Buzzing....

[jhayat]

Hi all

I have two JMP 2203 heads, and three guitars. All guitars into both heads produces a rather loud buzzing noise when I turn the guitar's vol up. It goes away when the vol is turned down. The buzz is there when I am and am not in contact with the strings. If I touch something metal however, the buzz disappears.

I have tried plugging both heads into a power strip and as well straight into the wall, and used a ground loop both ways. I have also tried swapping the power cable.

All of this tells me the issue is prolly not the heads, but something in my power perhaps? What should I look into trying next?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fitz]

Try a simple wall outlet tester to make sure you don't have a basic wiring issue.

American Recorder Technologies Ground Fault Outlet Receptacle Tester

Shop for the American Recorder Technologies Ground Fault Outlet Receptacle Tester and receive free shipping on your order and the guaranteed lowest price.

www.guitarcenter.com

 

[jhayat]

Good idea, thanks.

I actually have one; I plugged it in, and got two yellows, which according to the legend, is "correct".

 

[sct13]

single coil pickups? Humbuckers?

Do both the amps do the same thing? Because I doubt you have the exact same (type) of a problem in both of those heads....Your guitar grounds are correct? you not standing in front of the amp? You could also have RF noise that you will need to track down....

 

[Pete Farrington]

If I touch something metal however, the buzz disappears

If you mean something metal on the guitar or amp, then that’s normal, for an environment with a fair degree of electric field hash contamination, eg fluorescent lights.
But the buzz should also stop when you touch the strings.
And very strange for 3 guitars to behave the same.

 

[jhayat]

Thx.

Yes, both amps and all three guitars exactly the same. All humbuckers. The buzz is there when I am and am not in contact with the strings. I can touch the guitar cable jack, or the head faceplate, or anything that is plugged into the wall, even if it is not powered on, and the buzz disappears. Like my stereo preamp. If I touch my microphone, the buzz stops, but only when it is plugged into the mic pre that is plugged into the wall. If I unplug the mic from the pre, touching the mic does not stop the buzzing.

 

[Alter]

Its usually lack of grounding that causes the issue. Try another power outlet. Some amps are more prone to that, and some guitars also. I had to treat a few of my guitars for that buzz (archtop guitars: ground the strings via a cable that goes to the endpin jack).

If it is not guitar specific, try moving away from the amp, or turning other electric stuff off to see if things improve.