How to fix Ground Noise | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 8 | Thomann
Вставка
- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- Ground noise is very annoying but it can be fixed easily. Grab a Multimeter and find the source.
Kris walks you through the process in this weeks Guitar Tech Tips.
Enjoy!
Gear used: tho.mn/span1
We use Triad-Orbit stands for our cameras, lights and mics: tho.mn/triad
Recorded and mixed with Universal Audio: tho.mn/xuad
Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:48 ground buzz:
0:58 how should ground be wired?
1:18 how to locate the problem?
2:01 testing for continuity
2:35 how to check the jack
3:47 soldering the jack
4:19 other possible reasons for noise
4:43 guitar fixed:
4:53 let's take it for a test ride :)
5:37 outtakes
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Just spent an afternoon trying to search for a ground problem and the buzz was because i have the amp plugged into a power strip with 2 computers, an A/C and a lamp turned on. i'm posting this to save someone in the future - check your external connections first and work inward from the outside starting with the jack first, it may save you a bit of effort with disassembly and reassembly.
Hi Gary. My amp is plugged into a similar situation, a power extension with my macbook, an adaptor for my overdrive pedal daisy chain, a toothbrush charger and some other appliance.
Is this bad and what could be causing my guitar hum and if so why?
Also any suggestion on what I could do here please?
Thanks
@@oneandonlyarajivp no worries dood just unplug it all and see if it helps might have to borrow a grounded outlet from a neighbor if possible use a grounded 3 pronged extension, also somtimes the internals on a laptop can buzz and whir, if you can run the toothbrush off a battery that may help isolate grounding as well. Damn noisey wall pixies
I am stumped because everything has continuity but if I touch the strings, or any metallic piece on my guitar, the hum goes away. I checked the ground from the wire to the amp to the input jack then the output jack of the guitar to all metal pieces. Every single point had continuity. I am stumped.
@@generalawareness101 check your grounds again, and maybe the output jack sometimes they need to be bent to make contact firmly with the cable. Ive had bad solder joints that read good until i tightened the jack into the body cavity and the contacts would pull loose, also you're wires could have a bad connection. Godspeed.
@@garygrinkevich6971 I wouldn't put it past having bad wires from the rat's nest I saw in the guitar. Squier Bullet Mustang, and the Squier Fat Strat I own does not have the issue, so it is guitar related for sure. I will have to give it a complete look over when I replace my guitar nut (been in my city for a week now but USPS keeps saying arriving late so may be lost/stolen/broken).
I would like to make a small suggestion. The Continuity setting you used on the multimeter is actually a diode checker. It is applying voltage and the reading that is displayed is the voltage in which the diode biased and allowed continuity. Diode checkers will ‘Ring’ up to 40 ohms. If you are still having trouble locating the problem switch to ohms and see which component is reading high. This could save you from reflowing every solder joint.
is there a way to make it quieter like putting capacitor or something or resistor ,not sure im not electrician
@@jedunboxing4127 what do you need to make quieter?
NO! HUM ARE ALWAYS AN IMBALLANCE. CAPS WILL CHANGE THE SOUND OF A PICKUP. AND RESISTOR DOES NOTHING TO IT. AT HD YOU CAN BUY ALUMINUM TAPE IN THE DUCT ISLE. USE THAT TO PUT IN ALL THE CAVITIES AND BEHING THE PICK GUARD. NOW A BLOWN CAP CAN CAUSE HUM ALTHOUGH I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU WOULD BLOW ONE ON A GUITAR THAT HAS VERY LOW CURRENT. PS. YOU NEED A GOOD SOLDERING IRON. AND PRACTICE USING IT SOLDERING WIRES TOGETHER. I USE 800 DEGREES F AND VERY SHORT TIME. AND CLEAN ALL PART YOU ARE GOING TO SOLDER WITH SMALL WIRE WHEEL AN THEN CLEAN WITH ACETONE. NOT ALCOHOL
Hey! I'm trying to fix my guitar and saw your comment. When using the multimeter every component in my guitar 'rings', every component other than the toggle switch, which gives me readings of around 400 ohms when connecting it against any other component in my guitar. Following your comment, this narrows down the issue to the toggle switch, but to what conclusion could I get with this? a) Some cable needs to be resoldered and this should fix the issue? or b) the toggle switch is f'd up and I'd need to switch it for a new one? Just a noob here trying to learn a bit and fix my PRS :) Thanks again man.
