| Author |
Topic: Amp Buzz... |
Steve Wood
From:
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 4 Mar 2009 11:06 pm |
|
Sorry for the newbie questions guys...
I rehearsed with a loud band tonight. Great sound ,but I had to jack up my volume (shoubud S10 through NV 1000). Then I heard an annoying amp buzz.
I monkeyed with the Pregain and the Master gain but was never really clean.
How do I play in a louder environment without buzz and without blowing my cone???
steve |
|
|
 |
Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
|
Posted 5 Mar 2009 12:17 am
|
|
You need to first diagnose where the buzz is coming from.
If it's an old Sho Bud with the original single-coil pickup, they tend to buzz like a hornet's nest in an electromagnetically noisy environment when they're cranked up. I loved the tone on my old Bud, and I wouldn't change the pickup, but in some situations, they're just too noisy for me to use.
On an old Bud, I think pickup first. But that may not be your problem. If you have access to a steel with a humbucking pickup, you could try it with that and see if it's still a problem. If it is, it could be some type of grounding issue, a ground loop, something in the signal path like a cable or effects unit, the amp itself, or the power source. Sometimes it's necessary to just methodically track each possibility down, ensure it's OK, and then move to the next one on the list till you get it. |
|
|
|
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
|
Posted 5 Mar 2009 3:00 am
|
|
Along with the single coil pickups (on any brand guitar). The first thing to do is disconnect everything from the amp and turn it on by itself and see if you get the hum. That will tell you real quick if it's the amp or something external.
Along with the single coil pickup issues, there is grounding in the guitar, a bad guitar cord, effect, etc. If the amp is OK by itself then connect the steel directly to the amp and see what that does. After that start adding a piece at a time to the loop to see if there is any hum. One issue if it doesn't hum at home, is the location you were at could have induced hum into the system, either by a bad AC power ground or into the system via the single coil pickup in the guitar. |
|
|
|
Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
|
Posted 5 Mar 2009 7:02 am
|
|
| Profex II on one side of the guitar, amp on the other... They can interfere if too close. Same for some other effect thingies too. Watch out for noise sources in the house wiring. Flourescent lamps can be a real nuisance. |
|
|
|
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
|
Posted 6 Mar 2009 10:33 am amp BUZZ?
|
|
It's possible it's the electric system at the club.
Some clubs have lot's of neon light tubes with their little power transformers in each unit.
At home, it might be your dimmer light switches for your home's interior lighting.
If there's a halo of red fickering light surrounding your amp, it could be lightning in the area.
Just a couple of tho'ts. |
|
|
|
Steve Wood
From:
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 7 Mar 2009 11:43 pm Thanks!
|
|
thanks, fellas.
I read all of these, and they are all plausible...Ill go through one by one.
It was an OLD building too, with lots of questionable plugs...
Ill try the methodical approach and hopefully become buzz-free!
steve |
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 8 Mar 2009 10:05 am
|
|
Go to the Big Box, and get a tester fro the plugs youse pluggin' into. They're really cheap, and, Safety First!
Last edited by John Billings on 8 Mar 2009 12:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Alan Kirk
From:
Scotia, CA, USA
|
Posted 8 Mar 2009 11:38 am
|
|
Get an Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger.
Yes, it changes the sound a bit but it gets rid of the buzz.
_________________
Everyone in the world has two jobs: 1) whatever they do for a living; and 2) music critic. |
|
|
|
