Getting rid of odd guitar noise

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by guitarfreak_106, Jun 20, 2005.

  1. guitarfreak_106

    guitarfreak_106 New Member

    There is a constant hum from my electric guitar whenever I switch to certain patches on my ZOOM 707 II which stops only when I damp all the strings with my palm . Is there anyway to get rid of this? Or is it a problem with the guitar which is a cheap strat copy from J & D (Heard of it?). Also when I play 2 notes one after the other say 12th fret G and then 12th fret B while allowing the G to ring, the 2 notes seem to interfere (only on distortion). Is this normal or again a problem with the guitar? If this is normal how do I damp out the G without affecting the B? If it is just removing the finger from G then it is very different from playing an acoustic guitar (which I am used to playing) where emphasis is on sustaining the notes. Comment… Also how do I get rid of the SQUEAK whenever I shift power chords ?
     
  2. shak

    shak Harrr!

    1)wire your bridge with the earth wire. .
    2)and tell me one more thing .. are u using the purpose made guitar chord or a homemade one?? .. if its a homemade one then SWITCH THE POLARITIES!!
    3) install metal covers over the humbuckers if they are open coil at the mo.
    4) b.t.w have you got single pickups or humbuckers? cuz single will always produce hum ..you cant escape that.
    5) stay away form electrical equipment and turn off the tubelights (flourescent lights) while playing)
    6) earth your amp connection.


    and you cant get rid of the squeak either ... it comes naturally with the wounded strings.
    and the note interference is normal ..dont worry ... different frequencies set up standing waves thats all ... and yeah you can damp that by lightly putting your finger opver that.
    but if the interference is very obvious then its definitely intonation problem ... get your gutiar intonated.
    hope this helps ...
     
  3. chintan9

    chintan9 yay! i won the ipod!

    @Guitar Freak- just reduce the gain on those patches that are noisy or change the amp simulator setiings. This is a very common problem so do not worry.
    Also, while shifting from one power chord to another, do not slide(the squeak will go).
     
  4. xulfi

    xulfi New Member

    can i play guitar near my TV about da distance of 4 feet or not and what is da best place for playing an electric guitar plz help me i had da same problem da guitar sounds very strangely when it was lying or standing it sound like when loudspeaker "tooooooooooooooooonnn"" plz help :(
     
  5. ssslayer

    ssslayer Banned

    well that "toooooooooooooooooooooooo" noise will come if u keep yer guitar in the vicinity of the speaker ...
    same thing if u keep the mic in front of the speaker ...
    this will be more significant if the gain is kept high ...

    just move the damn guitar away from the speaker ...
     
  6. death angel

    death angel the messenger from hell

    is Shahrukh the only person who knows how guitars work, everyone else is just giving hit and trial methods....
    basically youve to keep away from magnets, including those in speakers, the electromagnetic waves emitted from electronic stuff (due to resistances) which will be present EVERYWHERE, so basically if you want a "perfect" recording go to a studio or the grand canyon!
     
  7. xulfi

    xulfi New Member

    hshahhahaha nice one death angel no its not that only shahrukh is but i was only asking ur opinion is also very awsum this is also for u slayer.....keeep rocking
     
  8. shak

    shak Harrr!

    tooooon sound is becuz of the feedback .. stay away from the amplifier (or the speakers) .. that whould help .. and try reducing the gain if it still makes the sound ..
     
  9. guitarfreak_106

    guitarfreak_106 New Member

    Thanks for the solution. Just a few more questions.
    shahrukh:
    5) The noise definitely reduced when i switched of the computer from which I read the tabs. There is some noise still though on certain patches.
    4) That may be because I have a S-S-H configuration. There is noise even when I select the humbucker alone.
    6) amp connection is earthed.
    1) how on do I wire the bridges?
    2) If u r referring to the guitar cables, it is probably home made cause I got it free with the guitar. How do I change the polarities?
    3) Metal Covers? I have to check the availability.

    I don't here the squeak from seasoned guitar players. About Chintan's advice (don't slide), Isn't sliding common?. I will attach an audio file. Notice the 3rd and 4th phrases. Thats where the interference comes into play. Just tell me if my guitar needs to be intonated. It doesn't happen for the first two phrases because my pinky does not come down on the 3rd string vertically and hence it automatically damps out the 2nd string when I play a note in the 3rd string. For the 3rd and 4th phrase I use my middle finger which does not touch the 2nd string when I paly a note on the 3rd string.
     

    Attached Files:

  10. shak

    shak Harrr!

