MSA 60 Cycle Hum

Ian Kelman · Post by **Ian Kelman** » 7 Mar 2011 1:14 pm

I found an old 1974 MSA Sidekick in pretty decent shape, except for a pretty buzzy pickup. I am looking into either swapping out the pickup or possibly get a EHX Hum Debugger http://www.ehx.com/products/hum-debugger.

Any comments or suggestions on the matter?

Thanks in advance.

- Ian

Stephen Cordingley · Post by **Stephen Cordingley** » 7 Mar 2011 7:34 pm

I have a Carter with Trutones - same problem.
The HumX plug adaptor didn't work for me (haven't tried the pedal).
I'm going to take it to my psg repair guy; if it doesn't improve, I'll go to a George L humbucker (E66 sounds nice in my other steel.)
Some single coil noise is inevitable, apparently. Some have tried moving the steel away from the adaptors and from the amp to get rid of the 60 cycle hum. Some say try a dedicated circuit in your house.

To me, the fact that the solder tree (the posts to which the wires are soldered) is unshielded leaves you wide open to hum. Maybe a better solder job will help cut down the noise and hum.
I, too, am open to suggestions.

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 7 Mar 2011 9:04 pm

I just put a George L E66 in mine, no noise!

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 8 Mar 2011 9:05 am

Single coils will reproduce any magnetic interference in the environment, it's the nature of the beast, particulalrly with PSG pickups, which tend to be more sensitive than the smaller coils used in six-string guitars. Do a forum search and you will find hours of discussion about this issue and what to do about it, some sage advice and some utter nonsense all mixed together but all of it worth reviewing before you go out and spend more money.