One of the most informative tips! Just got a 7 string for a steal second hand. Boy was I disappointed when I plugged it in! This solved everything! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! I put a humbucker pickup in the bridge of my tele a year ago and it’s had this horrible horrible buzz since then and I couldn’t find the ground issue! I replaced a faulty pot, I redid connections over and over and couldnt figure it out. Then I watched this video and realized I never checked the continuity of my Jack. Low and behold that was the issue! The ground and hot wires were connected to the wrong spots on the Jack. A quick solder from one to the other and boom the whole guitar is fixed and sounds great! Thank you so much for your help!!
This is one of the best instructional videos I've seen. Thank you. Will be able to fix my guitar this afternoon. Could not see any loose ground wire yesterday, but probably a bad solder joint I now will be able to identify. I actually suspect it is the same as in the video with the input jack. I didn't realize how to check it with a guitar cable before now though.
Hi Chris, thank you for the tip regarding the cold soldering. My 2010 Squier Bullet Strat suddenly developed that grounding issue, everything looked fine, till a closer look at the middle pickup showed some very small electrical rust. Resoldered it and problem solved, i forgot about the cold solder connection completely. Much appreciated and happy rocking!
Keep in mind that on some guitars the metal components connect to ground by being screw onto a shielded pickguard. So if you can't figure it why something like a jazzmaster rhythm selector switch isn't grounding, it's because it's wiring is designed to be use with a shielded pickguard. If you don't wanna shield your guitar then you may have to run another wire to the jack
man i love this, very new to electric guitars and this is EXACTLY what i need for my own self paced, self learning journey. thank you guys
excellent lesson! and put a smile on my face... I always wondered if that type of work was only done by cranky people! nope ... theres happy ones too! great job, appreciate you.
Yeah man, thanks! Gotta keep the smiles. It's medicine. :) And life's so much nicer this way than complaining all the time, right?
//cheers bro, Kris
Thank you very much I’ve spent almost 3 days trying to ground my HSS strat build excellent walk through 👌👌
I just completed my first kit build and was getting a NASTY buzz and very low signal-to-noise ratio. I checked EVERYTHING and finally, after watching this, realized I had my jack wired backwards. Thank you!
Haha! How cool man, congrats on building your first guitar kit! Happy to help.
//cheers, Kris
Thanks Kris, that solved my problem with hum, what about 1 or 2 videos about wiring pickups in the right way, I guess this would help many guitar home constructors
I don't know why I like watching people repair guitar issues... 🤔👍🏼
Forget the fact that I went to the Navy and university for electronics, I just like the videos!
Very helpful! I had a vintage Gibson EB 3 that had inconsistent terrible racket. I couldn't figure whether the source was a bad pot, the jack... anything seemed to be able to trigger it. Tech Jon Mouradian found a loose wire, as in your video, and pointed out several cold solder joints. He resoldered all the problem areas >> perfect! Thank you.
Your episodes made my life easier!! Thank you so much
I was having not a hum sound but lots of static coming from my amps and evening computer monitors (plugin amp). I found this video and tested my pots, all worked fine but then I tested the Jack and nothing! It was connected however the ground wire and white wire were in the opposite space they should be in.
I switched them and tested as you mentioned and it worked! Now that static noise is gone. Thanks so much for this video!
I am dealing with this and I figured out what it was before I watched this and feel amazing, thank you for the tips and saving my sanity
Thanks man this video helped me a lot. I just redid some wiring on my guitar and it had a horrible buzz after, and i thought i messed everything up. Turns out my input jack wires were backwards. Sounds so much better.
Perfect timing. Was having this issue with one of my guitars and thought it might be the pickups. Will try the steps in the video. Cheers
Dead mans shoes That’s really cool to hear. Good luck man!
//cheers, Kris
Thank you. This was very helpful, simple, and informative.
Great show and excellent instructions for fixing your noise on electric guitar 🎸
Excellent instruction. Am looking forward to viewing more of your videos.
this video is perfect, straight to the point
4:47 literally magic. None of my instruments are that quiet
Maybe it's because you have more electrical interference in your area, or maybe it's because your power supply is more noisy, or maybe it's because your amps have their own grounding issues?
