Strange Kalimba pickup ground noise - help!

[Strauzzie]

Hi all -

I just got a Kalimba with a pickup and brought it home to try out a little direct-in recording. I was dismayed to hear a huge amount of buzz when connected to my Mackie mixer. The weird thing is that I can pretty much eliminate the buzz by putting my bare foot on the metal leg of the desk where my equipment (including the mixer & monitors) is setup. Alternately, I get the same effect by putting one hand on the 19" metal rack with the mackie on it. Touching the metal on a different desk does nothing.

Can anyone tell me why this is happening? And if there is any solution that doesn't involve me contorting my bare limbs to touch metal while recording?

thanks in advance,

- Mark Strauss

[cichy]

I have the same problem with my Kalimba. Its typical grounding issue.

my solution - keep grounding wire in hand (around wrist bo be able to play)

but recording via pickup not mic suffers from loosing the real sound of instruments and details of sound

[Strauzzie]

Originally Posted by cichy

I have the same problem with my Kalimba. Its typical grounding issue.

my solution - keep grounding wire in hand (around wrist bo be able to play)

but recording via pickup not mic suffers from loosing the real sound of instruments and details of sound

interesting, thanks. do you think this problem is limited to the specific type of pickup in the kalimba? I'm wondering if getting a ground wire installed in my house would help. Do you have true grounded outlets in the place where you're experiencing the same issues?

[Wavebourn]

Nothing strange, just bad shielding somewhere: or the pickup is not shielded, or some long wires inside of the guitar, or some controls. Some adhesive foil is your friend.