Electricity
moster78
Posts: 1,591
Hey fellas, long time no post for me. I just had a quick question that hopefully someone out there will be able to help me out with.
My wife and I just bought and moved into a house, and as I've gotten around to setting up and using my gear, I've noticed that my amps, while hooked up to my guitars are making crazy amounts of background hums. And not the 60 cycle hum you'd expect from a single coil pickup, because I get it even through my guitars with humbuckers. I was asking my guitar teacher his thoughts about it, and he said that lights hooked up to dimmer switches can have an effect on stuff like that, and lo and behold, I tested it this afternoon and messing with the dimmer while the guitar and amp are hooked up and on does have an effect.
Is there something else I should be looking for? Is the electricity coming out of my outlet possibly a problem? Do I need a high quality power strip/surge protector for my amps? Also, could it be the instrument cables I use? They're not one anyone would call top of the line.
I just notice that I have these massive problems while I'm at home, yet at my lessons, plugged into my teachers amp with a Strat, I barely hear anything. Thanks in advance!
My wife and I just bought and moved into a house, and as I've gotten around to setting up and using my gear, I've noticed that my amps, while hooked up to my guitars are making crazy amounts of background hums. And not the 60 cycle hum you'd expect from a single coil pickup, because I get it even through my guitars with humbuckers. I was asking my guitar teacher his thoughts about it, and he said that lights hooked up to dimmer switches can have an effect on stuff like that, and lo and behold, I tested it this afternoon and messing with the dimmer while the guitar and amp are hooked up and on does have an effect.
Is there something else I should be looking for? Is the electricity coming out of my outlet possibly a problem? Do I need a high quality power strip/surge protector for my amps? Also, could it be the instrument cables I use? They're not one anyone would call top of the line.
I just notice that I have these massive problems while I'm at home, yet at my lessons, plugged into my teachers amp with a Strat, I barely hear anything. Thanks in advance!
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Get a multi meter and test your outlets for consistent voltage, you should have at least 110 on the voltage setting. A hum problem sounds more like a grounding trouble. Make sure your outlets are properly grounded, and if you have a ground switch on your amp, put it in another position. A power strip/surge protector never hurts to have on board, either.
If your cables work at your teachers house, the same ones should be OK at home.
I hope this is some help to you.
If you know what you're doing, you can replace the dimmers with regular on/off switches. If you aren't a pro, you can probably have a pro do it, since it is painfully easy and doesn't take any time to do (maybe a half hour for the first switch, and ten minutes for each switch after that).
Just for the hell of it, I recommend anybody plugging into electrical outlets with a guitar to purchase an outlet tester, one of the cheap ones with two yellow lights and a red light. They're like $5 at the hardware store (you can even get them at the hardware section of Wal Mart) and will tell you if you have a properly wired outlet. I think your dimmers are the culprit, but I'd buy a tester and see just in case.