"Buzzing"

Harold Bullard · From: Harrisonville, MO 64701 USA

Saturday night I played an American Legion hall up in Independence Mo. Played it many times. Nice big place. Nice big stage. Ceiling mounted stage lights which I assume are on a different circuit than the stage. The stage has 8 floor mounted electrical outlets. Don't know if they're on more than one circuit.

But every time we play there, there is an awful "buzzing" noise. It seems to be coming from the instrument amps, not the PA. It's not a ground hum, it's like a thousand bees. The lead player says whatever amp and/or guitar he brings it's the same. My stuff is all run through a power conditioner, but that doesn't seem to help. And it's present with me, the bass, the rhythm & the lead. Everyone but the drummer.

Does this sound familiar to anybody? Is there a gizmo I plug in somewhere to stop it?

mtulbert · From: Plano, Texas 75023

LED lights are notorious with messing with guitar pickups. I have the same situation in my house with an LED Chandelier that drives my steel crazy when the lights are on. Havent been able to stop it or isolate it either.

Could be the issue if you see LED lights being used in the facility somewhere.
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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

All lighting, except incandescent bulbs, can cause the hum and buzz that’s picked up by guitar pickups. (And even they can cause problems if they’re on a dimmer.). You can sometimes reduce the noise by relocating your instruments on the stage, but that’s impossible on smaller stages. I’ve had cases where everything was tolerable until they dimmed the lights in the hall, then all the amps sounded like electric razors. You can try a Hum-X or other hum debugger, but it may not remove much of the hum and buzz. There are also notch filters that will help, but they’re not cheap, and they do affect you're tone. Power conditioners and line filters usually won’t help because the noise is being radiated by the offending devices, and goes directly into your pickups. The best solution, unfortunately, is using humbucking pickups.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

One of the worst things is florescent lights. Th ballast in the light can be the problem. Neon lights can be a problem They use a ballast too. Some old signs were real bad.

A bad pole transformer suppling power to the building could be a problem, Would be the place to start. Check the incoming voltage.

If the kitchen is near, Can cause problems, Some deep friers can be a problem.

Some security systems with motion detectors can cause problems also.

Check the location with an amp. When you have time to check everything. Check clocks, And smoke and fire detectors too.

Hum on stage is a bands nightmare.
Good Luck in a cure

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ajm · From: Los Angeles

Since no one asked:
Guitar
Guitar
Bass
Steel

Are any of these players using humbucking pickups?
If so, do they also have the problem?

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Hardware store dimmers are the main culprit... clubs find them easy to use and cheap... real dimmers are expensive. Look for dimmers in the light show, in the green room, etc. When turned all the way up the noise goes away... they're not chopping the waves anymore.
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Harold Bullard · From: Harrisonville, MO 64701 USA

Thanks for all the input and ideas. Since this club has most of the ideas offered, I think I'll just have to grin and bear it. But it sure is annoying.

Oh, and no one is using humbuckers. I tried one once and it made my guitar sound awful. I went back to single coil.

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