Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

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adamarcuragi
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Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by adamarcuragi » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:43 pm

I did a search for this topic and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

So I built myself a Jazzmaster. I love it. I have a pick guard shield and a bunch of copper in the cavities to make a Faraday Cage. It sort of works. If I stand in the right position relative to the rest of the gear the hum dies down considerably but doesn't disappear completely.

Is this just how it is?

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by mackerelmint » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:07 am

Nope.

What I did, and found that it worked very well in my case, was to twist the leads coming from the pickups, as amp makers do to reduce noise. I gave it a shot just because I was too lazy to find wire cutters and figured it wouldn't hurt. Quietest single coil guitar I ever. There are some other options as well, but if you have the lead length, it's the cheapest/best IMO.
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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:55 am

I never got around to coiling the wires, but I do all the shielding and I even bought an aluminum pickguard for one of my Jazzmasters.

Of course, the guitar is hum cancelling in the middle position, right? You did wire yours up to do that?

Otherwise, yeah, you've done all you can for the most part. It's a single coil, so it will hum.

I did contact the Ilitch Noise cancelling people, though, about if they'd have a product for Jazzmasters at any point (I have that product on two Telecasters and will put one on my Legacy this new year)

He said no, but that he'd route the Jazzmaster out and put his noise cancelling coil in there. Expensive. I declined. You might feel otherwise.

http://www.ilitchelectronics.com/

It's also worth asking if you've treated the rest of your setup, you know? That might be more worthwhile in the long run, it might not. Power conditioners in your environment can help
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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by RIORIO » Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:08 am

Kinman pickups :ph34r:

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by Gavanti » Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:50 am

Following BilT's wiring practices, I've started star grounding everything to a thick gauge bus wire between the tone pot and jack, and that seems to help out. Will have to try the twisted lead method next time I mod something.

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by Tepr » Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:53 am

AFAIK any true single coil guitar (not set to a RWRP dual pickup selection) will have some amount of hum relative to the amp.

IMO it's not a big deal, and many (most?) guitarists have always simply dealt with it. Figuring out to sit or stand facing a certain way relative to the amp is something you learn to do, just like dealing with mic and monitor placement in a live situation. You don't leave your cell phone sitting on your amp, etc.

There may be specific situations where this noise is significantly worse than "normal" - bad household wiring, bad venue wiring, very high gain or noisy pedals, etc etc

Guitar wiring can be optimized as others have suggested, but again, many players (like me) have unshielded single coil guitars. My tele is totally unshielded unless you count the bridge plate.
Last edited by Tepr on Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by kdanie » Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:47 am

I have found that most of the hum I get is from the power where I'm at. Using the same guitar (single coil), the house in the woods is very quiet, the RV depends on where we are plugged in. NONE of my guitars are shielded - I have the copper tape but don't have problems usually so I don't bother.

ken
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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by adamarcuragi » Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:29 pm

You are all the best.
Offset guitar players are the best.

I'm going to definitely twist the wires.


Thank you all for the helpful discourse.

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by Mad-Mike » Wed Dec 20, 2017 2:06 pm

Hmm...I might try that.

Something I did not see mentioned in this thread is the pots have a lot to do with the excessive hum too. I figured this out because when I turn the volume down to 8 or 7 the hum goes away on the lead circuit, and the rhythm circuit is already quiet 1MEG Ohm Pots let more frequencies through and sometimes that goes for the hum as well.

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Re: Do we, as Jazzmaster lovers have to accept the hum?

Post by rumfoord » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:23 pm

I have a strat with an aluminum pickguard and copper lined cavities, and it's completely silent in a few "just right" positions. But hums (a bit) as I turn towards lights, and I think that's just the way it is.

The tubes in the amp are throwing off all kinds of EM waves that will make the pickups hum just as much as lights. My guitar hums when I point it at the tubes, and acts as if these frequencies bouncing around the walls and room get picked up with varying intensities as I change positions.

Has anybody tried building a faraday cage around the tubes ...in the amp?

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