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H150 electronics and grounding


guitarnut1

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Hi guys,

 

would really apreciate it if any of you can shed some light on some of the following issues.

 

My H150 ultra is humming, I mean, as soon as you touch the strings it gets, quiter. I would guess that some solder is bad and the electronics are not properly grounded. Does that make sense?

 

Can any one point a wiring diagram?

 

THanks

 

 

PS in the same amp, my strat is absolutly quiet. So it must be the H150.

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Hiya, can you take a clear pic of the inside of the control area please? Could be wired in several ways - best to be sure.

 

Has this started happening recently or has it always hummed?

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Hummm. Maybe I should check my wiring diagram.

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Hi guys,

 

would really apreciate it if any of you can shed some light on some of the following issues.

 

My H150 ultra is humming, I mean, as soon as you touch the strings it gets, quiter. I would guess that some solder is bad and the electronics are not properly grounded. Does that make sense?

 

Can any one point a wiring diagram?

 

THanks

 

 

PS in the same amp, my strat is absolutly quiet. So it must be the H150.

 

Have you checked the connection that attaches the bare wire from the bridge/tailpiece to see if it is good? Another point to check would be right at the jack itself. This one can be twisted if the jack is loose.

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Am I the only one who has experienced this with EVERY electric guitar I have owned or played? Expensive, cheap, boutique, name brand they ALL do it. Take a look at a guitar schematic or wiring diagram. See the GROUNDING WIRE running from the volume/tone pot case to the bridge posts? Now where do the bridge posts go? To the bridge. And what touches the bridge? The guitar strings. And what touches the guitar strings? Your hands. And what does this make you? The guitars ground. Now excessive hum could be a problem and may be helped by shielding and/or rewiring. And yes, there are some schemes out there to remove the ground wire and shield the guitar completely, but these are not common and and I am not aware on any manufacture that does this. Every electric guitar will hum less when you touch the strings. That's just the nature of the beast. Sorry if it sounds like I'm being a jerk - just trying to get the point across.

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Am I the only one who has experienced this with EVERY electric guitar I have owned or played? Expensive, cheap, boutique, name brand they ALL do it. Take a look at a guitar schematic or wiring diagram. See the GROUNDING WIRE running from the volume/tone pot case to the bridge posts? Now where do the bridge posts go? To the bridge. And what touches the bridge? The guitar strings. And what touches the guitar strings? Your hands. And what does this make you? The guitars ground. Now excessive hum could be a problem and may be helped by shielding and/or rewiring. And yes, there are some schemes out there to remove the ground wire and shield the guitar completely, but these are not common and and I am not aware on any manufacture that does this. Every electric guitar will hum less when you touch the strings. That's just the nature of the beast. Sorry if it sounds like I'm being a jerk - just trying to get the point across.

 

Thanks guys, will post a pic of the pots cavity later on.

 

Guitarartman, what you say makes sense. I removed my strings yesterday and raised the bridge posts. After putting the strings on, excessive hum was present. Ok, I had some funny noises for the last few days (hum... touching the strings, funny noises, almost thought something was wrong with my amp) so looks like the problem had been there but by messing around with the bridge posts it really surfaced. I'll have a look at this ground cable and let you know what the situation is.

 

Thanks for your support once again :)

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Thanks guys, will post a pic of the pots cavity later on.

 

Guitarartman, what you say makes sense. I removed my strings yesterday and raised the bridge posts. After putting the strings on, excessive hum was present. Ok, I had some funny noises for the last few days (hum... touching the strings, funny noises, almost thought something was wrong with my amp) so looks like the problem had been there but by messing around with the bridge posts it really surfaced. I'll have a look at this ground cable and let you know what the situation is.

 

Thanks for your support once again :)

 

Usually, I hum when I'm touching the strings. Not sure if there is a connection or not.

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Usually, I hum when I'm touching the strings. Not sure if there is a connection or not.

 

 

You might not be grounded. Have you tried rubber sole shoes?

Or your phone could be set to vibrate and you are playing too loud.

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You might not be grounded. Have you tried rubber sole shoes?

Or your phone could be set to vibrate and you are playing too loud.

Sometimes, I just hum melodies even when I'm walking around without my guitar. Do you think I have a ground issue or maybe it's my shoes. I'd like to think I'm a well grounded individual.

