Ok, help me troubleshoot! (Fender talk)

Bob411 said:
I think the only solution is a two foot long wire, one end tucked under a watch band on your picking hand, other end on the bridge.

Hope you have good wiring there.
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Yeah, it’s beginning to sound like that. And I’m considering something like what you’re describing.

It’s hardly an issue 98% of the time, since I’ve usually either got my left hand on the strings or I have my right hand touching the bridge for one reason or another.

But that other 2%… when I reach for an adjustment, say. It has me considering more time and more money than is worth it. :facepalm:
 
If you have a buzz or hum that goes away when you touch the strings or other metal parts you have a grounding problem. Check out this video, particularly starting at 5 minutes in when he uses the digital multimeter to locate where the lack of ground occurs.





You may have an electro-magnetic field interference problem as well. The copper shielding may help a little, but from what I’ve read, it won’t do much because you’re never going to shield the biggest antenna in the guitar—the pickups! But you still might want to make sure you also ground your shielding. I’ve found this helps reduce static buildup on the pickguard that can cause that annoying crackling sound when you touch the pickguard.
 
Flamencology said:
Ok, here’s a question —

Would there be any difference with a wireless system?
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This is off topic but, now I'm curious. The shielding in a guitar is a faraday cage. A faraday cage does nothing unless it's connected to ground. So, I'm thinking wireless would be worse.
 
Frank Prince said:
Try outlets in different rooms. If it's a ground problem local to the room then you may have a properly grounded separate circuit in another room.

You can get a receptacle ground tester from Home Depot type stores or a hardware store. They are pretty inexpensive and easy to use.
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Everyone should have one of these. Plug PA into a properly wired outlet. Plug your amp into an outlet wired wrong, " hot to neutral, neutral to ground". Play your guitar, touch a mic, ZAP!!!
 
Nine bucks. I carry one in my pelican road case that goes to every gig.

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Flamencology said:
Ok, here’s a question —

Would there be any difference with a wireless system?
Click to expand...

Ok. Here’s a question.

I tried my guitar with the BOSS Waza headphones. There was hum, but it was quiet enough that it wasn’t a distraction at all. And no extra noise when I removed my hands from the strings or metal.

So I understand that it’s different from using digital headphones and a Princeton…

But, with electricity being a real blind spot for me, can you explain why there’s a different cause? And why a wireless connection to an amplifier would make no difference?
 
Boss makes shitty headphones? The Princeton is better at amplifying the noise. The headphones have a notch filter, same hertz as the noise? I know enough about electronics to be dangerous. I honestly thought wireless would be worse.
 
Bob411 said:
Everyone should have one of these. Plug PA into a properly wired outlet. Plug your amp into an outlet wired wrong, " hot to neutral, neutral to ground". Play your guitar, touch a mic, ZAP!!!
Click to expand...
that's actually not funny.
that happened to me at a gig, where the bar wiring (turned out to be) shit.
was playing a song and leaned up to sing, touched the mic with my lip and @#$%$#@#$%!!!!!
literally sparked blue.
of course, the mic and stand went for a flying lesson.
never have owned a mic without a foam hiss cover ever since. :thu:
 
mongooz said:
that's actually not funny.
that happened to me at a gig, where the bar wiring (turned out to be) shit.
was playing a song and leaned up to sing, touched the mic with my lip and @#$%$#@#$%!!!!!
literally sparked blue.
of course, the mic and stand went for a flying lesson.
never have owned a mic without a foam hiss cover ever since. :thu:
Click to expand...

Never said it was funny. People have actually died onstage.
 
So I bought a wireless system (Line 6) and it worked perfectly. The classic standard single coil hum is there, but that’s nothing. I can take my fingers off the strings or bridge without ugly noise.

Doesn’t cure the solution, but it treats the symptoms perfectly.
 
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