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Topic: Question on single coil hum |
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 10:44 am |
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What is the best way to cancel it and where in the chain. Most of my old lap steels have it and my strat's etc. have it to some degree or another.
Thanks for any help. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 12:08 pm
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it depends, there are some rooms or area's where the hum is slight and you can get some devices to assist in removing it. If the room is REAL bad, the room from HxLL, the hum is louder than the music, get a Humbucker !
Some may not agree with this but they have also never played the Wagon Wheel in Salisbury NC either. That room is a game changer and no , the owner is not changing the stage, wiring, lighting etc...he's very proud of it, he built it 30 or 40 years ago !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 12:32 pm
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| It's not that loud but when I play sometime it's up or down depending on the guitar. I saw a humX but haven't checked all yet. I just want the quite parts to be quite. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 1:27 pm
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Since the hum debugger is basically an EQ device, I'd try it both right out of the guitar AND last before amp, and see which one sounds better.
I'd also play with guitar orientation, since the hum is an interaction between the guitar and its immediate environment.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Craig Baker
From:
Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 3:05 pm
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Dennis,
If you're playing at home and hum is a problem, the easiest fix is normally to turn the guitar one way or the other to where the hum disappears. On a stage you may be limited as to how far you can turn or move your guitar. Everything about steel guitar is a compromise and with single coil pickups, hum is usually high on the list.
Craig
_________________
"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name. |
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Jamie Mitchell
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 11 Jun 2016 6:48 pm
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| just pray that the null spot is you facing the audience... |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 12 Jun 2016 7:40 am
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| I like the sound of single-coils. That said, when faced with playing places with lots of EMI hum, I think the humbucker is the way to go. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 8:45 am
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| Another option is to use a humbucker that has a 4-wire lead (L-705 reissue, for example), giving you separate access to the individual coils. Then install a switch to select between single coil and humbucker. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 8:55 am
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| Craig Baker wrote: |
Dennis,
If you're playing at home and hum is a problem, the easiest fix is normally to turn the guitar one way or the other to where the hum disappears. |
Although that is often the case, I did play in a studio once that had terrible electrical noise, and no amount of repositioning of the steel or amp had any significant effect. I tried every azimuth and even picked up the steel and held it sideways and upside-down. That session finally convinced me to go with a humbucking pickup. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 11:17 am
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Raises a question I've always wanted to ask even though I may not understand the answer:
For years I've seen the wiring options for 4 wire humbuckers and I have always read that "while there is a difference between both coils together in HB mode vs. only running one of the coils (which I can confirm, having wired guitars for this option), the 'single coil' option is not quite the same as a single coil pickup".
Can anyone address this, just to satisfy my curiosity? |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 12:00 pm
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I can think of two factors why:
1) the average modern single coil steel pickup is around 3/4 as hot as the modern humbucker. A 22K humbucker will have a pair of 11s, and a Truetone will have 18.
If you want a tap, Jerry will recommend it around 13. This strikes me as more likely than;
2) that other free-floating coil will load the coil you're using.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 12:20 pm
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| Either sounds plausible. |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 13 Jun 2016 2:40 pm Re: Question on single coil hum
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| Dennis Smith wrote: |
What is the best way to cancel it and where in the chain. Most of my old lap steels have it and my strat's etc. have it to some degree or another.
Thanks for any help. |
Start from the pickup - that's the first thing in the chain. You might try shielding or using shielding paint in the control cavity http://www.stewmac.com/SiteSearch/?search=shield . you basically encapsulate the wiring cavity in a shielded "box". Any unshielded wire from the pickup all the way to the amp input is a source for EMI.
On the steel guitar you can see if the pickup leads are shielded - if not some braided shield on the insulated hot lead with one end of the shield soldered to ground might help. Also make sure the strings are grounded - they act as antennas for EMI.
Also, keep signal wires away from AC wires as best as you can. On that same note, make sure the amp is properly grounded - please!
If the pickup itself is picking up noise, and all the shielding is good, I think you are back to finding the null spot and hope it's got you facing where you want to be.
