Noisey Strings.

[tacobobbo]

OK.......first I'm new to the boards, so hi all . Secondly and probably more importantly, I'm pretty ignorant of electronics. Especially GUITAR electronics. Anyway, couple quick questions, is there anyway to stop the guitar from humming when the strings arent being touched? I'm using the Fender HOT Noiseless pickups which are quiet, but if I'm not touching the strings/tuners/bridge I get a hum. I'm using the stock Am Std wiring except I removed the stock pups and replaced them with the Noiseless ones. Oh, and my guitar IS shielded with copper foil. OK, second question......what VOLTAGE capacitors should be used with guitar pickups. There are lots of places that say the mf's and what they do and what to use with which pots, but I cant find anything that says which voltage to use. I walked into my local electronics store to get some and they asked the voltage. Of course I gave the blank "HUH?" stare and they rolled their eyes at me, so anyway, any help I can get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Bob

[vonFrenchie]

I'm not sure about the hum. My guitar does it from time to time so I always touch the strings (just to keep them from vibrating too).

But any capacitor will be fine. If you have an active setup it should be greater than 18volts. I have a 50v capacitor in my guitar. A friend of mine has a 25 volt capacitor. The voltage of a capacitor really doesnt matter. I once tested my guitar's voltage and I got somewhere between >1 and 1.5 volts. If you look for one just say greater than 50 volts to be safe. If you're using the capacitor as the shielding cap (like in QTB) it should be the schematic's recommended value or higher. But as a tone... like I said passive guitars dont use high voltages.

[tacobobbo]

OK.........so is it just the nature of the beast and there is nothing that can be done to stop the string hum? I asked that question on another forum and got the answer to turn my volume switch to zero, which basically told me there is nothing that can be done, but I want to ask as many people as I can, before I throw in the towel. In the past it didnt really bother me, but now in my quest for "NO HUM", I'm trying to find whatever ways I can to get rid of ALL extraneous noise. Thanks for your help.
Bob

[UnklMickey]

Bob,

this might seem completely over the top, but....


since you're just "a big ol' bucket o' noise" ( ),
you might try to ground yourself to the strings, even when you aren't touching the guitar.

you might accomplish this with one of those anti-static wrist bands (on your fretting wrist) with a lead that plugs into your guitar.


unk

[tacobobbo]

Thanks Unk. Never been called a noisebucket before, but seems I am. ;D.Actually the idea for the grounding band was a good one. I did try it but, it still didnt help. It WAS worth a try tho. Was hoping ya came across the great idea for 2006, but alas: no. Anyway, I appreciate the info. Thanks.
Bob