Buzzing. Help!

[TLE]

Link to video displaying the buzz.

Just realised this probably wasn't the right spot to post this. My apologies.



Hey guys,

I'm quite the "noob" when it comes to these things so I do apologise. I do try to learn what i can before posting , but I'm not sure where to go from here.

The problem... I have a Marshall JVM 410H into a 1960 Vintage. When i take this out of standby, he has a strong idling buzz, i also get alot of popping switching between channels and switching in/out of standby. This buzz gets louder with the presence and master volume. I also get a secondary buzz when i turn the volume "on" on my guitar. The buzz also changes depending on the position of the pickup selector.

What I've tried... Numerous power sockets in the house, in different rooms. Different guitars. Removed everything plugged into the amp bar the guitar. Different guitar lead. I don't have a different speaker or power cable to try HOWEVER, I went into the local music store with the head ,cable and power chord. We plugged that into a cab.... No noise.

Questions.
Is this sounding like a CAB or ground loop problem?
If it's potentially the CAB , is there anyway at home with no tools or knowledge at my disposal to find out?
Can someone give information into the two seperate "buzzes" from the idling amp and then putting the guitar volume up?
Is the popping a connected or separate issue?
Is a HUM-X a good/potential solution?
What are some solutions?


A bit long winded this post , I know. Just trying to give you all as much helpful information as i can, helping you help me! haha. Thanks in advance!

 

[TLE]

Still needing help. I had an idea though... if i use the silent recording mode , would/should the hum transfer if it's to do with the head/groundloop? Meaning if i don't hear it I can determine if it's the cab?

 

[MemphisMarshallMan]

Does it still buzz if you unplug your guitar cable from the amp?

Also, does the buzzing partially or fully go away (or is reduced) when the guitar is plugged into the amp and you place your hand on the strings?

 

[Jr Deluxe]

I doubt it's your cab. Cabs don't buzz electronically. They can rattle mechanically. I'm sure you could know the difference so let's move on. If the amp didn't buzz at the music store than the amp is ok. Try another tube amp at your house to see if it b uzzez the same way . Does your guitar buzz at the music store through a different amp? You said your other guitar buzzed the same way? If you rule out guitar wiring problems than all that's left is house wiring problems.

you can get a wiring checker for about 5 bucks if you are in the usa. It has three lights on it. Probably red, green and yellow. Plug it in an electric outlet in your home and the lights will tell you if it's wired correctly. You're probably not grounded or some other problem. If you have a wiring problem you'll need a qualified electrician to come over and fix it. It can also be a power transformer on the electricity pole going bad but that's rare.

 

[TLE]

Does it still buzz if you unplug your guitar cable from the amp?

Also, does the buzzing partially or fully go away (or is reduced) when the guitar is plugged into the amp and you place your hand on the strings?

No guitar and no cable = no buzz. At work, but i believe the buzz was still there with touching the strings.

 

[TLE]

I doubt it's your cab. Cabs don't buzz electronically. They can rattle mechanically. I'm sure you could know the difference so let's move on. If the amp didn't buzz at the music store than the amp is ok. Try another tube amp at your house to see if it b uzzez the same way . Does your guitar buzz at the music store through a different amp? You said your other guitar buzzed the same way? If you rule out guitar wiring problems than all that's left is house wiring problems.

you can get a wiring checker for about 5 bucks if you are in the usa. It has three lights on it. Probably red, green and yellow. Plug it in an electric outlet in your home and the lights will tell you if it's wired correctly. You're probably not grounded or some other problem. If you have a wiring problem you'll need a qualified electrician to come over and fix it. It can also be a power transformer on the electricity pole going bad but that's rare.

Glad to know it's not my cab! However, it is possible I don't know the difference lol.

Working today, so I can't try the local music store with my guitar. I'll try borrow a friends tube amp tomorrow. Yes, three guitars all buzz the same way, well there is slight differences... I can post a video tonight, if you feel it may help with the diagnosis?

My partners father is an electrician, so if it is the house wiring, I'll be glad to know .

 

[Dogs of Doom]

what guitar/pickups? single coils?

single coils will be noisy. The cord could be noisy. You could have a tube that's noisy. It could be an internal component that's noisy.

If it's dead quiet when you unplug the guitar cables from the input, it's probably something up front. Try plugging the guitar in & turn the volume down. Also, w/ the volume up, on one of my Tele's, stock, if the tone control is up, it's noisy. Try turning the tone control down/off.

 

[TLE]

what guitar/pickups? single coils?

single coils will be noisy. The cord could be noisy. You could have a tube that's noisy. It could be an internal component that's noisy.

If it's dead quiet when you unplug the guitar cables from the input, it's probably something up front. Try plugging the guitar in & turn the volume down. Also, w/ the volume up, on one of my Tele's, stock, if the tone control is up, it's noisy. Try turning the tone control down/off.

Maton - Humbuckers
Jackson - Humbuckers.
Gretsch - Filtertrons ( They're in a class of their own right? lol )
( I like diversity )

There is more noise when i split them. Still substantial noise in bridge and neck positions.

I've tried different 6.5's , I also brought the one i'm currently using into the local store, no noise there with it.

You're thinking it's the guitar wiring?

PS. Thank for all the responses everyone. Got a list to check out now.

1. Socket/Wire tester. - Electrician to fix
2. Guitars into another AMP - How unlucky would I have to be ( terrible owner) to have all 3 guitars with inadequate/damaged wiring?
3. Try playing in the dark ( Another forum suggested the lights could be the problem. )

 

[Springfield Scooter]

You mention that you tried numerous power sockets in the house,....

Have you tried a different house or location?

