Hi people. So, I bought a new pickup (EMG-85) and installed it according to the simplest setting shown in the wiring diagram. I'm using it as an only pickup, with one volume and tone pot and no switches. It works, but I get a viciously hissing buzz whether my amp's on drive or not (on drive it's just louder). I get the buzz with my two different amps, other's a tube, other's a transistor, and using two different cables. Now, I can solder, so there's no colds believe me. The only thing I can come up with is my cable jacks. I think they're mono. Should they be stereo? Thanks in advance.
regardless of how good of a solderer you are, get a tester and check the connections. The cables are generally mono, yes. This should be an easy thing to test.. as long as your amp is properly grounded, play with it plugged in. i'm assuming the strings aren't needed to reproduce the buzz.
next, swap it in with another pickup with simple connector cables, no soldering required after other one is removed to test the health of the circuits.
also, just to check, if this is a single coil, have you worked with single coils before? They gnereally buzz and you shift hyour angle in respect to lights and monitors to cancel it.
next, swap it in with another pickup with simple connector cables, no soldering required after other one is removed to test the health of the circuits.
also, just to check, if this is a single coil, have you worked with single coils before? They gnereally buzz and you shift hyour angle in respect to lights and monitors to cancel it.
Well, the pickup uses 25K pots, whereas my older pickups were hooked up with 500K pots (the manufacturer recommends 250K as a minimum), and the wires that came with the EMG are mostly attached to a connector that goes to the pickup. You get the picture. The pickup has two coils. I'll get the stereo cable and the tester and see if I can work something out.
Have you checked your grounds and shielding?
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming......
like the passengers in his car.
Have you checked your grounds and shielding?
There's only one wire with a cover that goes to the back of the volume pot.
"When installing EMG Pickups, DO NOT reconnect the bridge ground wire."
"EMG Pickups are shielded internally and do not require string grounding."
Thus states the installation information paper. The guitar jack that came with the pickup is stereo... Well, I bought a stereo cable, and it was even worse. The buzz was twice as loud. Curiously, after I plugged in my other cable there was no buzz with my transistor amp anymore. Another new feature is that when playing on my tube amp, if my hand touches the pickup the buzz diminishes. The same occurs when I touch some screws on my tube head (eh, hardware of course :wink: ).
If you touch the pickup and the hum decreases, it's definitely a ground problem.
You say you hooked up a stereo jack and the hum is worse...but when you plug in your mono jack you get no hum? Could this be because you're shorting one of the connections? I don't know your wiring schematic so I wouldn't be able to help you there.
As many others have pointed out, changing location and/or circuit will generally change the problem. 60-cycle hum (or 50, if you're in Europe...?) is difficult to alleviate, but if you're sitting under a light or next to a computer or something, try moving.
Is there a reason besides internal shielding that EMG recommends not ground the pickups to the strings? You might try that anyway and see what happens. Worst case scenario (I believe) is that you'd be creating a possible ground loop...but do not heed my words unless you are absolutely sure, as I am not.
Wait.
You said hum diminishes when you touch your amp as well? Hmm...is the amp grounded? You'd better plug into a different outlet. Try it! You might be on the same breaker as something that causes a lot of hum. It can be hard to avoid, but try out different outlets and see what happens.
-lunchmeat
You say you hooked up a stereo jack and the hum is worse...but when you plug in your mono jack you get no hum? Could this be because you're shorting one of the connections? I don't know your wiring schematic so I wouldn't be able to help you there.
No buzz with my transistor amp, but it pops the same way when I touch a screw on it, so the problem's still there.
Is there a reason besides internal shielding that EMG recommends not ground the pickups to the strings? You might try that anyway and see what happens. Worst case scenario (I believe) is that you'd be creating a possible ground loop...but do not heed my words unless you are absolutely sure, as I am not.
You said hum diminishes when you touch your amp as well? Hmm...is the amp grounded? You'd better plug into a different outlet. Try it! You might be on the same breaker as something that causes a lot of hum. It can be hard to avoid, but try out different outlets and see what happens.
I wonder why this didn't cross my mind... I live in a quite old building and my room has no outlets with ground contacts 8) , but I tried a grounded outlet in our hallway and the buzz was gone. I'm still bothered, though. If there's voltage in the amp case and the hellish buzz when plugged into a groundless outlet, doesn't that mean there's a malfunction? Or were my former pickups so much weaker and therefore didn't buzz?
Anyway, here's the wiring diagram:
Not even a monkey could screw this up.
Ahaha...i bet I could screw that up pretty easily. :D
If there's voltage in the amp case and the hellish buzz when plugged into a groundless outlet, doesn't that mean there's a malfunction?
That doesn't make that much sense...because the amp isn't designed to be a ground. It's designed to send the ground back to the outlet. The chassis isn't an infinite ground. (I don't think.)
As for teh new pickups, perhaps it's due to the new wiring schematic. I honestly don't know. I really don't know nearly as much as I should about these things - I just use logic and hope that it applies tot he task at hand. :P
-lunchmeat
I suspect that the EMG pickups are double insulated, i.e. totally insulated from ground, the advice from the instructions make sense in pertaining to the wiring.
If the ground wire to the bridge is not connected, the strings are isolated from the signal path, and therefore, prevents a completion to ground if the polarity of the amp is reversed and protects you from shock.
It sounds like your outlets do not have a third ground leg, this is a safety issue, if something like a metal chassis of an amplifier with a two prong outlet has the plug inserted backwards it will make the chassis "hot", it will work, but the ground of the guitar is also connected to this "hot" side. You hold your guitar and then touch some thing that is grounded you complete the circuit with your body, a shocking experience.
This is why most amps have a three prong plug with different width blades.
Two prong plugs also have different widths and newer outlets are equipped with the same configuration. It makes sure that the positive side is connected to the positive and vice-versa!
It also makes everything quieter, all noise and unwanted signals are connected to ground. If you have a three prong adapter, connect the wire from that to a water pipe or other ground and you'll probably be surprised at how many problems get corrected.
I hate to say this but your house wiring probably needs to be upgraded.
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming......
like the passengers in his car.
Hi, I'm actually having a very similar problem with a guitar I just bought. It's a strat whose previous owner replaced the bridge pickup with a PRS Humbucker (don't remember the model ATM). I'm also getting buzz and noise whenever I touch one of the pickup screws, but I can remedy this by sort of tapping and shifting the PRS until the noise is gone, kinda like an antenna, hahaha. I'm no expert in electronics, but I can manage replacing things and soldering with simple instructions. If any one have a suggestion on what to look at, please shoot.
