Noise issue, desperate for HELP PLEASE

[Nick Guetti]

I have a noise issue that is driving me bonkers, and need help figuring out what to do about it. The noise is a constant buzz that is noticeable at all times, but usually manageable; without a compressor, the noise gate in my amp seems to take care of it unless I'm using a phaser effect or something, and even then it's not too bad. The trouble is that compression is an essential part of my sound, and my compressor magnifies the buzz to unbearable levels, especially at higher volumes at which I play with other people, and in this case the noise gate is useless.

My rig is thus: 1) The guitar (a Godin LG with P90 pickups...yes, they are single coil, but should they make THIS much noise??); 2) a brand new Mogami Gold 18' cable; 3) a unity-gain buffer/line driver (Fryette Valvulator I); 4) the compressor (a Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone that I bought used); 5) an octave divider (Boss OC-3); 6) a modified Tube Screamer (Ibanez TS9 w/808 mod); 7) an overdrive/distortion pedal (Boss OS-2); 8) a Monster Rock 3' cable; and 9) the small amp (a Fender Mustang I with various effects settings).

The noise happens at different locations, but not ALL locations (for instance, not in Guitar Center, so nobody there can help me), so it's something to do with building wiring? If I bypass ALL my effects and the buffer and just go straight to the amp, the noise is still there, but no worse than your typical 60-cycle hum that you would expect. Nor does it seem to be exacerbated by the buffer or any effects other than the compressor, at least not to an intolerable degree. But please note that even the compressor does not make this happen everywhere (i.e., not in Guitar Center). On the other hand, I have used a circuit tester on the outlet I'm plugged into, and it reads correct.

I have tried isolating EVERYTHING, to no useful conclusion. I have tried adding a Furman power conditioner to the rig: no change whatsoever, so I returned it and went back to using a regular power strip. It is clear that the noise is coming from the guitar itself, but it is not clear why the noise should be of such a nature that I can't use my compressor at all; in any case, the one repair guy I took the guitar to can find nothing wrong. My next step, I guess, will be to take the compressor into a shop to have IT taken apart and looked at, to what avail I hesitate to hope. If that does fail, the only options I can think of are: 1) simply not using the compressor, which is extremely irksome; and 2) trading in my guitar for another, which would break my heart as the Godin is one of the nicest axes I've ever heard.

If anybody has any other suggestions, nothing is too crazy at this point.

[SpareRibs]

Buzz

Hello,
Check the amp!!!!!!!!!!!

[g1]

How about trying other guitars? Sounds like you are pretty sure it is the guitar and that seems correct to me. Single coils pick up more noise so it makes sense that some locations would be worse than others. Perhaps you could get the shielding in the guitar improved, that may help some. And I would think the compressor will only make the noise more noticeable.

[dai h.]

is the noise the same with other guitars (single coil and humbucker-equipped)? IOW, is it the specific guitar or just single coils (which will be noisier by design).

[Enzo]

First, turn on the amp, but don't plug ANYTHING into the input jacks. No cords, no tuners, no floor toys, nothing. Does it still make the noise? If so, then yes, the amp is making the noise. If this is quiet, then the amp is probably OK.


Plug into it, it makes the noise. Now turn the guitar volume control to zero. Does the noise go away or stay? IF turning the guitar to zero kills the noise, the noise is coming from the guitar.


If the noise is already in the system and the compressor makes it worse, that is not probably the compressor's fault. A compressor reduces the dynamic range by turning up the soft parts and turning down the loud parts - more or less. SO one might expect it to increase background noise. And if the noise is environmental, and not present somewhere, then the compressor has nothing to make worse.


When it is making the noise, turn side to side with the guitar - "aim" the guitar different directions. If it makes a difference which way the guitar faces, then the guitar is picking up the noise from its environment. Why won;t it happen at Guitar Center? perhaps their flourescent lights are 30 feet over your head, while in your basement they are two feet over your head. And you may have an electrically noisy environment at home. Just because you have a AC conditioner on your mains power, that won;t do anything for noise radiated through the air.


And if it is the guitar, there may be some grounding or shielding to be done that might help.

[Nick Guetti]

It's not the amp

Hello,
Check the amp!!!!!!!!!!!

The rig, minus the amp, does the same thing no matter what amp it's plugged into.

[SpareRibs]

Noise

Hello,
Are you using any transformers to power your effects? I know my phone charger causes a lot
of noise problems plugged into the same circuit. Maybe you could check those if you are using them.

[Nick Guetti]

Thanks Enzo.

