Weirdest thing ever - buzz from guitar when not touching amp

[JustinMac]

For some unknown reason, when I plug in my acoustic guitar into my trident 4T pre-amp, there is a whicked buzz now - howeVER.... when i touch either the trident itself or the metal tips of the quarter-inch with ANY part of my body (and only I myself touching it has worked, no other objects), the buzz dissappears completely. Its like I need to be grounded or something to my amp. Anyone heard of such a problem?

[tINY]

You are a big bag of salt water and that set-up isn't grounded at the face or the guitar.



-tINY

[Chrisc_o]

Originally Posted by tINY

You are a big bag of salt water

NO YOU ARE!!!

[Mike Derrick]

you're just not well grounded

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally Posted by tINY

You are a big bag of salt water and that set-up isn't grounded at the face or the guitar.

-tINY

A brillient reply to an age old question!

Yes, the rig isn't grounded. Touching the metal bits does ground it...

Totally normal. As long as there's no buzz audible when playing (touching the strings) then there's nothing to get concerned over... If there is buzz, then you'll need to ground the guitar jack to the strings.

[Vogon]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

If there is buzz, then you'll need to ground the guitar jack to the strings.

On an electro-acoustic? I didn't think that would work on a UST setup (assuming it's not a magnetic drop-in pickup).
He'd have to ground each string too, with a non-conductive bridge...

Can't he just find a way to better ground the amp?

[jmiller]

In a pinch, I've taken an "anti-static" wristband from radio shack or Fry's and put it on my left wrist, and then clipped the "alligator clamp" onto the 6th string just past the nut. That's more for buzz from not touching the guitar, though. But it's easy and you don't have to put anything down your pants! :)

[Jim Williams]

Originally Posted by jmiller

In a pinch, I've taken an "anti-static" wristband from radio shack or Fry's and put it on my left wrist, and then clipped the "alligator clamp" onto the 6th string just past the nut. That's more for buzz from not touching the guitar, though. But it's easy and you don't have to put anything down your pants! :)

And miss that "tingling" sensation?

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[Randirainbow]

Originally Posted by jmiller

In a pinch, I've taken an "anti-static" wristband from radio shack or Fry's and put it on my left wrist, and then clipped the "alligator clamp" onto the 6th string just past the nut. That's more for buzz from not touching the guitar, though. But it's easy and you don't have to put anything down your pants! :)

Unless you want to.

An old engineers trick is to take an old teaspoon, drill a hole in the handle bend it the right way and put that in your sock under your heal stepping on it. Then connect the other end to the amp chassis with an alligator clip. I learned that from an old engineer. His hearing aids used to hum. Did I forget about the wire part?

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally Posted by Randirainbow

An old engineers trick is to take an old teaspoon, drill a hole in the handle bend it the right way and put that in your sock under your heal stepping on it. Then connect the other end to the amp chassis with an alligator clip. I learned that from an old engineer. His hearing aids used to hum. Did I forget about the wire part?

That'd work...

Given the same situation I'd strip a wire and run it from the bridge to the jack... figured that's better then attaching something to the guitar players body & impeding physical movement on their part. I've also never taped a PZM to a drummer chest... I just can't bring myself to be "that" guy!

[JustinMac]

hey guys, thanks for all the responses. I guess I'm happier to realize that its actually a standard thing for that to happen rather than my guitar being totally f-ed up. It was just weird cuz i never noticed it before, so maybe a wire did get messed up in the amp or something, but currently i just put it on the ground and put my foot on top of it while recording.

i like the wire down the pants idea though, pretty genious.

[Strauzzie]

Hey guys -

Sorry for the bump, but I'm having a similar issue - albeit with a built-in pickup for a kalimba! Whenever I'm holding the kalimba I get a massive buzz unless I touch the recording interface (or mixer) that I'm plugged into. The wrist strap idea sounds pretty good, but my question is:

Would this situation be solved if I were to get a true ground wire put into my old house? I've been considering doing so anyway, and this might be the type of thing that would help me make that decision.

[tINY]

It could be the amp. Or just your hook-up.

You need the ground for safety. To eliminate buzzing, the signal grounds need to be connected together.




-tINY