    1) how to wire the bridge ... tell me if its a floating tremolo or hard tail? .. in either case it "should" be wired to ground already ... to check just open the control cavity (or take of the pick guard if its strat style) you should see a "single" wire going into the bridge (hard tail) or soldered to the tremolo springs (vintage tremolo) or again goin to the tremolo cavity (floyd).... the wire would be single and would be coming from the earth connection.
    just tug lightly on it, if it gives that means that the connection has been broken, see if you can repair it or take it to a luthier to do that for you, its a 5 minute job shouldnt be expensive ... (mendin bridge wire for hard tail bridges is very difficult, i wont recommend that at all)
    2) yes, i was refering to the guitar cables,
    open the cable jack (hold the pin and twist the metal cover it should like a screw, the cover should come off) ..
    now refer to the attached image ...
    the wires will be already soldered, just remove them, switch and re-solder... i.e the wire which was attatched to the tip should now be soldered to the sleeve and vice versa, it might not work but IS worth a try.

    3) yeah get one for your humbucker ... i doubt you'll find any for the single coils.


    another thing ... you know the aluminium foil right? take some white glue and line the inside of the control cavity with aluminium foil, the cavities are painted with graphite paint to cancel out the hum but sometimes it chips away, so aluminium foil is next best thing ..

    squeaking is very common, harmonics and squeaking depends largely on the position and nature of the humbuckers/pickups, if you think that your guitar is picking up way tooo much squeak, dont worry at all, just turn down the gain a bit, actually there is nothin that can be done about squeaking i think ... i dunno if others have some ideas ..
    (try light wound strings ????)
     
    DrSaurabh likes this.
  11. guitarfreak_106

    guitarfreak_106 New Member

    Can anyone tell me if my guitar needs to be intonated. Notice the interference in 3rd and 4th phrase in the sample I attached in the previous post. Is it really bad?
     
  12. sudhin

    sudhin New Member

    i did not listen in but the most common cause for intonation problems is old strings. Always test intonation only after new strings are fitted. Setting intonation is a simple job on a decent guitar - just 5 minutes with a screwdriver adjusting the saddles and you are up and running.
     
  13. sudhin

    sudhin New Member

    heres another hint - string squeek is in fact a sound that many synths and samplers offer to make unreal sounding samples sound real - so squeeks are good if you look at it naturally. Use flat wound strings if squeeking is geeting you down or you dont like the sound, flatwounds will solve that but not be as lively as roundwounds are - life is full of compromises. Add GLISS a silicon based product that is a string lubricant and fret life preserver - approx. 75 bucks at most good music stores like furtados mumbai or Pro Music, chennai.

    Computer monitors shoot photons at you all day and cause great interference with your pick ups. Its basis knowledge with all computer based musicians to hit the place your cursor when you start recording and switch off the monitor and start recording. Hit the stop button when done and switch on the monitor. This is painful but the only way out - no hits and misses method here.

    Use good cable not home made stuff. Silence has a price for guitarists. Finally earthing hum is the most common problem - all houses in India are poorly earthed if at all, believe me. Ground the power socket that you commonly use with a seperate earth cable to ground externaly and solve your problem once and for all.
     
  14. rust_in_pain

    rust_in_pain <:Rising Rockstar:>

    very informative shahrukh and sudhin..

    shahrukh...u seem to have done a phd in applied guitaring hehe
     
  15. shak

    shak Harrr!

    intonation only has a pronounced effect on the tone after 12th fret, to check simply tune your guitar using the relative tuning method, then shift the octave and again check the tuning .. ( first tune with open string then capo the 12th fret and again check the tuning as if the capo was the nut so for example if you were tuning A relative to low E then first fret lowE at 5th fret and open A, strum and tune, then capo 12th, fret at 17th fret and open A (that will be 12th A cuz its capo'd)strum, if your guitar seems to be out fo tune, then adjust the saddles until you get clean tuned guitar, ... do the same for all strings)
     
  16. xulfi

    xulfi New Member

    hey shahrukh shud i pack my guitar after playing it or not.means k when i play my guitar i packed my guitar in a lather cover,and pack my processor too in its own case.and leads too..so is it good or not shud i pack after playing or rather be lying it open..
     
  17. shak

    shak Harrr!

    protect it all you can, if you have the hardcase, thats better, but softcase or gigbag would do just as fine, the guitar will be protected form the dust and mositure.. so its a good thing ...
     
  18. deathdr_87

    deathdr_87 Awesome Guitarist

    just make sure that if its in asoftcase u dont leave it lying againsdt a wall (thats leaning against a wall) coz itll damage ur neck.

    some simple thingsto do - which almost always work - im sure theyve een covered here

    mover ur guitar away from amp
    move amp, guitar, etc.. away from computers and mst other electronic devices,

    get good cables

    clean the connection pointswith a dry cloth

    make sure connections are tight

    get the point at which u plug ur cable into the guitar checked y a pro.. sometimes that could ahve come loose
     

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