It's not the amp. The noise IS coming from the guitar. It doesn't matter which way the guitar is pointing, and there are no fluorescent lights near the rig or anywhere in the building. All nearby outlets check out correct. Still, we do have a lot of gizmos around here, and I think you are probably right that a grounding/shielding issue in the guitar's wiring is what needs fixed.

What are the normal procedures for doing this? ARE there any that are known to alleviate this kind of problem? And, would it make sense to get a separate modification done (replacing the bridge Duncan custom P90 pup with a Dimarzio DP162, which I wanted to do at some point anyway) at the same time? On one hand, I'd want to wait on the new pickup until I knew the guitar wasn't a lost cause; on the other hand, the DP162 is a humbucking soapbar that might cancel out the noise on at least the half of the guitar where I like to use the compressor and the tube screamer together the most.

But, and this might be especially true if Enzo is right, it may not be the pickups themselves that are buzzing so much! When I move the switch around between neck, mixed and bridge positions, the noise is still there no matter what, but its quality changes just as does the quality of any sound the guitar makes. Maybe it's something in the post-pickup wiring? And this is supported by the fact that people DO use compressors with single-coil guitars and don't have this kind of a problem. Or do they? Has anybody ever heard of compression being counter-indicated (non-compatible) with single coils?

[Nick Guetti]

The #3 component of my rig is a V1 line driver (a tube-powered unity-gain buffer and power source), and yes, all my pedals are powered by it. But I've already tried isolating it out, and it uses a ground LIFT in any case. The whole rig minus the V1 still makes the noise.

[Nick Guetti]

And that's with the effects plugged straight into the power strip instead of into the power strip via the V1.

[Rhodesplyr]

The noise IS coming from the guitar. It doesn't matter which way the guitar is pointing.

To me, this is the critical observation. I'm not a real guitar player, but I can't recall seeing a single-coil noise problem that wasn't significantly affected by turning 90 degrees. My house has some quirky 1947 wiring in some areas that drives single coils crazy.

Has anyone checked the internal wiring of your guitar? One bad solder joint is all it takes.

[Nick Guetti]

Here are some recent developments.

My local top-dog guitar repair expert, who I just located, says it is totally natural for P90s and compressors to not agree with each other. P90s are widely considered to be the nicest-sounding pickups around, but they are also known to be the noisiest of the single-coil breed and will hum through a comp like a nest of angry hornets. He says that you can't really "fix" this, but you can do stuff about it.

Here's what I intend to try, and please let me know what y'all think. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can get started.

1) Replace the Duncan P90 at the bridge with the Dimarzio DP162 I mentioned above when I responded to Enzo. I've wanted to do this for a while anyway, but it wasn't as high a priority as it is now. I think the bridge sound could be improved anyway--just made a little tighter and punchier--and the bridge is my high-sustain/tube-screamer position as well (for neck OD I tend to use the Boss pedal with no compression). The DP162 is a dual-coil soapbar pup, so the dimensions are correct and it should cancel the hum when the selector switch is to the right. So that should take care of half the problem. The other half, a couple weeks later, will be...

2) Suppress the noise from the neck pickup (and/or any remaining noise from funky wiring) with a high-quality device. I have no intention of replacing the neck pickup, as it has the nicest tone of any neck pups I've heard. And I DO want to use the compressor on it some, if not as much as on the bridge. So I'm going to try a suppressor pedal, which will be inserted either immediately before or after the compressor. The Doc says to get an ISP Decimator, so unless anyone can suggest a better one...?

It is both a relief and a bummer to think that the issue has to do with the inherent nature of this type of guitar: a bummer that it can't be "cured", but a relief that it isn't really anything "wrong" and it can be "treated". We'll see. Anyway, the pickup replacement will be the first mod I've ever done, so pointers on that are also welcome. Thanks!!!

[pdf64]

The rehearsal building I use is right by a rail track, and the buzz from it makes the use of regular single coils intolerable - strat and P90 LP.
It even breaks through a little on regular humbuckers when a train passes by.
I've had good results with Kinman PUs (trad II strat set and a HX90 set); a really excellent vintage type tone and significant reduction in buzzy interference, though still more than regular humbuckers.
Pete.

[Steve Conner]

I used to rehearse in a place like that! We would be playing happily, and our guitars would all start to buzz and whistle, and then a minute or so later the train would come rumbling past.

Single coil pickups are always going to cause trouble with high gain, whether it's achieved through distortion or compression. But they sound so nice in the neck position.

[Nick Guetti]

Have you ever tried any of these double-coil humbucking soapbars? I've never seen/played a guitar that has them, and it would be interesting to know how well they do what they're supposed to before I install one. Of course, the worst that can happen is I don't like it and switch back again, but still...