Amph Buzz

[riverrick]

When ever I switch on either a fuzz or distortion I get a buzz. I'm playing through a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Any ideas on why this is happening??? Could it be cheap patch cords? Any thoughts would be cool.

 

[Ch0jin]

Well, my first guess would be that using a fuzz or distortion is amplifying hum from either the pedals or the guitar itself.

1. Try pedals on battery power. If the hum goes away, I'd say it's your pedal power source that's noisy.

2. Do u have hum bucking pickups? If not (P90's, Single coils etc) it could be the pickups receiving radiated noise. If you have the luxury, try a humbucker equipped guitar. If the sound goes away, look at improving the shielding in the guitar or consider humbucking/noiseless pickups.

3. Try swapping out leads. Some leads will have better noise rejection than others and you may indeed find one or both leads you are using is picking up noise from lighting/appliances etc.

4. Also on leads, if the hum is very loud, you might even have a broken shield connection on one of the cables. You can quickly test with a multimeter to ensure continuity from tip to tip and sleeve to sleeve.

 

[riverrick]

At first I was playing a Tele. After reading you advice switched to a Les Paul. The hum was better with the distortion pedal but the same with fuzz. Tried the battery power same results. Switched cords, no help??? Don't have a multimeter. So I guess I'm just stuck with the hum. Thanks for the info Ch0jin.

 

[Spudman]

Are you playing by your computer? Does the buzz go away at some point if you pivot 360 degrees? Do you have more than one pedal connected at a time?

It's possible to pick up radio frequencies (RF) with just about any cable/guitar combination. Maybe even more so with that amph. If you switch the fuzz on and stand up and slowly turn in a circle does the buzz get quieter at some point? Also, make sure your guitar cables are not near any AC power cables such as the amph AC power or any other device like a lamp or wiring in the walls or floor.

Try plugging in just one of the offending pedals at a time.

If the Deluxe Reverb has a ground switch on the back (might be the on/off switch) try it in a different position than the one where you usually get a bad buzz. Try moving the amph to a slightly different location and orient it a few degrees differently than the current direction it is facing. Then report back. Good luck soldier.

 

[riverrick]

I am by my computer. And I have 8 pedals linked together, but only have buzz from fuzz and distortion. As soon as I turn on the fuzz I get a buzz. Even with the volume turned all the way down on guitar.

 

[Ch0jin]

OK so based on the fact that the hum was reduced when using the LP, but only with the distortion pedal, AND that running the fuzz on battery alone didn't help, And that it does it with the guitar volume down, I suspect the fuzz is missing a ground to the input or output jack.

Is the fuzz a new addition, or has it just started acting up?

Oh and if the other pedals aren't really high gain, it's likely that the hum from the single coil guitar isn't being amplified enough to be audible which might be why you hear hum with the distortion pedal (assuming the fuzz has a separate fault) and not the others.