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Topic: Pickup makers, a little insight please |
Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 1:04 pm |
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I've been running into a hum/buzz problem that is definitely pickup related. In some locations (like my house and a friend's house), I get that annoying single coil hum. Oddly, this doesn't happen in any of the clubs we play, and they have dimmers, fluorescents and neon. And it doesn't happen in our drummer's house, where we rehearse.
The steel is shielded -- foil in the cavity, foil on the pickguard, ground wire to bridge, everything checked for continuity with a meter. The hum does not change when I touch the strings or bridge.
Here's the kicker: wwhen I flip the steel up to Spanish guitar position, the hum goes away. I tested this with my electric guitar (with P90s) same thing -- when I lay it down lap style, I get hum. When i hold it like a "guitar", quiet.
Obviously, this is due to the basic design of guitar pickups, as well as the wiring in my house. Any suggestions on how to reduce that buzz? I'm tempted to try a shielded pickup cover, but I'm open to ideas. Thanks,
Peter
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 1:06 pm
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Moved to Electronics from Steel Without Pedals.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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John Fabian
From:
Mesquite, Texas USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 1:14 pm
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| Try turning off the lights and see if that cures the problem. If it does it will point to a wiring issue in your room which is what this sounds like. The ultimate cure, of course is to install a humbucking pickup. |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 2:23 pm
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Thanks, John - I've tried that. Also tried unplugging everything in the room except the amp. No difference. Switching pickups is a last resort, because I prefer the single coil tone, but it's looking like it may be the only long-term answer.
Peter
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 2:50 pm
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Is this a new guitar or pickup thats having trouble or a new issue with previously ok gear?
Some things to check / possible offenders
Are you using any of those florescent retrofit light bulbs?
Any new electrical work done lately? Possible house grounding issues?
Any transformers in the vicinity, like for a doorbell, furnace, or thermostat?
You might be able to track down the offending circuit by shutting one breaker off at a time in you power box to see if it goes away.
_________________
Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
Follow me on Facebook here |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 3:36 pm and Don't Forget.................
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Don't forget those pesky living/dining room light dimmer switchers. They're real offenders to be sure!
And these offenders don't have to be real close either. Could be out in the garage or where ever. |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 4:51 pm
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Hi, guys -- no, it's my same lap steel as always. I'm probably just getting more sensitive to it because I went to a jam a couple of weeks ago and I was the only one buzzing -- the other guys (no other steelers) were pretty darn quiet. And like I said, if I tilt the steel up like a "regular" guitar, the buzz goes away -- it's only when it's parallel to the floor that I have a problem.
Distance from the amp doesn't make a difference, and I've tried multiple cables. No recent electrical work, also, no dimmers in the house, but since it's a townhouse, I can't vouch for the neighbors. I've tried turning off the compact fluorescents, and gone into different rooms. No change.
If I didn't love the sound of the pickup so much, I find a humbucker, but since I don't have this problem at practice or at gigs, I'd like to figure out a way to make it work at home.
Anyone else notice a difference when changing the plane of the pickup in their lap steel (parallel vs. perpendicular to the floor)?
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2008 6:19 pm
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Barney Kessell and Chet Atkins talked about having to sometimes play in contorted positions just to try to tame the hum from the single coils.
There is a slight chance that you might be able to change the position of your amp to help you out some, worth a try, but it's a long shot.
Try an in line stomp box that cuts 60 cycle hum. Make sure you do not have a ground loop in the guitar wiring, all grounds should go to one place. Try a metal pickup cover. Try a metal wrist band that you can clip wire to the guitar sort of like what the computer guys use to ground themselves when installing sensitive computer chips. Try a ......................humbucker.
I have a Charlie Christian pickup in an old 30s Gibson ES150. There are some places that I literally cannot play the guitar because of the hum. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 6:13 am
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| Unfortunately, it seems that you have a vertical pickup instead of the correct horizontal model. Gotta cellphone in your pants pocket? |
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Howard Tate
From:
Leesville, Louisiana, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 6:50 am
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| I've had a guitar that would buzz until I faced a different direction. I think it's stray capacitance, if so changing or adding a capacitor might help. |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 7:48 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
| Gotta cellphone in your pants pocket? |
Nope, but I'm glad to see you....