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Sometimes, I just hum melodies even when I'm walking around without my guitar. Do you think I have a ground issue or maybe it's my shoes. I'd like to think I'm a well grounded individual.

It depends, are you also experiencing negative feedback?

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It depends, are you also experiencing negative feedback?

 

In different frequency since the First Grade.

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In different frequency since the First Grade.

I was once told that to stop my negative feedback look I had to increase my ground potential.. turns out that they really said "guitar potential" :)

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I was once told that to stop my negative feedback look I had to increase my ground potential.. turns out that they really said "guitar potential" :)

 

My Dad has always told me to stand on my own Two feet, maybe there is something to it. Though, I probably have more "ground potential" than "Guitar potential".

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My Dad has always told me to stand on my own Two feet, maybe there is something to it. Though, I probably have more "ground potential" than "Guitar potential".

 

I think your ground is loopey.

 

Seriously, I once had a guitar that the previous owner had different pickups installed. The installer had made two paths to the ground on the input jack, looked like a ground loop to me. When I removed one path the hum and static discharge issues where lessened.

 

If your problem started after monkeying with the bridge, maybe you affected the bridge ground some how.

 

Carry on with the diligent attempts at humor.

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I have archtops that don't ground to the strings. That's a necessary evil with them and an annoyance.

they should ground to the tailpiece, thus the strings.

 

As for the hum issue. lets forget about the guitar and the amp for just a moment. Does your house have old or new wiring, are there dimmer switches in the area where your amp is. how about florescent lights or neon. If the circuit you plug into is not grounded properly, or if it's routed through a dimmer you will have buzz no matter how well the guitar is wired.

peace

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they should ground to the tailpiece, thus the strings.

 

As for the hum issue. lets forget about the guitar and the amp for just a moment. Does your house have old or new wiring, are there dimmer switches in the area where your amp is. how about florescent lights or neon. If the circuit you plug into is not grounded properly, or if it's routed through a dimmer you will have buzz no matter how well the guitar is wired.

peace

 

You are right about all of that. One of my archtops has an ebony TP. No ground.

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they should ground to the tailpiece, thus the strings.

 

As for the hum issue. lets forget about the guitar and the amp for just a moment. Does your house have old or new wiring, are there dimmer switches in the area where your amp is. how about florescent lights or neon. If the circuit you plug into is not grounded properly, or if it's routed through a dimmer you will have buzz no matter how well the guitar is wired.

peace

 

I would agree with this info. My guitars hum more noticeable in my old house with very old wiring and suspect grounding. I went to Elderly one day with my 150 convinced I had some sort of ground/wiring issue with the guitar. When plugged into the little amp on the repair bench, it was dead quiet.

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I had a problem with excessive hum whenever i connected my multi-effects unit to my computer. It the computer was plugged into the wall outlet, it set up a hum. I solved the problem with an Ebtech Hum X eliminator.

 

Ebtech website

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I had a problem with excessive hum whenever i connected my multi-effects unit to my computer. It the computer was plugged into the wall outlet, it set up a hum. I solved the problem with an Ebtech Hum X eliminator.

 

Ebtech website

Neat little plug there!

 

I know I was getting a hum when trying to record through my desktop; but turns out it wasn't actually ground loop hum, it was picking up noise from the fan.

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I know I was getting a hum when trying to record through my desktop; but turns out it wasn't actually ground loop hum, it was picking up noise from the fan.

 

I've always wanted a fan...

 

I sort of have a fan.. My five year old is my littlest fan. We have this little routine. He'll come into the room while I'm playing. He'll sit there and sway or boogie in time to whatever I'm playing like he's into it, and then two minutes later he'll say: "Dad you have to stop playing...". I usually refuse.. He repeats himself. I repeat myself. We do this a couple of times.. And then he claps his hands to his ears.. Screams... and runs out of the room! Apparently my music moves people (moves.. as in out of the room..). Sigh!

 

As for the hum... Yeh, while a little bit of hum without a human grounding the strings might be expected anything more means you have a problem.. I think the other posts have covered the possible causes though.. So good luck on finding the problem.

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The only time I ever have an issue with any kind of hum is one of two things:

 

Single Coils against florescent lighting (Goes away when I engage the middle pup with the bridge/neck).

High Gain Setting on the amp (Goes away when I turn it down).

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