Bad hum in jagmaster mod.

mechagodzilla · Post by **mechagodzilla** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:39 pm

I had fender wide range humbuckers put into my jagmaster and I noticed a lot of humming if I am not touching the strings. All of the ground connections seem to be fine but if i take the ground off there is no difference. None of my other guitars hum like this and they are single coils. Please help!

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:45 pm

Get a multimeter. Start testing.

On this topic, I used to mod without a multimeter, too. It was a mistake.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:01 am

did you remember to resolder the connection back to the bridge?

If you're having the problem with both pickups, the bridge wire isn't connected. If you're only having it on one pickup, than that pickups ground isn't connected to the back of the pot. and all of these should eventually be connected to the switch.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:49 am

Don't forget the ground to the Jack too.

mechagodzilla · Post by **mechagodzilla** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:24 am

The pickups are both grounded to the 3 way switch and the bridge is grounded to the volume pot. there is a ground through all of the pots meeting up at the switch with the 2 pickup grounds.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:52 am

does it hum all the time or just when one pickup is selected?

you have a bad ground connection some where. It is doing EXACLTY what is should do. It could really be anything from a bad connection to the bare wires that sit under the bridge slipping out of their place. I'd bet on the bridge some where if it hums all the time when you're not touching the strings.

mechagodzilla · Post by **mechagodzilla** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:12 pm

hums at the same loudness on each pickup, but the signal to noise ratio is still pretty high. If i unconnect the ground it hums super loud. when I touch string it goes away. Also, the tone of the pickups is great. there is just a pretty noticeable hum when I don't touch anything metal.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:37 pm

the fact that there is a hum that goes away when you press on something metal means you have an issue in your ground circuit. I have a thinline that has the WHRB and they should have 0 hum and and it they do have some, it shouldn't change when you touch metal.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:56 pm

I would say otherwise... Noise that disappears when you touch metal means that it's correctly grounded !!

The same applies with all guitars, and judging by the fact you've removed the ground wires and it's worse reiterates this. Correct me if I'm wrong ?

There is noise and there is NOISE !!

I'd recommend having the guitar shielded well... copper plating / conductive paint etc. Even just aluminium foiling the back of the guard can do wonders.

Also being close to electrical products / lights can create noise.... or the whole 60 cycle hum issues.

Personally I don't think you're at fault but it can probably be improved.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 12:05 am

mechagodzilla wrote:The pickups are both grounded to the 3 way switch and the bridge is grounded to the volume pot. there is a ground through all of the pots meeting up at the switch with the 2 pickup grounds.

Err, how is the switch grounded?

I made the mistake when wiring once where I "grounded" my pickup to the switch but then forgot to actually ground the lug they were connected to.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 1:36 am

othomas2 wrote:I would say otherwise... Noise that disappears when you touch metal means that it's correctly grounded !!

That's right and wrong. Even when a guitar is not properly grounded, usually touching metal makes some of the noise go away.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 2:59 am

I know I've had this problem on probably the first 4 or 5 guitar I rewired and it always ended up being a ground issue.

how loud are you playing through the amp? at room level volumes, my thinline has virtually 0 buzz. you're not playing through a noisy tele or strat, it's a humbucker, it should be next to silent. when you turn it up, it will make a little noise, however. also, this may seem like a strange question, what kind of lights are in the room you're playing in?