I've been thinking of trying a foil lined pickup cover, to see if it will help. All grounds in the guitar go to a single point, and I tested them for continuity. I also made sure the ground wire to the bridge has continuity, including testing it to the ring of the jack.
Since it's quiet when held like a guitar, I think the shielding and grounding are correct. It seems like it's just truly, as John said, a vertical vs. a horizontal pickup issue -- the way pickups are wound make them susceptible to this. It means I can't do any serious recording at home (except direct into the computer through a GuitarPort -- this doesn't give me any hum problems, even with fluorescent bulbs in the computer room. Go figure).
Before you ask, my amp doesn't hum on it's own, and I get the hum even if I'm 15 ft away from it. If I get close, I can hear a different, "normal" single coil buzz, but I don't get that when I'm standing up to play. The search continues...
Appreciate the ideas, everyone. Anyone try a shielded pickup cover?
Peter
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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rodger_mcbride
From:
Minnesota
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 10:20 am EH Hum DeBugger
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works really well for me on my truetone. There is a slight effect on tone , which can be dialed out with the the amp/preamp tone adjustment .
rodger |
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Ulf Edlund
From:
Umeå, Sweden
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 11:44 am
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| Quote: |
| And like I said, if I tilt the steel up like a "regular" guitar, the buzz goes away -- it's only when it's parallel to the floor that I have a problem. |
My guess is that whatever is causing the hum is located above or beneath you.
I experienced this at one time when i was working in a recording studio with my Gibson EH100 lap. When i held it like a regular guitar it was quiet, but as i sat down with it in ny lap the hum was so bad we couldn't record.
The studio folks had been experiensed strange hum problems since they moved in, so experts were called in and they detected abnormal electromagnetical fields that showed to be caused by a old power central in the basement right beneath were i tried to sit and play, and a high voltage cable in the ground right outside the studio wall.
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1983 Emmons D10 SKH, Carter SD10, Nashville 112, Session 500, ProfexII, Lapsteels, GT-Beard reso, guitars of all kinds...
http://www.myspace.com/ulfedlund |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 1:02 pm
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Interesting situation, Ulf. I'll see if there's anything on another floor I can identify as being a problem (although I'm sure any appliance couldbe generating EM noise).
I guess I need to start wearing my tinfoil hat again...
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Curtis Alford
From:
BastropTexas, USA 78602
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Posted 7 Mar 2008 7:35 pm Hum
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| Are you using a power conitioner? |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Papa Joe Pollick
From:
Swanton, Ohio
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Posted 8 Mar 2008 6:45 am
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| Are you near your computer? |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2008 9:00 am
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PJP!
Eggs Ackley my thoughts! My old tube monitor made all my single coil guitars hum. Bought one of them new-fangled ones, also got a Furman Balanced Isolation Transformer. Model IT 1220. No more hum. |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 8 Mar 2008 3:09 pm
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Good idea, but I don't play amplified in the computer room. Also, I have an LCD monitor, not a CRT, and when I've plugged into my GuitarPort, I don't seem to have the buzz problem (or maybe I don't notice it when I'm playing along with music tracks). If the comp room wasn't next to my daughter's bedroom, I might move the amp in there, but it would be a tight squeeze.
Also, keep in mind, it isn't just my house that the buz is a problem -- it happens other places (yet, oddly, not in the clubs we play).
_________________
Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2008 3:30 pm
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| FWIW, I bought a 25 foot extension cord, made 25 foot guitar and mic cables. I put the amp in another room. The bathroom actually sounds pretty good, but for a less lively sound, I use a bedroom. This way I'm able to plug the amp into the isolation xformer. |
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Don Brown, Sr.
From:
New Jersey
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Posted 9 Mar 2008 7:49 am
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Didn't read through the entire thread, so I'll ask. Did you try a different cord? Meaning if not the cord itself, a different length cord. It may simply be resonant at that one particular freguency that your picking up.
Don |
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