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Static and Hum


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Got a problem with my new Tele. I'm getting static and excessive hum (with noiseless pickups). The static isn't constant, but is intermittent. It's also not at a steady volume, but increases with the amp volume. I've tried different cables, moving the amp to a different room, and a power conditioner, and nothing has resolved the problem. I've also tried three other guitars with the same amp/cables, and I have no static/hum with those. I thought it was probably a ground or some other wiring issue, so I had it checked out. The tech could find nothing wrong, and we tried it with two other amps there and had no issues. I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Anybody ever experience something like that? 

 

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Hi Mike , Does it do it on other amps that you have . Could be that amp. The tubes could be loose.. Are a loose wire inside. take amp the shop and use a different tele. Mine hums when the gain is set to high. When it hums try turning the controll knobs . and see if it changes. good luck . I am assuming it's on the new fender amp. 

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7 hours ago, Blue Dog said:

Hi Mike , Does it do it on other amps that you have . Could be that amp. The tubes could be loose.. Are a loose wire inside. take amp the shop and use a different tele. Mine hums when the gain is set to high. When it hums try turning the controll knobs . and see if it changes. good luck . I am assuming it's on the new fender amp. 

Yes, it does it on the Princeton and a Super Champ XD. Not as bad on the Super Champ, but it's still there. I've tried adjusting the knobs on both the guitar and amp, wiggling the cable, etc., and nothing has an effect.

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This video might help mike.

 

Could be a bad ground on the guitars out put jack.

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One guitar making noise on multiple amps seems like the guitar. Tighten your input jack. It could be a problem with the pickup wiring. 

Many years ago when I bought my 2009 Gibson Les Paul Studio it developed crackling sound. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes not. It went on for a few weeks until I noticed if I touched my pickup all the noise went away. I took it to an Authorized Gibson service in the area. When I told the tech what was happening he said "that is bad". He checked it out and he decided the pickup was bad. It was a warranty item so after proof of purchase Gibson supplied a replacement pickup. All these years later the Les Paul is still rocking!

 

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8 hours ago, Blue Dog said:

This video might help mike.

 

Could be a bad ground on the guitars out put jack.

 

53 minutes ago, Randy120 said:

One guitar making noise on multiple amps seems like the guitar. Tighten your input jack. It could be a problem with the pickup wiring. 

Many years ago when I bought my 2009 Gibson Les Paul Studio it developed crackling sound. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes not. It went on for a few weeks until I noticed if I touched my pickup all the noise went away. I took it to an Authorized Gibson service in the area. When I told the tech what was happening he said "that is bad". He checked it out and he decided the pickup was bad. It was a warranty item so after proof of purchase Gibson supplied a replacement pickup. All these years later the Les Paul is still rocking!

 

I've been thinking it's a wiring or ground issue, but the tech didn't find anything wrong, and it didn't make the noise with two different amps in the store. Very mysterious. That said, I may have partially solved the problem. I blew out the output jack with compressed air, then had a practice session of about 45 minutes, with almost no static/crackling. I guess I'll feel better about it if I have a few more sessions with little or no noise. The hum is still there, though, so I still have an issue to resolve, but at least I don't hear it while I'm playing. Thanks for your thoughts, guys. 

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@Mike Hoodenpyle  . Do u plug the amp into the same house current outlet every time you get the noise? It could be the outlet itself has 'reverse polarity' , ie, black and white wires are on wrong termials. An inexpensive plug in  tester will tell instantly. If so, easy fix, just shut off current remove outlet, swat the wires, replace and thats it.  You could also try the amp in a different outlet or room to see if you get the same result.

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had to double back and look at the spec's of your new tele.

Vintage Noiseless pickups offer hum-free classic tone

Get the classic Tele tone you love, without the hum. The Deluxe Telecaster Thinline's set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups offer traditional Tele tone, while get the timeless Tele twang you want, but none of the show-stopping radio and electrical noise you don't. Top it off with 4-way switching that includes a setting for the bridge and neck in series, and you get plenty of tone options to play with

a stacked pickup is like a humbucker with the first coil on top of ththeir stacked Alnico 2 magnet design wards off interference and ground hum. In other words, youe second coil, (instead of a humbucker side by side arrangement) first thing is usually house environment. try different rooms, then take your whole rig to the store for a test, or a friends house. does it happen with just 1 pickup section/ both?

you say static and hum.. I know some Gibson's have been reported to have a crackle sound like static, Gibson response is to rub the guitar with a dryer sheet , which I find a useless endeavour since dryer sheets are heat activated.

hum can be tricky but maybe one of your stacked pickups is having an issue.you may need  to find a different tech.. 

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Mystery solved. In short, it was static electricity build-up in the pickguard. When I was practicing last night, the static and hum started again. At some point, I inadvertently touched the pickguard while I wasn't playing, and the static came through the speaker. So I touched it again in a different spot and got static again. I started rubbing the pickguard, and the static would occur and then stop, so I just rubbed the entire pickguard with my fingers, pressing down a little firmly, and both the static and hum went away. I've never heard of anything like that, so I did a Google search for "static electricity pickguard" and found several videos where others had experienced the same thing. Their fix was using a dryer sheet like you mentioned @Eracer_Team-DougH, except it worked for them, and they demonstrated in the video. They mentioned the cause was playing in a carpeted room in sock-feet. I usually have socks and house shoes on, so maybe I've been getting the same effect. When I had played earlier in the day and thought blowing out the output jack may have been the cure, I was about to go out on an errand, so I had shoes on. No static that time. That would also explain why I couldn't reproduce the issue at the store. So, it looks like the short-term fix is to rub the pickguard, with or without a dryer sheet, whenever static electric builds up. The long-term fix would be to add some shielding and/or better grounding under the pickguard.

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Sounds great Glad you found the problem . When you fix it check all grounds and  solder joints  and throw in some orange drop caps LOL . Good Luck. 

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Wow. 😮 Those infernal electrons will come off just about anything!

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