How to make hum disappear on single coil pickups (finally!!)

[InstantEctobass]

Hi there!

I'm not talking about grounding noises. To make hum disappear on single coil pickups, it's simple, hold your instrument straight vertically regarding the floor. Boom! You're done with hum.

You're welcome. <3

 

[Killed_by_Death]

That's not really the solution, the aluminum foil over the pickup is what's doing it.

but seriously...

It depends on where you are & where the noise is coming from.
That sort of noise is usually directional & the sweet spot where it's the least noisy will differ with your location.

 

[InstantEctobass]

That's not really the solution, the aluminum foil over the pickup is what's doing it.

but seriously...

It depends on where you are & where the noise is coming from.
That sort of noise is usually directional & the sweet spot where it's the least noisy will differ with your location.

I can do the same thing without the aluminium sheet. The aluminium sheet is here to enhance the grounding coverage, not the hum.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

"but seriously" means that everything prior to that was a joke

 

[Bodeanly]

I can do the same thing without the aluminium sheet. The aluminium sheet is here to enhance the grounding coverage, not the hum.

Move to a different outlet (in a different room) and I bet your findings will be different.

 

[InstantEctobass]

Move to a different outlet and I bet your results will be different.

I forgot the precise but the recording was made on a laptop... unplug from electricity. Hum comes from the air.

 

[Bodeanly]

Hum comes from the air.

Merry Christmas, dude. Come back once you've sobered up.

 

[InstantEctobass]

Merry Christmas, dude. Come back once you've sobered up.

Prove me wrong?

 

[Bodeanly]

Prove me wrong?

Single-coil pickups are noisy by nature.
They're sensitive to electromagnetic interference radiated by lights, TVs and appliances.
The magnetic coil is an antenna, and it picks up 60 cycle hum.
It gets worse on stage, with your guitar picking up neon bar signs, fluorescent lights and the beer cooler kicking on and off throughout your set. At high volumes it gets worse, compounded by the high gain settings on your amp (StewMac).

Electromagnetic interference, not air.

 

[InstantEctobass]

Single-coil pickups are noisy by nature.
They're sensitive to electromagnetic interference radiated by lights, TVs and appliances.
The magnetic coil is an antenna, and it picks up 60 cycle hum.
It gets worse on stage, with your guitar picking up neon bar signs, fluorescent lights and the beer cooler kicking on and off throughout your set. At high volumes it gets worse, compounded by the high gain settings on your amp (StewMac).

Electromagnetic interference, not air.

Yes so in a case of an instrument plugged on a laptop without any link to power, running on battery, how does the electromagnetic interference reaches my pickup? Through space, not a wire, or am I wrong?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

This is what EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) figuratively looks like when it's moving through the air:

Don't let that radio tower fool you, even your Wi-Fi access point is emitting waves just like this.
even the laptop you recorded your video on

 

[Bodeanly]

Yes so in a case of an instrument plugged on a laptop without any link to power, running on battery, how does the electromagnetic interference reaches my pickup? Through space, not a wire, or am I wrong?

What I'm saying is, although that angle "cured" the hum in that room, it will likely be a different angle in another.

 

[Lobster11]

The problem of single-coil hum has vexed guitarists and bassists for as long as there have been single-coil pickups. Do you really think you just solved the problem by turning your bass in a different direction?

 

[Ellery]

No, no, no.... the aluminum foil goes over your head!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The reason the noise ceases or subsides is because the instrument's pickups are parallel to the wave of the EMI.
They pick up the noise best when they're perfectly perpendicular to the wave.

Now, if you can just rig it up in some way so you can play it horizontally, you're golden.

 

[InstantEctobass]

What I'm saying is, although that angle "cured" the hum in that room, it will likely be a different angle in another.

I will be trying to different places! But anyway, for sure humbuckers are necessary in some situations. What kills me more is bad grounding on 2k price instruments.

The problem of single-coil hum has vexed guitarists and bassists for as long as there have been single-coil pickups. Do you really think you just solved the problem by turning your bass in a different direction?

AFAIAC, it's solved for me while I can't leave my room!

No, no, no.... the aluminum foil goes over your head!

Ohhhhh!!!! THANKS bro

 

[FugaziBomb]

To make hum disappear on single coil pickups, it's simple, hold your instrument straight vertically regarding the floor. Boom! You're done with hum.

You're welcome. <3

So you believe that in the 70+ years electric guitar has existed, there was a simple, magical solution to hum cancellation that no one was able to figure out but you? The hubris on display here is stunning...

 

[InstantEctobass]

So you believe that in the 70+ years electric guitar has existed, there was a simple, magical solution to hum cancellation that no one was able to figure out but you? The hubris on display here is stunning...

I should have posted my thread in bass humour, sorry man... relax, I wasn't any serious

 

[Bodeanly]

I will be trying to different places! But anyway, for sure humbuckers are necessary in some situations. What kills me more is bad grounding on 2k price instruments

Just get DiMarzio Model J's. And some copper tape.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I should have posted my thread in bass humour, sorry man... relax, I wasn't any serious

I don't believe you. I believe you were all the serious.