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Topic: taming the hum from a single coil |
Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 11:08 am |
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| Ive just put a wallace true tone in my carter.I couldnt be happier with the sound. However, it hums a bit loud. It really doesnt bother me playing live too much because it gets drowned out by the rest of the band. Are there any tricks to cancel a bit of that hum? |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 11:19 am
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The PUs themselves are dead quiet, so you may have a problem elsewhere.
How's the grounding? |
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 11:49 am
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| hey ron, I just had them instaled by a guy who mainly works on guitars. Hes pretty good. however, there might be something different you do with a pedal steel pickup. Obviously i have no idea about anything electronic. when you touch the pickup the hum doesnt go away. does that mean that its grounded? Ive done some research on these pickups and have read where a lot of people complain about the hum, then a few guys like yourself say that they are completley quiet? |
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Roger Crawford
From:
Griffin, GA USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 11:58 am
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| The surrondings you are in may also affect the PU (ceiling fan, lap top computer, etc.). |
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Larry Robbins
From:
Fort Edward, New York
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 12:06 pm
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Another thing worth mentioning is to be sure that if you use a "powered" pedal such as a Hilton, that you dont have the
transformer plugged in too close to your amp. Sometimes this causes my single coils to hum a litle!..just a thought. Love those Wallace True Tones!!
_________________
Twang to the bone! |
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Larry Robbins
From:
Fort Edward, New York
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 12:07 pm
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 Double post...Dang electronic gadgets!
_________________
Twang to the bone! |
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 5:31 pm
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These true tones are the best! It just bothers me that some people out there have em without the hum and i dont.  |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 5:38 pm
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| Sometimes flourescent lights or signs (overhead or just near by) can cause them to hum. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 6:24 pm
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Single Coils, not just True Tones, are a bear in certain rooms.
Can we all say TELECASTER together ?
I also had True Tones on my Carter and when we played the room from Hell I had to remove them. It's not the Steel, it's not the PUPS, it is the ROOM / Single coils.
When my incident occured, I spent a great deal of time on the phone with Jerry Wallace about the issue and how to resolve it. I also called two other Steel players who play the same club.
The fix was to cave and put Hum Buckers on the Steel.
It isa monthly gig and pays well.
The True Tones are great sounding PUPS, perhaps the best, but it is possible to end up in a room from Hell and you won't know it until you are there.
The room I am referring to has a large stage, lights, power everywhere, more lights, fans, dimmers, control dimmers all over the walls etc...
And yes, I even brought my Emmons Legrande as a side by side comparision, same deal.The hum was louder than the notes coming out of the amp.
good luck
tp |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 7:42 pm
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| Alex, do you play your volume control pedal past the 2/3 open mark? Any single coil will hum if you do. I advise turning up your amp and play with the pedal closer to the off position. I have played sessions for years and never had the engineer complain of hum. Just a thought for you. It definitely works for me. PS, when you are not playing, keep your volume control off. If no signal is going through, it can't hum. Footnote: All the old classic steel solos were done with single coil pickups. Hope this helps. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 8:01 pm
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| Alex Piazza wrote: |
| a lot of people complain about the hum, then a few guys like yourself say that they are completley quiet? |
The only reason somebody else's single coil pickup doesn't hum like yours is that he isn't playing where you are playing.
Some times it helps a lot to move around or face in a different direction (but you know that).
I don't think there is another solution, except getting 2 steel guitars, or one steel guitar with changeable pickups. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 19 Sep 2007 9:39 pm
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Be sure the pickup is optimally close to the strings, no more than the thickness of a quarter. The hum is constant regardless of the distance to the strings. But the signal from the strings is stronger the closer the strings are to the pickup. Also, pick hard - that also increases the string signal strength in relation to the hum.
I have Truetones on four different makes of pedal steel, and they all hum about the same. Some rooms are worse than others. But all single coil pickups hum to some extent no matter where you are. |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 6:28 am
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| Also sometimes just moving the amp a bit can help- |
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 6:35 am
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| thanks for the advice. I typically play with the amp set low and with the volume pedal opened up almost 3/4's of the way if not more. plus the guy put them in over a quarter inch below the strings. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 7:23 am
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Your volume pedal can't change the amount of hum, relative to the amount of music, so just use the pedal normally.
