New Epi339 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Hi everyone, I'm new to these boards. I'm hoping you can help me out. I bought a vintage sunburst ES-339 Pro a few weeks ago from a local shop. I love the feel of it and the sound, but I'm getting a bit of humming. It seems to be the same no matter which pick up is selected (or both). My other guitar is an inexpensive Fender Starcaster, which I bought in a combo pack when I fist stared playing about 1 year ago. The humming from my 339 sounds similar to what I get from the Starcaster's single coils. If I split the 339's pickups, the humming is even worse. I read the post on here from Gibson about some 339 Ultras shipping with out of phase pickups. Could that be my problem too? It's not really that loud - no worse that what I am used to, but I just thought humbucker pickups would be quieter. Can anyone who had an issue with an out of phase pickup tell me if this sound like the same thing? Or, anyone with a properly working 339 - when you plug it into your amp, is it totally silent? Thanks for any help you can offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChopperJohn Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I would take it back to the shop you bought it from, let them check it out, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dporto Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 The 339 Pro has "split" humbuckers which can be activated (or turned into single coils) by pulling out the volume knobs for both the front and rear pickups (this would be the knobs closest to the neck of the guitar). Perhaps the knobs are in the "split" position? If not, it's possible that they're wired backwards so that they're single coil in the normal position. It's also possible that you've got faulty pickup(s). FWIW even in the single coil position mine are pretty quiet. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougg330 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Could be the ground wire has come loose or was never soldered into place. A good tech can take a look and tell you in a minute. The 339 Pro has "split" humbuckers which can be activated (or turned into single coils) by pulling out the volume knobs for both the front and rear pickups (this would be the knobs closest to the neck of the guitar). Perhaps the knobs are in the "split" position? If not, it's possible that they're wired backwards so that they're single coil in the normal position. It's also possible that you've got faulty pickup(s). FWIW even in the single coil position mine are pretty quiet. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Epi339 Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Is there a separate ground wire for each of the humbuckers? Or does one wire cover both? The humming seems to be worse in the bridge pick up, least in the neck pick up and somewhere in between in the middle position. It gets louder if I split the coils into single coil mode. If there are separate ground wires for each pickup, I would think that if one came loose, I would only get humming from that pick up and not the other. But, that's just my assumption - not based on any real knowledge or experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozo Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Just a thought - you mentioned you had a single coil guitar/amp combo pack. Don't know what kind of cable you're using but if it's the one from the combo pack they're usually on the economy quality side, may be worth a try with a better cable- again just a thought & FAIK you may already have. BTW I have an ES 339 PRO & love it! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.