or all the way down but only occurs when the pot is in the middle, pls help me if you have any explanation or any other similar experience... Thankyou. I went to a guitar tech to get this fixed, but when he played throught his amp, he said that there was no such noise he could hear. But when I brought it hone and plugged it into my setup which consists of a Bluetooth speaker and a multi FX processor, the noise was there. He suggested me to come back again at his shop on 27 of March with my processor and the lead wires that I use as they're also not very quality.

ok I have a problem. My fav guitar, les paul standard 60s, spec year 21, didn't have any real hum/buzz when plugged into any amp, even in a marshal jcm 900 on clean channel. for the past 2 months, I have had unbearable buzz unless touching some metal. I also have a cheaper guitar with single coils, a line 6 variax standard, which doesn't have nearly as much buzz even with the heaviest distortion, but that guitar electronics are also shielded. If I shield my les paul electronics, could that potentially help with the hum when not touching the strings?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

My first thought is "what changed that the buzz occurs now that didn't before"? My first y guess is something nearby is producing interference. Shielding could help, especially if you shield the pickup cavities (though remember they have to grounded to the rest of the circuit). How much it will help I cannot say and I don't have the guitar in front of me to diagnose any issue with the guitar.

@RockG.o.d

Жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar there is something else with the les paul, when I touch the back of it, there is a static sound when plugged in. Don't really know if that is good info for this, but my other guitars, none of them act like this. my bc rich warlock with active emg pickups are also quieter as far as hum. could it be me causing the hum?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

@@RockG.o.d Check this video out the wonderful Uncle Dave @DavesWorldofFunStuff ... kzread.info/dash/bejne/Ypxhz8SphZunqKg.html

I have a couple dozen guitars here and a few are really buggers when it comes to this noise. Why do some guitars have very little noise and others sound horrible?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

Shielding and pickup types are the major variables here.

Could this be resolved with a noise gate pedal or a power conditioner?

@DrKevGuitar

9 ай бұрын

A power conditioner will be no benefit if the noise is coming from an appliance or transformer somewhere else. Noise gate might help.

Would this count for a hollow body guitar with p-90 pickups?

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. Whether the body is hollow wood or solid wood makes no difference. The strings should be grounded, usually via the bridge but if the instrument has a wooden bridge it should be done some other way.

@seanmolloy4123

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar Thanks for getting back to me. It is a Epiphone Casino so the bridge is metal.

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

@@seanmolloy4123 On the Casino the ground wire runs to the end of the tailpiece, unsoldered. It just sticks out the butt of the guitar and the tailpiece is screwed over it. See photo here... www.gearslutz.com/board/so-many-guitars-so-little-time/1050544-epiphone-casino-problem.html

I got a humming and can’t figure it out. It hums even when played. Amp is good, cord is good. No clue

By chance Is your input Jack plate metal?

hey, does the buzz get louder when you touch the pickup selector switch screws?

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

No. The housing/chassis of the selector switch should be grounded so the screws should be too. The buzz should get quieter. If it gets louder, check the ground connection to the selector switch. (It's often grounded through shielding foil on the pickguard, sometimes with a wire to the back of a pot or ground lug of the output jack).

@Dienex

Жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar Sadly a new guitar will have to return to the shop for them to have a look! Thanks for your reply.

Very informative . Thanks. Would a DI Box help?

@DrKevGuitar

7 ай бұрын

No. The issue is a noise source somewhere else, e.g. transformer, dimmer-switch, appliance, fluorescent lighting, etc. A DI box will make no difference at all at all.

This is a great video and helped me as a starting place. Hilariously, I took jumper cables and attached it to conduit in the studio. Then I attached the other end to a metal stand. Then I took my bare foot and touched the base of the stand. And now I was grounded hahahaha.

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

Ha ha! If it works, it works! Just make sure the conduit has a correct ground and not into a device/appliance that could have a wiring fault. Thanks for your comment!

@Carsonchildersmusicnow

Жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar I did this with an electrician. Also, removing a dimmer fixed 90% of the problem. This grounding solution fixed the other 10.

@DrKevGuitar

Жыл бұрын

@@Carsonchildersmusicnow OUTSTANDING! Great job!

My guitar noising when i turn the volume down, can you tell me why? thank you

@DrKevGuitar

2 ай бұрын

No, I'm sorry, I can't diagnose that without the guitar in front of me to examine.

i have been going crazy for weeks thank you for explaining.

@DrKevGuitar

5 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment!

After listening to your explanation, and that my pickups are hearing my body resulting in the hum / buzz, I checked something: Does this happen using the BOSS GX-100 pedalboard plugged into the wall? Yep. Does touching the strings stop it? Yep. Does touching a metal switch on the guitar stop the hum? Yep. The metal end of the guitar cable? Yep. The effects unit? Yep. But, does this happen when using the same guitar cable plugged into the BOSS ME-90 multi effects unit running on batteries? Nope, extremely quiet. And, does this happen using the WAZA AIR wireless headphones or the Yamaha THR wireless amp running on its internal battery? Nope, extremely quiet. Please explain why my pickups suddenly go deaf when not plugged into something not plugged into the wall?

@DrKevGuitar

6 ай бұрын

Great question. Your pickups are not going deaf, and they are always honest. Remember that the noise going away when you touch strings, metal etc. is the proof that the guitar ground connections are fine. Also remember your body is not the source of the noise but re-radiating part of an external noise source. Clearly, whatever that source is, its somehow only active when using the GX-100. Presumably it's the power supply or something else in your home plugged in on the same circuit?

Great video!! My situation is a bit weird. I have two guitar with similar humbucker, with one of the guitars there is an intermittent noise coming up (high frequency, like a router signal or interference) that goes out when i roll down the volume, it's only happening with one of my guitars.... the wiring looks ok, maybe it's that one of the pickup is more sensitive to the noise?? It's just sometimes that high freq interference, not always...... hope you can help me Thanks!!!

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

That sounds more digital noise from an effects pedal. Do some testing with no guitar plugged in. If you have digital effects pedals running on a non-isolated power supply or daisy chained off a single supply, the digital pedal can inject noise back into the other pedals. It's not a fault as such, it's common to most modern pedals with digital processors. The only cure is a power supply with isolated outputs (you can still daisy chain your analog pedals off a single output).

@pablofs4689

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar Thanks so much for your reply!!! I just have my guitar running into my usb interface, no pedals. The weird thing is that one of the guitars has this intermittent digital noise and the other doesn't. Both are seymour duncan passive humbucker. Thanks!!!

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

@@pablofs4689 I have no other clue. I would try testing with a simple analog amplifier and one cable that one guitar and try to figure out when it does and doesn't appear.

Maybe a stupid question, but I rewired my squier strat with fender Tex mex pickups, no hum except on settings the neck and neck/middle pickup, when I touch the strings it goes away, but why does my Harley Benton cheap guitar kit with single coils not have this then? Nice video

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Not sure but it suggests a problem with the neck pickup selection. If you have a multimeter, check all the solder joints associated with that pickup selection.

@killainmaccallan4700

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrKevGuitar tx for the reply mate, I will buy a multimeter to check this as I fiddle a bit with pedals too, it will come in handy. Cheers I will try that. Have a good one!

@DrKevGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

@@killainmaccallan4700 You too! And a multimeter is a good investment.

Thankyou for this, instead of pissing about with shielding im just going to invest in a gate pedal.