My setup HUMS when I play in my basement...Help!

[jpalomino]

I have a fairly new Vox AC30, 8 quality pedals, quality cables for everything, and quality guitars (humbuckers and singlecoils).

 

My setup always hums, clean and with distortion, especially distortion. It is way too loud and ruins my sound. If I touch the bridge/strings/body of the guitar with my hand, the hum quiets significantly.

 

I have tested different kinds of amps and different guitars. I've plugged directly into amps (without the pedals). No matter what equipment I use, the hum is always present.

 

I used my same exact setup in another house I play at, and there was no hum. So I think it has to do with the basement I play in. The basement is in an old house.

 

I bought an EBTech Hum X and tried plugging everthing into it (amp by itself, pedalboard by itself, then both with a powerstrip) and the hum did NOT go away.

 

Running out of ideas. I know its not the amp, not the guitar, not the pedals, but that probably the basement I'm in.

 

Can somebody please give me suggestions?

 

Thanks!

J

[retrorod]

Hey J, I strongly suspect the electrical wiring in that part of your house. I would have an electrician check it out for ground issues or reversed polarity.

 

Another thought....Do you have fluorescent lighting or neon signs in the basement? If so, that could be the source for the hum.

 

Rod

 

 

[oOJustmeOo]

Also CRT computer monitors can cause incessant hum. I even have an lcd monitor that hums through my LP if I'm sitting in from of the screen. Neon light signs suck.

[Bryn6490]

I had the same problem. The outlet I was using was not wired. Get youself a circuit tester. I keep a circuit test plugged into my power strip at all times.

[Marshall Paul]

Yup. If your touching it and the hum goes away, then you are grounding the circut. Remove the hand and the hum comes back. Dead set earthing problem. Get an electrician to check your mains board on the house. Same happened to me.

[cjsinla]

My parents put in track lightening with dimmers and my AC30 hums mercilessly over there. Dimmers can be part of the problem for sure.

[kidblast]

Sounds like the phasing may be off, or as Marshall Paul suggests, the ground isn't properly setup in your house wiring.

 

Did you check the outlet with one of those things someone posted earlier.