A single coil guitar will also be a lot noisier than a humbucker like this one.
Thanks Kris. Straightforward and to the point. Needed that.
Funny, that's exactly what happens to my Friedman guitar a week ago. You've explained it very well 👍
A lot of us have that one ax that's been "fixed" so many times we don't want it messed with...
This helps a lot. Kudos.
👍👍👍👍👍👍😎
Ran into this hum problem with my new Harley Benton RB-12CS, along with a few more fit and finish issues. The grounding issue turned out to be a soldering problem (hum showed up when the strings or bridge were not touched). Because of this guitar looking like a brand we cannot mention, I flipped the bridge saddles, octave strings and did a bit of nut-work, besides the standard setup for intonation and lowering the strings for increased playability. The frets were in dire need of dressing as my fingers came away with lots of metal dust. I also removed and replaced the tuning machines with Gotoh locking machines and Schiller strap locks. One thing to note is where on a three-way switch or five-way switch is where to place one of the probes from the multimeter. The next mod I might undertake on this guitar is to pull all of the pots and switches and use a bit higher quality copper foil on the underside of the pickguard and to leverage copper foil up to the pickguard screw holes in order to shield the cavity, too. This is a very fun guitar, by the by. Great video, thank you!
Fantastic video!! Thank you for making this.
Glad I found your video: I wasted a day changing wiring on new pickups trying to get rid of the buzz - after seeing your tips I checked the output And the wires were the wrong way. Next time I’ll check that first! Thanks!
This was just the video I was looking for thank you!
Just discovered that my multimeter has continuity tester because of this video, thanks a million :-)
One word wow . Very helpful lesson.
Very helpful videos. Thank you so much.
Very very helpful! I have this issue, now all I hope for is that this will be fixed.
This video helped me trace and find a very annoying ground buzz. Your technique led me right to the solution
Thanks Kris. My problem is exactly that. Cheap soldering kit ordered!
this video is so precious !!
thanks a lot !!
Excellent video. Also, beautiful guit, love the color.
Just wanted to say a massive thank you, having the exact same issue thought it was something faulty with my focusrite. Found your video when I was trying to get an example of the sound to send them and what do you know, opening up the jack and I see a loose black cable. Guess I'll go pickup a soldering Iron tomorrow. Cheers for spreading the knowledge, got a subscribe from me.
That's awesome to hear Charles, glad you like the series. Check out the playlist, we have tons of videos already and new episodes are coming every Thursday. Cheers! //Kris
Excellent VIDEO!! Thank you!
Brilliantly explained 👍
Thanks, everything well explained 👏👍
Well explained . Very good . thank you
I love your videos - thank you!
Thanks! This helped me figure out my output jack wires were reversed on a barrel jack. Helpful video
Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. God bless
Great, great and fantastic. Thank you.
Wow, ypu made my day I was trying to get rid of the ground noise in my 1999 godin radiator and turned out to be just this problem, the jack was wired backwards. Thanks man
Thank you showing where the continuity setting is on a multimeter. It's amazing how many of these grounding/shielding demos assume everyone knows that!
Sure thing Bill! I know, it's unbelievable how many assume that some basics don't need any explanation. That's not very helpful. 😅
Take Care //Kris
Awesome video man! Thanks
Thanks, this video really helped! "The bare wire is ground, and connects to the barrell of the cable" was what I needed... Sure enough, I had wired up the jack backwards 😋
Very helpful, thank you!
I just purchased a "Condition 2" Kramer Pacer Tiger finish from Guitar Center/Musicians Friend. Being 'Condition 2' you'd expect light scuffing at the worst. The sales rep on the phone couldn't tell me any details other that the guitar was located in their warehouse.
Being just over 20% less than a new one and also not wanting to wait for a the new ones to be stocked, coupled with an easy return and a good experience with another 'Open Box' guitar, I ordered it.
Got it, opened the box, inspected and I could find absolutely nothing wrong with it, other than the whammy bar doesn't want to thread on smoothly once in a while. I plugged it in, sounded great clean, added some gain...OMFG, very loud! LOL
Finally popped the covers off, looked fine. Checked continuity and voila! Ground wire from the bridge had broken off at the POT. Tested again by touching until I can solder after work...noise levels are now within spec!
