john sutton Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I am the newest member of the fourm and the newest to the gibson guitar family. I bought a black 98 studio that has been through at least two other owners. It's worn in but not worn out, perfectly set up, next to new frets and grover tuners ( first grovers for me too and they are awsome) and very playable. The problem is a buzz/humm when I take my hand of off the strings, now this seems like a grounding problem to me, and my question is; are there any chronic grounding problems that are particular to this studio edition, any place that I should try first or troubleshooting tips will be appreciated...It's good to be a gibson man. sutton
DoubleSixx Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 Is the humming increadibly loud ? Is there crackling after you let go ? If so does the crackling ever stop ? Do the pickups have covers ? Often times when a pickup doesn't have a cover it's slightly "hotter" and may have this effect. Almost all guitars hum to some degree. Try new cable, monster seem to be good and offer some noise cancellation. Do other guitars make this humming through your amp ? Try this, does your amp have a clean channel ? If you switch over to clean and the humming is gone then you don't have a ground problem. Good luck.
saturn Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 I don't know whether this is just with Studio's or not, but I definately have the same issue with mine and have heard others say the same thing. For me, it's never been worth worrying much about. I just leave my hand resting on the bridge or strings to get rid of the buzzing. It still sounds great when I play. I even asked a guitar maker once and he just kind of shrugged it off, saying it's common with Gibson LPs.
john sutton Posted August 23, 2008 Author Posted August 23, 2008 No crackling after I let go, has covers, my Fender and Dearmond guitars are humm free, and although it's not increadibly loud, it is not what I had expected from a Gibson. However, it's such an awsome guitar that I can put up with it if need be...but sure would like a fix. I'll pull the back covers off this afternoon and see if there is something loose/broken/altered. thanks sutton
Eracer_Team Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 Try adding a jumper from your jack plate to your bridge. If the hum goes away its the grounding from the pots to the bridge. If the hum is still there then its probably just environment. Is the pickups on this guitar 'hotter' than the other 2?
Bluemoon Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 My standard has a slight humm. Nothing to worry about, though.
john sutton Posted August 23, 2008 Author Posted August 23, 2008 After further investigation the situation becomes even more interesting. If the pick up switch is in the center position, so that both pickups are switched on, with the neck pick up vol. turned down to min. the bridge pick up quits working. With the switch in the bridge position the humm goes away with the vol turned to min. Are these guitars pretty much standard wire colors and is there a schematic for these things available anywhere? I still love this guitar and want it to preform well, even if I can't. thanks sutton ps I will try the jumper cable thing tomorrow.
Eracer_Team Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 standard wiring on the gibby's, if you have the selector switch in the middle (so running both pickups) and you turn down the volume on either pickup to zero.. you'll get no sound.. even if the other pickup is at 10. If you suspect your selector switch, what happens with it in either position?
ramon_jr Posted August 23, 2008 Posted August 23, 2008 this may be of some help. im no guitar luthier, but if you have a lot of hum try re-soldiering the grounds on your guitar. i bet you 1000% that your grounds are not touching correctly. i am only telling you this because i had the same problem and i re-did my grounds and the humm went away. i was reading in here and in other forums and it was as easy as listening to other players. if your grounds are not touching the pots correctly or the jack you will get annoying humm. if you touch a guitar cable that has metal jacket and the sound goes away it is definatly the ground is not done right.
DoubleSixx Posted August 24, 2008 Posted August 24, 2008 Well seems like there's an issue with the toggle switch. Before trying to fix anything, could you post pictures of the toggle switch connections and the control cavity ? Hopefully the problem is only at the toggle switch.
tepidy Posted August 24, 2008 Posted August 24, 2008 Usually a grounding problem although before you start taking your guitar apart make sure that there are no DIMMER SWITCHES in the room that your playing in. If there are they will definately cause a hum. First place to check is the input jack then work your way into the rest of the electronics. Get yourself a good ohm meter and start checking for open circuits.
Frantic Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 I don't know whether this is just with Studio's or not' date=' but I definately have the same issue with mine and have heard others say the same thing. For me, it's never been worth worrying much about. I just leave my hand resting on the bridge or strings to get rid of the buzzing. It still sounds great when I play. I even asked a guitar maker once and he just kind of shrugged it off, saying it's common with Gibson LPs. [/quote'] Hey Saturn ! You're not alone. I have the same issue with my LP Special (faded series, with humbuckers), while not playing the guitar, buzzing like hell and it's quite loud. As soon as I touch any metalic part of the guitar, the hell stops. I think grounding problem, but I dont know where to start and try to fix it.
saturn Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Hey Saturn ! You're not alone. I have the same issue with my LP Special (faded series' date=' with humbuckers), while not playing the guitar, buzzing like hell and it's quite loud. As soon as I touch any metalic part of the guitar, the hell stops. I think grounding problem, but I dont know where to start and try to fix it.[/quote'] I only seem to notice it when I play at home. I'm not sure if it's because my mind is distraced with other things, or maybe the other noise drowns out the buzz when I pay out. Maybe it's the ground in my home. IDK. Either way, I'm not going to bother trying to stop it. It's just not worth the trouble to me. Some people might feel otherwise though.
CajunBlues Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 wow, i had a similar problem just last night. The switch was not grounded. So, this is what you do IMHO. 1) take a long wire stripped at both ends. 2) remove the back plates (switch and control panel). Check for any loose wires that lost connection. If you find loose wires stop. Re-solder. If not go to #3. 3) plug your guitar in and replicate the hum at its worst. 4) with the wire touch the switch on one end and the pots on the other. 5) do #4, but touch the lugs (on the pots) with the back of the pots. Now, does that touching improve anything ? If yes, this is the ground you need to solder. Whenever there is a hum, its almost always a grounding issue. -Brian
rlan52 Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 I had the exact same problem with my LP Standard. They changed the toggle switch and all was good...
CajunBlues Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 By the way, I soldered the ground from the switch to the pot and now my guitar is quiter than a mouse... Absolutely no hummmmmm.
turtle Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 try another guitar with a humbucker in the outlet> maybe its a bad ground in your house> try a three prong to two prong reducer for your outlet and screw the ground wire to the screw in your outlet plate> happened to me once at practice in the basement> uggg
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.