Buzz through amplifier/newbie questions

tod_clare · Post by **tod_clare** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 9:50 pm

Hi all

I have a rickenbacker 360 which I have been used to playing at low volumes. Recently I have been playing with a band and I've noticed a very bad buzzing sound at higher volumes, especially when I use an overdrive pedal. I have noticed this sound in different amplifiers, in different locations with different cables so I'm pretty sure its the guitar. The buzz is there even when I'm not playing. I took it to a couple of guitar stores and they thought it sounded like a grounding problem...but neither found anything wrong with the guitar. I read some articles from the archives about shielding and I tried putting aluminum tape on the underside of the pickguard but it didn't seem to make any difference. I have hi-gain pickups..are these single coil? is this a normal consequence of using these pickups at loud volumes? Also I noticed small cracks in both pickup magents, could this be the source of the problem? Would replacing the pickups solve this? or maybe use different pickups? I thought about using ric humbuckers but I'd rather get the hi-gain ones to work. I've also thought about getting a noise gate but I dont like the idea of something cutting into my sound..I'd rather fix the problem if possible.

philco · Post by **philco** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:21 am

Single coil pickups are more prone to noise. If you are playing around lights with dimmer controls, they can be a real hassle for all your audio equipment. I have to keep all three of my humbuckered basses away from such noise generators, and single coils only make the problem worse. Better to use multiple lights and vary the amount of light by selecting the ones you need. Any aluminum foil you use to shield pickups MUST be grounded. Otherwise, it is a floating shield and offers no electrical shielding at all. Check that any ground wires are all tightly connected. This includes your amplifier. Grab a single coil Fender or something similar and see if the problem is just as bad. If it is, you probably need to go to humbuckers. The RIC humbuckers are very good and you need not fear about losing tonal quality.