Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Does anyone get any "humming" noise from the single coil pickups when it's plugged in?

It depends on where you're standing. Ie: close to the transformer in your amp, or other sources of em interference. My house is quite bad for em sources.

"Does anyone get any "humming" noise from the single coil pickups when it's plugged in?"

that is what single coil pickups do ...

Fluorsecent lights can sometimes cause it, or neon lights. We played a gig once where neon was onstage and our guitar player's single coils went nuts!

That's also why the term "humbucker" came into play!

dimmer switches are a major problem for causing hum ...

Neon can be really bad. I once was called in to diagnose a network problem for a large market research company in Chicago. They were complaining about a sudden loss of connectivity in part of their office. It turns out that they had just recently installed an elaborate neon display in the lobby and the installer mounted the transformer right next to a large bundle of network cables. When the display was on no network traffic would pass that point.

I had a lot of hum problems, even picked up the flyback of the tv in the living room through the practice room wall. I used shielding tape and lined both pickup cavities, allowing a small amount to lay on the top of the bass face, then also put the tape on the pickguard, allowing it to touch the body overlap, making a closed cavity. Everywhere under the guard where there was wiring was shielded and I do not have hum until I get the front of the pickups within about a foot of the trannies in my Ampeg. F W I W

Make sure the tailpiece ground is connected. It normally runs from the back of one of the pots to the mute bar.

I did the same thing as Johnallg, I completely shielded two Ric basses with sticky copper shielding some years back, cavity, pickguard, bass and treble pickup cavity's etc. and made sure it was all soldiered together with wires for continuity and then grounded it to the ground on the output jack, they were as quiet as church mice afterward, you had to actually aim them at things like neon lights (which is really bad) to get any noise out of them at all. I haven't been able to find that copper stuff lately, really worked well.

One source:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Copper_Tape.html

Wow that's a good deal, I may check it out, thanks John.