I'm wondering if this was why someone returned it? Saved me over $150 - thanks whoever you are!
And thank you for the post, Thomann and Andertons are amazing. The service you provide the States is top notch!
Great Video Man! thank you!!
Thank you so much Kris this is a great video!
Thanks a lot! //Kris
Thank you, this was super helpful
Perfect video. Thanks
Thanks. Very informative.
I diagnosed my Fender Jazz Bass ground issue with just a 'test lead' - a wire with an alligator clip at each end (you could just use a plain piece of wire stripped at each end). I connected one end to the ground on the jack, the touched each of the pots with the other end. The hum dissapeared when I touched the forward pickup volume pot. No evidence of any wire loose, so I just soldered a new piece of wire between the jack and the volume pot. Problem fixed. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIPS!!!
Brilliant video thank you!
Hey, thank you, yesterday I watched this video because I've been doing stuff to my old guitar a few years ago ( 10+ ) and In my blissful ignorance just switched ground and hot..... so my guitar buzzed louder than the guitar sound, so I just stashed it... and using this video I was actually able to get to the root of the problem, and to my surprise it is as quiet as the night now... extremely cheap guitar, and fender 10w old and also broken. but it is all very quiet now. Huge Thank you!!!!
That is awesome, glad to hear that the video helped to revive your old guitar. Cheers //Kris
Your video sounds exactly like mine. THANK YOU. Its late but im boutta check this tomorrow and see whats wrong with it, or if a wire is loose
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch 😊
Love this series 😊
Awesome Tom, thanks so much! //Kris
Great video and very clear explanation. I have just bought a used les paul and found the neck pickup volume wont turn off, my first thought was an earth problem so will check it all out.
Yes, it sounds like a grounding issue. Check it, solve it, play it, love it. :) That's the right order. Haha!
//cheers, Kris
Thanks for the video!
that was so clear, thanks!
Very helpful thank you!
Chris, that was great! I had a buzzing sound issue with the FELSEY FLP350 (their first batch). Located it at the bridge and was a coating issue. The coating blocked the ground running through the inserts.
I'm glad to hear that you have it sorted out. That coating issue is something that happens every now and then unfortunately. Luckily brands learn from it and improve as fast as they see it slip through. Cheers man //Kris
When i opened my jack input the wire wasn't connected LOL. Thanks for this, I didn't even suspect the jack input being the problem.
Thank you more than I can express !
Now that’s a useful video!
thanks really helpful video!
Great video thank you
Yo great work that color on your ax was nice color. I am going it guitar repairs at the age of 58 and I am going in cold with the knowledge of what I know from the early 80' and what I now in between that time my career has been in cooking. Videos like your make sense of it all. I have Ibanez I was lining the pocket with foil for a shield and it worked pretty well the humming is very low andI used elmer's glue to keep the foil in place. I ask you like I do others can you look in to the things that cause house wiring like that because ONCE I moved my gear I to my BASEMENT I lost a lot of the humming problems.
Added thought: it seems that a number of people have been able to trace their issues to broken wires on the jacks. That can come from tightening a loose jack nut from the outside of the instrument without stabilizing the jack body inside the instrument, such as by taking a few minutes to remove the cavity cover plate (on solid body instruments with easily accessed control cavities) in order to hold the jack firmly, while tightening the nut on the outside. Unless the jack body is firmly prevented from rotating, tightening the outside nut rotates the whole jack, pulling on the wiring until a wire snaps. The wires are often very tiny and don't put up much resistance to being yanked. There are a couple little tools that will go into the jack from outside, press firmly on the sides of the socket to hold it firmly and allow the outer nut to be tightened without rotating the jack body. One is the String Swing CC18 tool. Easy as can be to use it.
Thank You for your tech tips. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
You saved my life thanks... One diagram i had it had the hot jack in ground..omg they are terrible it was opposite in jack thanks bro
Thank you. Very helpfull.
Thanks for helping me fix my guitar!
Great info! It would be worth mentioning how to isolate where the hum/buzz is coming from in your signal chain and determining if the problem is in the guitar itself or somewhere further down the line. It can drive a person mad, for sure!
