| Author |
Topic: pickup hum |
Danny Harrell
From:
Livingston, Louisiana, USA
|
Posted 30 Oct 2005 3:39 pm |
|
| I recently put my old single coil Emmons pickups back on my LeGrande. I had been using Bill Lawrence 710 pickups. The 710 pickups had NO hum. My single coils have a that common hum in the studio. Anyone had any luck with using something like the Ebtech hum eliminator for the studio? The hum filter on my Profex will cut it out but I lose so much of my tone. Just thought I would throw this out for suggestions. The Emmons Pickups were put back on when I sent my guitar back to Emmons. I like the old single coil sound, but need to get rid of the hum. I appreciate any input and suggestions if anyone has found a solution to the age old problem of single coil hum. |
|
|
|
Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
|
Posted 30 Oct 2005 7:59 pm
|
|
Just a hunch . . .
The EBTech device eliminates ground loops -- like with multiple grounded devices in the signal chain. Works great for that.
I don't believe that it will eliminate single coil pickup hum. It's just something that we single coil guys either learn to live with or force ourselves to accept a humbucker.
I've found a couple of things in the studio. I love to just go direct for overdubs. Lately, I've been using a Black Box and signal processor straight to the board and really like the results. BUT, in a lot of studios these days, there is one or more computer monitor in the control room. The CRT -- or even, to a lesser extent, a LCD, emits a lot of RF. The position of your pickup in relation to these noise generators is VERY IMPORTANT. Sometimes you can cut the hum substantially by just turning your guitar a few degrees in one direction or the other. If that doesn't work, try moving your guitar out of the control room, either mic'ed or direct.
------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
|
|
|
|
richard burton
From:
Britain
|
Posted 30 Oct 2005 10:25 pm
|
|
The only partial solution I've found is to get a single-coil pickup with much less windings than the norm.
The pickup on my Emmons was made for me by Kent Armstrong when he was just starting out building pickups, and I was just starting out building steels.
It's very low output compared to standard gives less hum and more clarity.
 |
|
|
|
John Daugherty
From:
Rolla, Missouri, USA
|
Posted 31 Oct 2005 5:30 am
|
|
Danny, the location of your Profex with relation to your pickup, can also cause hum. Try moving and turning you equipment. Also, try a good quality cord. I have changed cords when I had a problem and found that I was using a defective cord.
You can also try isolating the ground on the Profex by using a 3-prong to 2-prong AC adaptor on the power cord.
Sometimes it helps to tweak the input and output levels on the Profex for minimum hum.
------------------
www.phelpscountychoppers.com/steelguitar
|
|
|
|
Danny Harrell
From:
Livingston, Louisiana, USA
|
Posted 31 Oct 2005 6:15 am
|
|
Thanks guys for the input. It seems to be much worse in the studio. I have tried all these things. Different cords, moving the guitar, and swapping grounds. Under stage or home conditions, the hum is not nearly as bad. It seems to multiply by 10 in the studio to the point of not being able to record. I have not tried an adaptor on the Profex wall wart, maybe this will help. My amp was in another room in the studio, and my guitar was not in the control room. However, the studio is all digital! I appreciate the input, if all fails, I can always reinstall the 710 pickups and keep going, I just really like the single coil sound the best. Thanks again for the input, I appreciate it.
Danny Harrell
Livingston, LA.
Emmons LeGrande D-10 8&5
Evans Dual Preamp, Profex II, Nashville 400 |
|
|
|
Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
|
Posted 31 Oct 2005 1:41 pm
|
|
| Hello Danny, I think you'd really look sharp sitting behind a new "C" w/humbuckers. Seriously, I finally just gave up trying to eliminate the single coil hum back when I played single coils. I switched over the GL/BL humbuckers and hadn't a problem. My p/u of choice is the XR-16. You going to sound good regardless of what's on your guitar my friend. See you later! |
|
|
|
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
|
Posted 31 Oct 2005 2:04 pm
|
|
One of the primary reasons to NOT buy cheap effects gear is the wall-warts that the manufacturers use to cut production costs and get UL listing.
Virtually ALL wall-wart power supplies generate spurious magnetic fields - due to the lack of shielding space in those tiny plastic cases - and most of them also introduce nasty spikes into the line for everything else electric to deal with.
Another issue worthy of note is the location of spring reverb tanks - the output transducers can pick up stray fields every bit as well as your guitar's pickups can. |
|
|
|