 

[Rickrevs]

i get a buzz when im near a flourescent tube (or strip light) and my pc.... is there any interference that way? if i angle my guitar away from the source it stops

 

[ampmadscientist]

There is more noise when i split them. Still substantial noise in bridge and neck positions.

That's because splitting the pickup makes it single coil. All single coil pickups buzz. Nothing you can do about a single coil buzzing.

So, the only real test is in hum-bucking mode only. That's the only wiring that "should" stop hum.
How do you know that the guitar "is" wired in hum-bucking mode?
How do you know that neck and bridge positions "is" really hum-bucking?

1. Stand far away from the amp. Standing close to the amp, you will pick up the amp power transformer.
2. Stand away from fluorescent lights and other electrical appliances.

3. Use a tester to make sure the ground is connected and working. It's possible that your power ground is disconnected.




What you can do is:
A. Install shielding inside the guitar (good shielding, not aluminum tape). Shielding that works is usually multiple layers. Nickel, Copper works much better than cheap shielding tape.

B. Make sure all pickups are wired in hum-bucking mode. Single coils will always cause buzzing.



As you can see, a single layer of .8mm nickel blocks about 80% of a magnetic field. Mu metal (nickel and copper with tin) will block about 90%...

The best shielding for inside a guitar is probably Mu Metal.

 

[Rickrevs]

ahhh i thought shielding in a guitar worked like a faraday cage sending unwanted interference to ground...so thicker the better then

 

[Jr Deluxe]

After watching your video I have some thoughts. The hum doesn't seem that loud compared to the gain in the preamp. Maybe the video doesn't accurately reflect the buzz level but it seems fairly low. It sounds to me like mechanical electronic interference. Like a motor is plugged in around the house. This could be refridge, vacuum or ceiling fan or any electric motor. Try going around and unplugging EVERYTHING for a few minutes and try your amp.

 

[mickeydg5]

The noise sounds normal to me and seems to be related to environment according to the descriptions. And oh, that is a power supply/interference type of hum. If you have a buzz just sit back and enjoy. It will pass in a few hours.

Here is what I find strange but could be the caused by the design of the amplifier:
He states if the guitar and instrument cable is unplugged all noise goes away. In the video there is noise being demonstrated using the MASTER controls with the guitar plugged into the amplifier. The thing to notice though is that the CLEAN channel is being used and its volume control is on zero. You would think that might kill all sound/noise up front with the guitar plugged.

 

[TLE]

Thanks for keeping the responses going guys! I'll be testing out some more of the suggestions tonight.

I've bought an AC tester - The sockets/wiring is fine according to that.
I unplugged everything in the house, left it off for a bit.
Moved the guitar as far away from the amp as possible, pointed it at a wall.
Tried playing with no lights on.

Still no success...

The noise sounds normal to me and seems to be related to environment according to the descriptions. And oh, that is a power supply/interference type of hum. If you have a buzz just sit back and enjoy. It will pass in a few hours.

Here is what I find strange but could be the caused by the design of the amplifier:
He states if the guitar and instrument cable is unplugged all noise goes away. In the video there is noise being demonstrated using the MASTER controls with the guitar plugged into the amplifier. The thing to notice though is that the CLEAN channel is being used and its volume control is on zero. You would think that might kill all sound/noise up front with the guitar plugged.

That's what got me! Which is why i showed it in the video, i should have mentioned it in text though. I mean a bit of noise on gain channels , that's a common experience . This is the first time I've had any noise ( well, of this nature) on a clean channel. Sidenote though, the volume knob has no control over the green clean channel on the JVM410h , only orange and red. The gain is used as the volume knob.

 

[mickeydg5]

Oh sorry about that then. I should have looked it up to see that the CLEAN GREEN bypassed the volume control.

It that case your amplifier is perfectly normal.

 

[predsednikov.sin]

everything is fine.Just move pickups away from the amp.When you are standing to close to the amp it will always sounds like that.

 

[ampmadscientist]

Link to video displaying the buzz.

Just realised this probably wasn't the right spot to post this. My apologies.



Hey guys,

I'm quite the "noob" when it comes to these things so I do apologise. I do try to learn what i can before posting , but I'm not sure where to go from here.

The problem... I have a Marshall JVM 410H into a 1960 Vintage. When i take this out of standby, he has a strong idling buzz, i also get alot of popping switching between channels and switching in/out of standby. This buzz gets louder with the presence and master volume. I also get a secondary buzz when i turn the volume "on" on my guitar. The buzz also changes depending on the position of the pickup selector.

What I've tried... Numerous power sockets in the house, in different rooms. Different guitars. Removed everything plugged into the amp bar the guitar. Different guitar lead. I don't have a different speaker or power cable to try HOWEVER, I went into the local music store with the head ,cable and power chord. We plugged that into a cab.... No noise.

Questions.
Is this sounding like a CAB or ground loop problem?
If it's potentially the CAB , is there anyway at home with no tools or knowledge at my disposal to find out?
Can someone give information into the two seperate "buzzes" from the idling amp and then putting the guitar volume up?
Is the popping a connected or separate issue?
Is a HUM-X a good/potential solution?
What are some solutions?


A bit long winded this post , I know. Just trying to give you all as much helpful information as i can, helping you help me! haha. Thanks in advance!

you get buzzing:

A. with nothing plugged into the amp? No guitar, no effects, and the amp buzzing is there when you turn the master up? Yes or no?

B. The guitar produces a secondary buzzing, when the guitar is plugged in, guitar volume is turned up? Yes or no?

C. The buzzing completely stops when the amp is in the music store?
With or without the same guitar plugged in?

 

[mickeydg5]

The thread was a year old.

 

[Jon C]

The thread was a year old.

1st post bumps a year old thread … But Pred Said Nick Of Sin!!