Random humming.

[J. Crawford]

I have a problem. I have a gig tonight, first on with the new rig, and I cant figure out why I have this humming sound. Its with both basses, but esp my passive Peavey Ridge.

My rig is in my sig, and I use Monster cables. Do I have something plugged in wrong? A knob turned too high?

Any help is appreciated guys.

Thanks, J.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

If the hum isn't there with nothing plugged in it's airborn RFI and EMI that probably can't be removed. The usual source is single coils.

 

[chadds]

Audiences and some band members can randomly hum.

 

[anderbass]

You probably already know all this but make sure your guitar cord isn't actually a 1/4 speaker cable. (that'd cause a hum issue for sure)

If you've only experienced the hum thing in one room/building, try your rig somewhere else to eliminate that buildings lighting or 110 volt power source as the possible culprit. (room dimmer lights are notorious for causing weird hum issues)

If you've still got your old amp, you could substitute it as a test to confirm if your new amp is somehow defective.

(edit)
I'll ad that I've also had slightly defective instrement cables that caused hum issues but did still somewhat function.

 

[J. Crawford]

Audiences and some band members can randomly hum.

Thanks! I never could have guessed. :scowl:

But I just turned the amp on with out anything plugged in and the hum is even worse. And Im not sure if the cable is 1/4 inch or not. Its a Monster Performer 500 cable, came with the head when I bought it from the TB Classifieds.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

With the instrument cable NOT plugged into the amp's input jack: if you get hum, it's either an amp problem or bad building wiring.

 

[J. Crawford]

With the instrument cable NOT plugged into the amp's input jack: if you get hum, it's either an amp problem or bad building wiring.

I unplugged the inst. cable and the hum goes away. Its only when the bass is plugged in, with the volume and gain turned up (at any degree).

 

[Rick Auricchio]

Try with another instrument cable, then with another bass.

If the hum/buzz changes as you turn your body while playing, then you are picking up noise in the pickups. The noise is from power lines in the building, other electronics, etc. You can't eliminate the sources.

On a Jazz bass, the hum pickup is generally minimal when both volume controls are at the same setting.

By shielding the instrument, you can significantly cut the noise pickup. (See the Pickups & Electronics forum for a sticky about shielding.)

Switching the pups for double-coil units will completely eliminate the hum being picked up, though your tone will change a bit.