Hum in Amp and Guitar?

[dumbassbob]

Another question that I was wondering is did you just start to notice this recently or had a change or residence? I mean did you just ignore the hum for a while and then finally get bothered that now you are wanting to fix it? One word of advice to all is to not use coated strings and especially w/ tune-o-matic bridges. Recently, I had tested these coated strings for continuity and they had none at all until that coating was scraped off. Not saying that is what is going on here but thought it was funny trying to figure out why this guitar was humming so bad. Looked at all the ways that ground was made through the entire guitar and all that was left was the strings.

I did put new strings on And only latly has it been really this bad

[dumbassbob]

Thanks,I will try different cords but it is livable until I use a Overdrive then the Ocean seems to be in the Amp It really bugging me

[Chuck H]

If adding the overdrive adds the problem... Then adding the overdrive brings the problem. Hiss and high frequency buzz are common with increased gain. I suspect it has more to do with how your using the gear (which isn't necessarily wrong) than an actual problem with the gear. You may like to try adding a noise gate to your rig.

[big_teee]

It would be nice to Know?
Maybe I missed it, but is the guitar a Single coil fender type guitar?
You mention Hiss, which model is the Marshall in question.
Usually with Hiss it is a Master Volume Model.
2203, and 2204s hiss when the Preamp is turn up.
Some hum when the Mas. Vol is turned up.
It sounds like a single coil guitar with a Master Vol. Amp?
Correct me if this is wrong?
If it is a SC Guitar with high gain amp and lots of emf and lighting 60hz Noise, It doesn't sound like the ideal Scenario?
B_T

[DrGonz78]

What type of strings did you put on?

[tedmich]

there are more exotic ways to address guitar hum/grounding issues


sillier too

[J M Fahey]

It sounds like a *guitar*, not amp problem.
That's why it depends so much on the OD pedal.
Of course you may live in an electrically noisy or "dirty" house, and your guitar just picks it up.
But in any case it's not an amp problem.
To be more certain, use your OD pedal with a battery, instead of a wall wart. Any change?

[dumbassbob]

It would be nice to Know?
Maybe I missed it, but is the guitar a Single coil fender type guitar?
You mention Hiss, which model is the Marshall in question.
Usually with Hiss it is a Master Volume Model.
2203, and 2204s hiss when the Preamp is turn up.
Some hum when the Mas. Vol is turned up.
It sounds like a single coil guitar with a Master Vol. Amp?
Correct me if this is wrong?
If it is a SC Guitar with high gain amp and lots of emf and lighting 60hz Noise, It doesn't sound like the ideal Scenario?
B_T

100 w.SLP Marshall No MV, 53 Tele,Strat with S coil and a rear Hbucker 67 Vee All are doing it

[dumbassbob]

My Output jack was just a tiny bit loose, I will try the No wallwart today,turning down the volume has helped a little I will be back Thanks alot for the help,Some times you don't see the ovious.

[dumbassbob]

The OP mentions that taking his hands off the strings has an effect. He also mentions that if he touches metal parts on the back of the amp it has an effect. So I'm inclined to think that there is continiuty through the guitar strings. Possibly too much ground is relying on the guitar itself and making ground loops? Bad peamp ground then? Or maybe the guitar cable or an effects cable shield is faulted at one end? So try a different guitar cord. Remove any effects from the situation. Isolate the problem as much as possible and develop a clear image of the problems manifestation and behavior.

With nothing else in line it is not near as bad until I use a OD pedal It is a 100watt Marshall Plexi

[Chuck H]

If you only have the problem with the OD pedal in use then I would speculate that it's gain related noise and magnified EM noise. You could try turning your amp down and turning the pedal output up to eliminate some headroom related noise. The closer you are to your headroom limit the lower the noise floor... Typically. You may also want to try a noise gate of some kind.

It would be good to do some comparisons with other gear at similar volume and gain levels to see how much of what your hearing is normal. Be certain to compare humbuckers to humbuckers and single coils to single coils, etc.

[dumbassbob]

If you only have the problem with the OD pedal in use then I would speculate that it's gain related noise and magnified EM noise. You could try turning your amp down and turning the pedal output up to eliminate some headroom related noise. The closer you are to your headroom limit the lower the noise floor... Typically. You may also want to try a noise gate of some kind.

It would be good to do some comparisons with other gear at similar volume and gain levels to see how much of what your hearing is normal. Be certain to compare humbuckers to humbuckers and single coils to single coils, etc.

All my guitar do it in the Marshall..With No pedals it is livable ,but as soon as I use a OD it makes a humm,but if I keep my hands ON the guitar it is not too bad...With my Rack System.....(Furman Power Filtertube preamp 3 delays ,reverb, Flanger/Chorus,Pitch Transformer and a reactive load and 50 watt power amp) it is OK you can hear a tiny bit of hisss,but not like the Amp

[Chuck H]

This is going around in circles now. Are we talking about hiss, or hum, or both but under different circumstances? Let's try to tackle one thing at a time from here. Hiss and hum are two different problems. So if we try to lump them together when talking about circumstances it gets confusing. Let's start with the hum. Is it actually hum or a low pitch buzz? And what makes it happen?

[J M Fahey]

Set your system up to play. Play a few chords.
What happens when you set all your guitar volume and tone pots to zero?
Any change?
Does hum stay the same or lower?
Does hiss stay the same or lower?
Does buzz stay the same or lower?

[dumbassbob]

This is going around in circles now. Are we talking about hiss, or hum, or both but under different circumstances? Let's try to tackle one thing at a time from here. Hiss and hum are two different problems. So if we try to lump them together when talking about circumstances it gets confusing. Let's start with the hum. Is it actually hum or a low pitch buzz? And what makes it happen?

It seems to be both? when there is no FX on you hear a lite hum that seems to be normal for a plexi marshall when I use a OD it sounds like loud Hiss,But noe my Rack is doing it and it is Not hooked up to the marshall,Before yesterday I never heard any hiss unless I used the High gain Hot (all 4 tubes) in the rack preamp Also some times when I drive the Marshall on vol,4 with OD the surge protector ac plug would flash,And I still have the ground problem with my Strat neck and bridge Pups Driving me nuts...Am I making sense?