Well, wouldn’t you just try plugging the guitar straight into your amp first to see if the buzz remains? If it does not, investigate signal chain. From there, start removing pedals one at a time, then two at a time, etc, until buzz source(s) in signal chain (has/have) been isolated, I’d think.
Hi,
I can't figure out wether the noise I have is an issue with the building/electrics/grounding or the guitar.
Ive isolated the guitar, going direct to my interface's hardware input, running on external battery (so no computer or mains plugs at all) and their was no noise. Does this mean there isn't a problem with the guitar or would I only get noise if connected to mains anyway, so could still be either? 🤯
Thanks for the explanation.
Great video-all I need to do now is to grow two more arms so I can solder properly. I just never got the knack!
You saved me a trip to my tech! I put new pickups in my Jackson rr1 and couldn’t figure out my ground problem. After getting a multimeter with continuity I found the problem in five minutes. Coated springs!!!! 🤦♂️
Brilliant video, helped me fix it even without the tester tool
That's awesome! Glad to hear that!
//Kris
I have a "Cordoba GK Pro Negra" (nylon sting) with a "Fishman Prefix Pro Blend" acoustic pickup. I bought it in 2015, so it's now 6 years old. Late last week, it developed a hum when plugged into my amp. The hum get worse, the closer my hand came to the piezo and would go away if I would touch the outside ring of the guitar plug socket (the "strap button" on the bottom of the guitar). This told me it was a grounding issue.
So make a long story short, I took it to a repair shop and the repair person predicted it wasn't a loose ground wire, but rather a bad piezo. He said over the years he has NEVER (excuse the caps) seen a Fishman pickup that eventually didn't have a failing piezo in it. It's just part of "doing business" with a Fishman pickup.
It turned out he was right. He replaced the piezo and the guitar was once again right as rain. The cost wasn't too bad... at €70 for the replacement piezo and €30 to install it.
I only mention this because this video focuses on dedicated electric guitars... but acoustic guitars (with pickups) can also have grounding issues. If you have one with a Fishman pickup, don't overlook the high probability that a faulty piezo is the culprit... and not a broken or loose ground wire.
Thanks a lot!! Subscribed 🤘🏻
Cheers Rafa! Thanks a lot! //Kris
Love the SOS msg in demo 👍
You're amazing! I managed to fix my bass
Just purchased Katana 100 Mk II... allowed it to acclimate ( not that it was cold or wet ) before plugging in to the power. Read the manual, turned it on and all was quiet.. till I plugged in the cable ( no guitar yet ) and a loud buzz ensued. I've been searching for an answer beyond the standard plug-in point/ fluorescent lights/ ect ( all of which do not seem to apply ).
It may be a lost cause on this brand new unit, but at least I now have a starting point... believing it may be a ground fault.
Thanks for the well described condition/ analyzation method/ fix.
very helpful video for electronic noobs like myself. The test drive sounded pretty good, too. Many thanks! from Montreal.
Hey man, thanks so much! //Kris
Great video!
Kris, I have a question:
I recently noticed that all my shielded guitars seem to have less top end.
In a Tokai I own, at fist I thought it was the pickups... Swapped them for a set I already had and was quite familiar with.. and nothing. Then I thought it was maybe the pots and capacitors... swapped them for another set I already had and was familiar with and nothing again.
Could it be the shielding paint? The guitar is absurdly well shielded, up to the point that there's literally no hum whatsoever regardless of distortion.
If so, can I sand the shielding paint off?
Thanks a bunch.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching! :) Cheers //Kris
Thank you I’m running right now to fix my issue!,
So great! Thank you! I don't get a connection between the bridge ad the cavity electronics. What do I do?
Off topic but that guitar is straight up beautiful!!
Well shucks! I've got a 90s JagStang that's got that EXACT issue! It also had some bad wiring from the factory, & I've been in there before, but I've had that grounding hum ever since. Very possible I botched a soldering joint, I suppose. (Sigh). Looks like I've got some more work to do! Thanks for the insight!
My guitar starts trembling when I approach the soldering iron! Haha!
Excellent video.
LOL
Cool easy explination thanks. Need to check my grounds but I think my problem is in my pickup switch. Bridge and bridge/neck selection its fine no noise. I put it on just neck it hums like crazy ONLY WHEN TOUCHING THE STRINGS, not when Im not touching them. Never had this issue before