what's with guitarists and noise?

[subdude67]

why is guitar equipment so much more noisy than bass rigs? my amp is absolutely silent unless i play but most guitarists you can hear even if they don't play, there is almost always some humming or buzzing present.
why is that?

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by subdude67

why is guitar equipment so much more noisy than bass rigs? my amp is absolutely silent unless i play but most guitarists you can hear even if they don't play, there is almost always some humming or buzzing present.
why is that?

That#s because noise is cool.

[Rune Bivrin]

A combination of bad shielding and the high gain required to create the kind of overdrive guitarists crave.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Rune Bivrin

A combination of bad shielding and the high gain required to create the kind of overdrive guitarists crave.

Yup. Truly "clean" guitar is rare, because it's so thin sounding. It gets buried in most band settings, and it just plain doesn't sound good a lot of the time. High gain amps usually sound a lot better than drive pedals (and can alter the tone of your guitar greatly), which is why you'll often find guitarists with multiple heads at a show.

[colcifer]

Bassists have higher standards.

[JTE]

'cause they're still trying to make the same sounds Jimi Hendrix made 45 years ago...

Or you're just hanging out with the wrong guitarists. I've been around some bassists with noisy rigs, and most of the guitarist I've gigged with in the last 30 years have been pretty professional and work to keep the noise level down. There are some factors that make it more difficult to do so with guitar. High gain is a primary culprit as any amplification also amplifies whatever noise is already there. The characteristic sound of a lot of players is also based on single-coil Fender styled instruments- the Tele and the Strat. And despite the efforts of many smart people, no one has ever developed a pickup that really sounds like a good Strat or Telecaster pickup that rejects hum and buzz. Add in that many guitarist use more effects than bass players and you've increased the sources for noise and decreased the chances for getting rid of it. Then the final factor could be that more guitarist prefer vintage-style amps than do bassists. Face it, not a lot of bass players lust for the sounds of a bass amp made in 1968 or earlier. But guitarist, they love that stuff. And those amp designs weren't made for low-noise and high volume.

John

[Ubersheist]

Also, it's often the pickups. Single coil pickups are noisy as anything. I think a greater percentage of basses have humbuckers, and therefore don't make as much noise in general.