62 AVRI INSANE buzz/hum in position 1*3

[DDJ]

I got an outlet tester at home depot and checked the outlet in the studio. It's wired correctly. I don't know if that suggests there's a proper ground or not though.

Does it?

[alexpigment]

You gotta test the dimmers. I suspect you don't want it to be the case and are actively avoiding testing it, but until you know whether the dimmers are causing the hum or not, you're just going to waste money on a lot of little gadgets. I have a Hum Debugger, a power conditioner, heavily shielded cables, etc - all of them useless purchases. Also, if that is the cause, you can spend your money wisely on what *will* help.

I know the noise you are hearing might seem too extreme to be caused by dimmers, but I'm telling you, it's the difference between playable and unplayable. Also, in my case it was not an issue with the power coming from the wall; they were on separate power circuits over 50 feet away.

[DDJ]

You gotta test the dimmers. I suspect you don't want it to be the case and are actively avoiding testing it, but until you know whether the dimmers are causing the hum or not, you're just going to waste money on a lot of little gadgets. I have a Hum Debugger, a power conditioner, heavily shielded cables, etc - all of them useless purchases. Also, if that is the cause, you can spend your money wisely on what *will* help.

I know the noise you are hearing might seem too extreme to be caused by dimmers, but I'm telling you, it's the difference between playable and unplayable. Also, in my case it was not an issue with the power coming from the wall; they were on separate power circuits over 50 feet away.

I tested the amp with the two dimmer switches in the house shut off. It made no noticeable difference.

[parry]

Also, in my case it was not an issue with the power coming from the wall; they were on separate power circuits over 50 feet away.

I tested the amp with the two dimmer switches in the house shut off. It made no noticeable difference.

The source could be elsewhere up/down the line. Sounds like your first impulse to pick up a power conditioner might be a good next step.

[alexpigment]

OK, well that rules the dimmers out *I think* - you initially said there 3 in the house, but you turned 2 of them off to test; I'm going to assume that you tested all of them in the house and that they were *off* rather than dimmed all the way down (the latter scenario would generate a lot of hum in your guitar). Do standard dimmers still give off EMI when the dimmer is set to low but the switch is off?

Having said that, the hum is gone when in the middle position, so I would think that the hum has to be coming in through the pickups rather than through the wall power. If not, how is it possible for power-related hum be cancelled via RWRP pickups? Can anyone else weigh in on this?

[DDJ]

OK, well that rules the dimmers out *I think* - you initially said there 3 in the house, but you turned 2 of them off to test; I'm going to assume that you tested all of them in the house and that they were *off* rather than dimmed all the way down (the latter scenario would generate a lot of hum in your guitar). Do standard dimmers still give off EMI when the dimmer is set to low but the switch is off?

Having said that, the hum is gone when in the middle position, so I would think that the hum has to be coming in through the pickups rather than through the wall power. If not, how is it possible for power-related hum be cancelled via RWRP pickups? Can anyone else weigh in on this?

Yeah, I was wrong about how many dimmers we have. I made sure they were completely turned off for the test.

I'm going to try a power conditioner in my studio. I can always return it if it doesn't make a difference.

[schoolie]

I have a similar problem with both of my JMs. I built them both and the grounding is right, and they're shielded everywhere with copper tape. Does the noise change when you rotate the guitar? In my case, the noise is definitely received by the pickups. My music room happens to have the breaker panel for the house which doesn't help. Seems to be the nature of the JM, so I leave the switch in position 2, and it's silent.

[beninma]

I have an EHX Hum Debugger on my pedal board.. it nukes this kind of 60hz hum really well. I have a lot of noise in my house where I play. I did all the stuff like changing lights and double checking electrical (and my house is new) and none of it works as well as the Hum Debugger.

Another option for pickups that are quieter than normal JM single coils are the G&L Jazzmaster size MFD pickups... they are not in the web store but I bet if you call you can buy them.

Those pickups are super quiet compared to normal single coils due to having a much higher signal to noise ratio. They will make some noise with a lot of gain on the amp/pedals but nothing like normal. If you turn the volume on the guitar down some & cut some bass/treble they sound just like normal single coils minus the noise. They're awesome pickups IMO and if it bothers you that they're not Fender brand pickups they were still designed by Leo Fender so there's that.

