clr
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Post by clr on Jan 12, 2008 0:49:06 GMT -5
Hey guys.
My Squire has recently undergone some re constructive surgery..well maybe just a face lift.
I changed the bridge and neck PU for Duncan Hot Rails, and Lace Sensor Burgundies respectively. Supposedly humbucking, and noise reduced, but when I compare them to the middle pickup(Stock) the noise reduction is barely noticeable.
They were easy enough to install, the Rails had black to output, Green/bare to ground, and red/white soldered and taped together.
And the Lace green/white to ground, and orange to output.
Would anyone care to diagnose the problem? I've got (a lot of) pictures of the wiring, so just ask for a certain part, and I'll upload it.
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Post by JohnH on Jan 12, 2008 5:17:30 GMT -5
Seems Ok to me. Do the pickups and combos sound OK, apart from the noise? If you have some pictures, how about posting a couple of overall views to start with? - whatever is clearest for following the wiring
cheers
John
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 12, 2008 13:35:45 GMT -5
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Post by sumgai on Jan 12, 2008 14:38:08 GMT -5
clr, You have other issues going on here. I'd lay dollars to donuts that what you're hearing is not hum from the pups, but from all that loose wiring stretched hither and yon all over the place. This tends to act like an antenna for stray hum and buzz, and humbucking pups can't do a thing about that kind of interference.  And those solder joints.........  Re-heat all of them - most of them look chancy at best. One or two of them looked like they never melted down into a puddle, they're just mounded up like a bee-hive..... not good, sorry to say. While your at that, shorten all the leads to just a little slack, and inch or two. And finally, the pickguard appears to have no shielding. This leads me to guess that you haven't done the "Quieting the Beast" mod, have you. That should be your first line of defense against unwanted noises. The rest of what I said above is still valid and necessary, but this one mod will do more for killing hum/buzz than anything else you can do, ever. ;D HTH sumgai |
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 12, 2008 15:44:15 GMT -5
I've had a look at QTB already (It's why I'm here)
But I'm not comfortable drilling a screw on the body, and gluing foil on the body cavity seems hard. So I just bought hum reduced pups(I'm a guy, throw money at the problem till it's fixed!).
So in short, re-solder the wires, and cut them shorter (Not in that order)
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Post by JohnH on Jan 12, 2008 16:57:16 GMT -5
One thing that should be the case however, is that even without shielding (which is highly recommended), your bridge humbucker should be quieter than your stock single-coil middle pup. If its not, then I think there may be something else missing or incorrect. That could be as a result of a bad joint (its very easy to make a mistake if you've smoked a bad joint  ). Do you have the ground wire to the strings/tremelo/bridge connected? Do all five switch positions sound right, other than noise? Shorter wires will help, but not if theres still a more fundamental problem. John |
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Post by gfxbss on Jan 12, 2008 17:18:37 GMT -5
let us not forget about ground loops guys.
clr,
instead of having a wire going from pot shell to pot shell, have a wire going from each to one shell.
Tyler
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 12, 2008 19:11:49 GMT -5
Do you have the ground wire to the strings/tremelo/bridge connected? Do all five switch positions sound right, other than noise? John The trem/string/bridge are all grounded via 1 orange wire to the volume pot. And Yes, they do. Here's a vid of the hum. The Bridge/Neck do have less hum, but is lesser of the two evils tinypic.com/player.php?v=6xg8938&s=1 |
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Post by JohnH on Jan 12, 2008 19:47:52 GMT -5
That is some nasty hum. Its sounds more of a buzz, with the expected low frequency hum being added in the middle position. As you reduce the volume control, does the noise diminish? Any normal noise on a rightly wired guitar should go to zero at zero volume setting, no matter what pups, wires there are. It seems like the sound of something not connected or not grounded.
Do you have a multimeter? - if so, could you measure resistance across the output (ie, unplug from amp and measure from jack tip to jack barrel on the guitar cord plugged into guitar) - you'll be looking for resistances of up to say 20k, measure with all vol and tones at 10.
If you don't have a multimeter - i suggest getting a cheap digital one, they are the best tool for tracking down wiring problems
John
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 14, 2008 15:14:53 GMT -5
The pickups measured as followed (On the expected 2000k setting)
Neck:9
Middle:6
Bridge:16
I'm not sure about the middle PU, but the neck (Lace Sensor) is supposed to measure up to 8.9K, and the bridge (Duncan hot rails) is supposed to measure to 16.9K on the bridge.
Turning the tone knobs down don't do anything on the resistance.
The volume knob does change the resistance making it higher as you roll off the volume.
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 15, 2008 16:19:16 GMT -5
Btw...
what does this mean about the buzz?
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Post by ChrisK on Jan 15, 2008 19:05:10 GMT -5
I couldn't tell from the video, does the noise reduce when you touch the bridge? Is the guitar cable ok?
What sort of noise source is the guitar positioned under/near?
(CRT monitor, arc welder, incandescent lamp dimmer, noisy fluorescent fixture, old PC, etc..)
As JohnH asked
??
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 15, 2008 22:16:02 GMT -5
The cable seems fine. And you do notice an element to the noise is diminished when you touch the bridge/strings/wammy, but the main chunk of the buzz is still there fluorescent light As JohnH asked [/quote] It does when the volume is rolled all the way off, but when beginning to roll down from 10 the noise seems to get worse. Thanks for the help guys:) ps, here's another video if it's unclear of what I'm trying to describe tinypic.com/player.php?v=6xjx72o&s=1 |
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Post by JohnH on Jan 16, 2008 1:55:37 GMT -5
That last video scared our cat - since the sound level on the speakers had been set for listening to some ACDC previously. Instead, its just AC!
Does it get more sensible if you move away from the fluoro lights? - they are very bad, as are CRT monitors and TVs. And just to prove your guitar cord is OK - if you plug it into the amp with no guitar attached, there should be negligible hum.
Other than that, all your readings check out, so I can't think of anything better than tidying up the wiring and do the shielding.
John
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clr
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Post by clr on Jan 16, 2008 23:29:28 GMT -5
Okay cool. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss to ground anything.
If Buddy Guy can live with a little hum, I think I can too
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Re-heat all of them - most of them look chancy at best. One or two of them looked like they never melted down into a puddle, they're just mounded up like a bee-hive..... not good, sorry to say.
).