It sounds like you might get a big improvement by moving the pickup closer to the strings. |
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 7:46 am
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| In order to raise the pickup do I just need to screw clockwise on each screw? |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 8:37 am
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Alex, if you tighten the screws, turn clockwise, you will lower the pickup. Turn counter clockwise to raise them. I have Truetones on my Fessenden, the small amount of hum doesn't bother me, I love the way they sound.
_________________
Bill Moore...
my steel guitar web page
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 2:15 pm
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hey guys, yall were right. Raising the pickup killed a lot of that hum. Thanks!
One question. I started to loosen the screws and there was no movement at all for a while and then suddenly it kind of popped up abput a quarter of an inch. Then I was able to ajust it. Is that normal? The screws are up pretty high. almost on there last leg. But the pickup seems pretty stable. I geuss i should be okay? |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2007 8:01 pm
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| Alex, I've got Truetones in my Carter and found mine sounded the best adjusted to within the thickness of two quarters (coins) below the strings, maybe just a tad closer closer on the heavier strings. |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 5:10 am
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I have Truetones in my Shobud D10 and my daughter's pro I. I have them set at 3 quarters, use a shobud pot pedal with an AB 500K pot, into my fender twin. Both guitars, quiet as a church mouse. I open my twin up on the volume, and stay "early" on the volume pedal, and have all the sustain I need.
My Truetones started a bad hum, so I got to looking and there was one strand of wire off the hot wire on the pickup that was barely grounding out. Snip, it's fixed. Another time, I set my twin(in a head cab) next to, and to close to the right end of my guitar, and it hummed loud until I moved it. So I had hum issues, but not the Truetone's fault at all. I love the sound of these Truetones!! Mine are wound to 17K and coil tap at 9K. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 5:23 am
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| Quote: |
our volume pedal can't change the amount of hum, relative to the amount of music, so just use the pedal normally.
It sounds like you might get a big improvement by moving the pickup closer to the strings. |
What Doug said. That and he environment you play in (lighting, other electronics on the same circuit, etc) and ground are the factors. A lot of this other advice strangely has nothing to do with hum, which is the result of an AC signal infiltrating the system.
The FIRST thing you do is check the wall socket where you plug in your amp with a $7 circuit tester and make sure that 1) it's gounded, and 2) the polarity is correct. If either is not, you are chasing your tail and need an electrician, not guitar advice.
If you have any fluorescent lights on the same circuit breaker, get rid of them. That includes the little light-bulb replacements.
Dimmer switches also contribute - get rid of them.
Computers in the same room, or ANY cathode-ray tubes (old TV's, old-type monitors, etc) - get rid of them.
That's a start.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 5:38 am
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Nice lesson in diplomacy, Jim. 
Also, my computer is 4' away from my steel, and my old TV is 8' the other direction, and I live in a mobile home with "budget" wiring. No hum at all. I guess you've owned a few Truetones in the past, and had hum problems? I find the advice of the other posters very right on and of merit, Jim.
Last edited by James Morehead on 22 Sep 2007 8:35 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 6:43 am
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if you are on a gig, on stage in the room from HELL, eliminating FIXED items on or around the the stage is not an option.
I have had Single Coils on pretty much all of my Steels and Guitars for decades and have only run into the room from HELL one time, but thats all it takes, one time..
because you never know... |
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Alex Piazza
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 9:11 am
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James, this is what I was talking about. Youve got truetones in your guitar around computers and other things, and yet no hum. This must be a grounding issue. Im not very knitt picky about noise. A little hum never bothers me. Ive played single coils in the past (on big lighted stages ,and in the same postition im in right now) and ive never even thought about the issue. Theres got to be a trick to this. Too bad in electronically challenged.  |
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Robert Momot
From:
Farmington, Missouri, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2007 9:27 am
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| There is a trick to it. Brad Sarno took care of the hum in my single coils and they were 60 years old give him a shout. |
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