[alexpigment]

I have an EHX Hum Debugger on my pedal board.. it nukes this kind of 60hz hum really well. I have a lot of noise in my house where I play. I did all the stuff like changing lights and double checking electrical (and my house is new) and none of it works as well as the Hum Debugger.

I agree that it works fairly well, however in my experience it adds a weird slapback delay or reverby sound that only gets worse when you have any gain/distortion on. It’s possible the order of the signal chain affects how noticeable it is, but for playing at home, I always found that aspect intolerable.

[jorri]

OK, well that rules the dimmers out *I think* - you initially said there 3 in the house, but you turned 2 of them off to test; I'm going to assume that you tested all of them in the house and that they were *off* rather than dimmed all the way down (the latter scenario would generate a lot of hum in your guitar). Do standard dimmers still give off EMI when the dimmer is set to low but the switch is off?

Having said that, the hum is gone when in the middle position, so I would think that the hum has to be coming in through the pickups rather than through the wall power. If not, how is it possible for power-related hum be cancelled via RWRP pickups? Can anyone else weigh in on this?

To answer the last question: it does power related hum especially because it comes through similarly for each pickup.
Being reverse wound, means they are out of phase, so when reverse polarity the input they pick up is placed back in phase, whilst the interference is phase-cancelled.
I can only suggest shielding and checking grounds, which i am sure is mentioned. Often this should disappear when touch the strings, which will show the grounding is adequate. However the fact is there prominently may be other issues.

[Square Daddio]

Did the guitar buzz/hum at your tech's shop? You might take it to another location along with the amp and other gear you are using with it to rule out your home wiring.

[DDJ]

Did the guitar buzz/hum at your tech's shop? You might take it to another location along with the amp and other gear you are using with it to rule out your home wiring.

I took my guitar and amp to work and it was totally SILENT.

I'm thinking of trying some Fralin humbucking PU's to see if that helps the situation at all.

The noise doesn't change when I touch the strings. It does while I rotate the guitar in a circle but, it doesn't get 'better, just different.

It's likely that my house is the issue. It was built in the late 1800's so....

[Embenny]

It's likely that my house is the issue. It was built in the late 1800's so....

Have you used an outlet tester everywhere in your house? Ground loops and noisy wiring are one thing, but sometimes there can be outlets with straight up missing ground connections (3-prong outlets added at some point with no actual connection to ground), reversed pins...all sorts of stuff that can be not only noisy, but dangerous.

I bought a 15 year-old house and found one outlet where the ground pin was wired live, and another where the neutral pin was shorting to ground.

I can't even imagine what sort of nastiness might have resulted had I used those outlets before testing them. I'd start there if you haven't already.

[DDJ]

It's likely that my house is the issue. It was built in the late 1800's so....

Have you used an outlet tester everywhere in your house? Ground loops and noisy wiring are one thing, but sometimes there can be outlets with straight up missing ground connections (3-prong outlets added at some point with no actual connection to ground), reversed pins...all sorts of stuff that can be not only noisy, but dangerous.

I bought a 15 year-old house and found one outlet where the ground pin was wired live, and another where the neutral pin was shorting to ground.

I can't even imagine what sort of nastiness might have resulted had I used those outlets before testing them. I'd start there if you haven't already.

Yup. I tested them and there IS a ground.

[bjornsynneby]

Interesting thread. So you now know the jazzmaster avri guitar and amp was dead silent when you tried playing at work and you know your wifes tele is humming less. You know you have ground in your power outlet which will help draining shielded interference from amp and guitar.

So it is likely your guitar is exposed to strong magnetic fields and the jazzmaster is less protected against the effects of those fields. The coils of the jazzmaster pickup are larger than the telecaster which can explain that there is more hum coming from the jazzmaster in this magnetic environment. Computer screens can cause strong magnetic fields so you can try to shut them off. And you tried the dimmers aswell.
Given that your guitar tech did his job well, hum cancelling pickups is probably the easiest way to fix your problem.