_________________
--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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Doug Palmer
From:
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 14 Jun 2016 7:07 am Hummm
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Tony Prior, I am laughing my butt of reading your post. You are so right about The Wagon Wheel. I always hated to play there for several reasons, one being that awful buzz through every amp and PA. I never could get rid of it so I quit playing there.
_________________
Emmons D-10, ST-10,LD-10 III, NV-112,Fender Deluxe Reverb. Authorized wholesale dealer musicorp.com! |
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Chris Grigsby
From:
Boulder, CO
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Posted 15 Jun 2016 12:30 pm
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Is there a humbucker that sounds like a single coil less the hum? I had the BL705 and loved the humbucker tone, but it was very different sounding than a single coil. The split coil was a useful sound, but not the same as a true single coil...much thinner, presumably with a lot lower output than a true single coil.
My Mullen G2 has a single coil that sounds incredible, but it buzzes like crazy in my house!
Best,
Chris
_________________
Mullen Discovery S10, Hilton VP, Kemper Profiler Head and Kabinet. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Jun 2016 12:41 pm
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| It seems like virtually every humbucker ever marketed either claimed or had users claim that it was the closest thing to a real single coil. It's a cliché. So, like....grain of salt with any answers you might get. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 16 Jun 2016 1:37 am hum
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| Very simple fix. Install humbucker(s) and go on playing. |
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Ollin Landers
From:
Willow Springs, NC
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Posted 16 Jun 2016 4:07 am
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I have a Carter 12 Uni and originally it had a Wallace True Tone. I really liked the sound of the True Tone but it could be noisy in the wrong environment.
I swapped it out for an XLR-16. To my ears it really fit the Carter better and is about as close to a single coil sound I've heard without being a single coil.
That said every guitar and ear is different.
I had a MIM Tele that I sold on the forum a few years ago. I swapped the original for a Bill Lawrence Tele set and it was wonderful.
Can you tell I like Bill Lawrence pickups?
_________________
Zum SD-12 Black, Zum SD-12 Burly Elm Several B-Bender Tele's and a lot of other gear I can't play.
I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted. W.C. Fields |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 16 Jun 2016 8:12 am
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I had a Sho~Bud Professional a few years back, that hummed real bad when I would take it to a certain club in San Jose. I tried a HumX (still have it), and it did absolutely nothing. I don't think that is what it was made for.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 16 Jun 2016 11:12 am
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| Personally, I prefer single coil pickups. Sometimes that preference presents problems with 60-cycle hum. The E-H HumDebugger, while not perfect, solves the problem for me. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 17 Jun 2016 1:24 am Re: Hummm
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| Doug Palmer wrote: |
| Tony Prior, I am laughing my butt of reading your post. You are so right about The Wagon Wheel. I always hated to play there for several reasons, one being that awful buzz through every amp and PA. I never could get rid of it so I quit playing there. |
Ha Doug ! That stage doesn't have noise, it has a living entity ! We don't play there anymore either, we kept raising our price until they told us NO WAY ! Thats how we quit ! 
I did revert to Humbuckers in my Carter at the time, it did indeed solve the noise/hum issue at least for me so I was at least able to hear the Steel over the noise rather than the other way around. We did that room for about 3 years straight. We had to leave because our Dr's told us we cant eat anymore FRIED BOLOGNA ... 
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 17 Jun 2016 4:06 am
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| Richard Sinkler wrote: |
| I had a Sho~Bud Professional a few years back, that hummed real bad when I would take it to a certain club in San Jose. I tried a HumX (still have it), and it did absolutely nothing. I don't think that is what it was made for. |
The HumX, IIRC, is a groundloop gadget. It'll take care of your groundloop issues, but won't kill induced hum
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Morton Kellas
From:
Chazy, NY, USA 1
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Posted 17 Jun 2016 7:15 am
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| I have a G2 with a single coil and the hum is very minimal. If you happen to have wiring in your home where an outlet is on the same circuit as a ceiling light with a dimmer, even if it is the other room, not good. Ceiling fans don't help either. I tried a humbucker in my G2 and it sounded OK but it was not what I wanted, so I took it out. If I was into recording, it would be a different story. For now, I am enjoying the full rich warm tone of my single coil, especially the sweet high's. |
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