Any reason? Buzz Content (Wiring)

baimun said:
Betcha that cover plate isn't grounded.


I had a guitar that was buzzing and howling like a mother fucker... until I realized it was the metal pickup rings. I thought the screw and spring would be enough... but once I took a bare wire, made a loop so the corner screw could hold it in place... surprise surprise... the buzz from my rectangular radio antennas went away. :helper:
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They had continuation with ground, also stood up to the touch test. They're microphonic as hell though. The FT pickup is soooooo much better, though I still have a weird buzz when not touching strings. I just have to redo everything with shielded leads and maybe shield the pots with electrical tape around them and then grounded copper tape.
 
Knox in Box said:
They had continuation with ground, also stood up to the touch test. They're microphonic as hell though. The FT pickup is soooooo much better, though I still have a weird buzz when not touching strings. I just have to redo everything with shielded leads and maybe shield the pots with electrical tape around them and then grounded copper tape.
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This makes me nervous about a set of P90's I have but haven't installed yet... with chrome covers. :eek:
 
Knox in Box said:
When you simply switch the leads on a humbucker, especially a covered one, your grounded cover or baseplate is now part of your positive cycle and no longer grounded if you will. Unless it's 4 leads and a shield.
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That makes sense.

Now, I’ve got a Parker Nitefly awaiting repair. A ball bearing dropped off the piezo bridge. Apparently, it’s a common issue with these old guitars. I found a replacement and I’m trying to work up the courage to do the Super Glue surgery. I’ve never glued a bearing in place before. It’s tiny, and my cataracts make it more difficult to see what I’m doing. :bigg:
 
jrockbridge said:
That makes sense.

Now, I’ve got a Parker Nitefly awaiting repair. A ball bearing dropped off the piezo bridge. Apparently, it’s a common issue with these old guitars. I found a replacement and I’m trying to work up the courage to do the Super Glue surgery. I’ve never glued a bearing in place before. It’s tiny, and my cataracts make it more difficult to see what I’m doing. :bigg:
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Yes, if you want to change polarity on a non covered humbucker, you have to switch the magnet around, same with covered humbucker, but of course you have to break out the soldering iron.
 
Knox in Box said:
Yes, if you want to change polarity on a non covered humbucker, you have to switch the magnet around, same with covered humbucker, but of course you have to break out the soldering iron.
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I’ve done a fair amount of modifying and soldering of guitar electronics over the years. But, it has all been done using someone else’s wiring diagrams. I can’t design a circuit. I’ve never even taken pickups apart other than removing covers.

I’ve got this one guitar I modified recently that I suspect I may have muffed the wiring somehow. Yet, the trim pot with treble bleed balanced the output of the pickups. Everything works and sounds great. There’s just a faint buzz if I touch the metal on the bridge humbucker. So, I don’t touch it. lol! It may be wrong, but it works, so I’m leaving it for now.
 
jrockbridge said:
I’ve done a fair amount of modifying and soldering of guitar electronics over the years. But, it has all been done using someone else’s wiring diagrams. I can’t design a circuit. I’ve never even taken pickups apart other than removing covers.

I’ve got this one guitar I modified recently that I suspect I may have muffed the wiring somehow. Yet, the trim pot with treble bleed balanced the output of the pickups. Everything works and sounds great. There’s just a faint buzz if I touch the metal on the bridge humbucker. So, I don’t touch it. lol! It may be wrong, but it works, so I’m leaving it for now.
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I've thought of doing a trim pot with treble bleed before for that purpose but never got around to it.
 
I hope you figure this out. The buzz in your video is loud.

I played my guitar today with the reversed humbucker leads. I cranked the amp up loud. If I touch the metal on the top of the humbucker, it sounds more like a faint sizzle than a buzz. It's barely audible. It's inaudible while the guitar is being played. Since I don't normally touch the humbucker while I play, there is no sizzle. If I did change the wiring to get rid of it, the sound might change as well. I particularly like the middle position, P90 & humbucker combined. The two pickups were definitely out of phase before I swapped those leads. Right or wrong, it's a keeper.
 
jrockbridge said:
I hope you figure this out. The buzz in your video is loud.

I played my guitar today with the reversed humbucker leads. I cranked the amp up loud. If I touch the metal on the top of the humbucker, it sounds more like a faint sizzle than a buzz. It's barely audible. It's inaudible while the guitar is being played. Since I don't normally touch the humbucker while I play, there is no sizzle. If I did change the wiring to get rid of it, the sound might change as well. I particularly like the middle position, P90 & humbucker combined. The two pickups were definitely out of phase before I swapped those leads. Right or wrong, it's a keeper.
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The FT clone I replaced it with is silent, I just have a buzz from cheap wiring which I will replace and do correctly. It's manageable when I touch the strings.
 
You should make a video showing how that guitar sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Even just a few seconds of open chords would work. I’m sure others are curious to hear it as well. :thu:
 
jrockbridge said:
You should make a video showing how that guitar sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Even just a few seconds of open chords would work. I’m sure others are curious to hear it as well. :thu:
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I will eventually, but as is I haven't even had my recording software up in years. And I doubt that a cell phone video could do it justice and I have a hopefully much better Amp coming my way on the 16th. :shush:
 
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