Buzz

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by eric gittins on June 21, 2012 at 11:51am

assuming the pickup is electromagnetic not piezo...does it buzz so much when you put the guitar down as when you hold it?  sounds like the pickup is getting electrical noise from you.  when you are earthed (by touching the jack outer) so is your electrical noise. 

this can be reduced sometimes by good shielding - use coax wire, earth the pot cases etc. but best fixed, and all production guitars i can think of fix this by earthing the strings.  run a wire from the earth on your jack or volume pot to your tailpiece or bridge if metal.  usually there would be something metal that connects all the strings together at some point. when you touch the strings to play, you are earthed.

hope this helps

e

Permalink Reply by Lewin E Leven on June 21, 2012 at 1:06pm

I have had similar problems in the past with the odd build. Even with a humbucker once. What the guy Eric Gittins said in his reply is exactly right. I have heard of people adding a metal screw in the pot cavity instead of grounding to the pot. However I think Eric,s way is best. It's what I do. Run a ground to the strings. Not the actual strings but metal parts that the strings touch, for me it's usually the bridge, but if your bridge is wood or bone or s/t like that then the tailpiece but it has to be metal.

I guess I'm just reiterating what Mr Gittins is saying. Which means, if it's right it's right. In this case he's right.

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 22, 2012 at 12:38am

Thanks guys,,i earthed the jack and the volume to the bridge but still get a buzz unless i touch the lead,,,ill have to track down a guitar builder local and get some advice,,maybe the wireing kit from CBGitty aint that good,,,frustrating,,,

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 22, 2012 at 1:33am

Mike,

This problem comes up routinely here, not often on the Gitty pre-wired harnesses, but quite frequently on home-wired applications. In most cases, there is a bad connection or bad solder joint. First off, is this the harness with a piezo, or one with a mag pup ( either single coil or humbucker)? It helps to know. Secondly, a drawing or a pic can help us diagnose the problem. From this verbal description - "i earthed the jack and the volume to the bridge, but still get a buzz unless I touch the lead" - it sounds like you have constructed a ground loop. All earth / ground wires should terminate on the back of the vol pot. Then a single earth / ground wire should run from there to the jack. If you ran a wire from the bridge to the jack AND the vol pot, you built a ground loop. That's why we'd like to see a diagram or pic.

Others above may be right about shielding, IF this is a mag pup setup, and you've earthed the bridge correctly. If that's the case, your touching the lead sounds just like the behavior on a Strat single coil setup. My Strat does this when the connection to the jack has worked loose, but it can also happen with insufficient shielding.

Thirdly, go over all your solder joints and connections at least twice. Very very often here, people find the problem on the first try, and in most of the cases I've seen, there has been a bad connection (loose wiring) or bad solder joint. I realize that may be why you ordered a pre-wired harness, but it can happen on those, too.

Do these before you take it to your local guitar tech. You can save yourself some coin for another build ;-).

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 22, 2012 at 2:45am

Thanks for that,,,will check all joints and wires and ground it as you suggest

Permalink Reply by wormil on June 22, 2012 at 1:19am

The ground loop could be in your outlet, have you tried others, maybe in another building?

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 22, 2012 at 2:46am

Thanks for the advice,,,will try another power supply as well as battery power

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 22, 2012 at 2:39am

this is what iam trying to install,,,,,going to try a battery amp next??

Permalink Reply by eric gittins on June 22, 2012 at 3:06am

if the strings are actually earthed there should be no difference between touching them or touching the outer of the jack.  if only one makes a difference to the buz then they can't be at the same potential (there must be resistance between them).

do you have a multi-meter to test for continuity between the jack earth and the strings?

i doubt the problem is and earth loop, because the buzz goes away when you touch the jack (but yes, wire your earths as a line, not as a circle) - this suggests the noise is you. we are big bags of highly conductive salty water with an electrical operating system after all!

as strat-o says, double check all solder connections too, and i'd also make sure you haven't switched the signal and earth anywhere.  just be systematic about it and you'll work it out.

e

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 22, 2012 at 5:24am

Mike,

Eric's right: we are all just bags o' salty water, and conductive as hell. >:-E

Yep, a multimeter would tell you precisely, but I figured since you went pre-wired, you wouldn't necessarily have one or know how to use it to search out a ground fault. I suggested the ground loop as a potential (pun intended) problem, because of your description. Thanks for the pic. Yep, a single coil, not a piezo - so your problem, if you've grounded the bridge to the vol pot properly ( see following sentence) is likely at the jack ground connection. If you haven't already, run a ground wire from your bridge / saddle / strings to the back of the vol pot ONLY. Tie it in to the same place as your other ground wire coming from / going to the jack, and make sure the solder joint is good. Eric's also right: be systematic, and you WILL find the problem.

Come back whether or not it works, and we'll keep trying to help.

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 22, 2012 at 5:58am

Thanks guys,,,well i re did the earth and all joints i did are ok, still a buzz, that stops when the amp is on battery power, ill check it all again , and take a pic,,,

Permalink Reply by Mike Gregory on June 25, 2012 at 4:17am

Re checked the joints all good, buzz stops when i touch the strings,,,buzz goes away when the amp is on battery power,,,thinking of a Piezo for my next build,,piezo/jack plug, could it be that simple?

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