g string humming on amp

dynasty32 · January 18th, 2009, 02:20 PM

I have a single coil strat that I play through a vox da5 amp. Whenever I play a chord that involves an open g string, (open g chord, open c chord) I get a hum from the amp. Why is it doing this?

It doesn't matter if the amp is clean or distorted.

I'm suspecting it might have to with the strings? like unwounded or wounded g string? I strung them with Ernie ball 9's electric guitar strings. I'm not sure They're like 2 months old.

Justinvs · January 18th, 2009, 04:56 PM

Is it a hum or a buzz? Make sure the saddle posts on the g string are at the same height. If one post is a little loose it can cause some really starnge buzzing.

dynasty32 · January 18th, 2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justinvs

Is it a hum or a buzz? Make sure the saddle posts on the g string are at the same height. If one post is a little loose it can cause some really starnge buzzing.

no it's a high pitch buzz. It's only like this when plugged into the amp.

Keith S · January 28th, 2009, 04:11 PM

Hey, I think I know what that might be. I read a book about amps last night. The bass player in my band has somehow gotten his mitts on a couple of really good books on the subject of setting up guitars and amps... I think all my guitars have a professional setup now as a result of my having read that book during breaks... ANyway, there's a couple of chapters about amps in there. Most of it is over my head but I read about weird ghost tones coming from an amp while playing, and one of the things he mentioned was a bad filter cap allowing AC to leak into the audio circuit, which then causes harmonics on certain notes. Like you have 60 hz hum, and the "g" note is the right frequency to create "beat" frequencies that you can hear. (Like when you tune the guitar using harmonics on the 5th and 7th fret).

Of course, I can't hear what your amp is doing, but if you can get the amp's filter capacitors checked you can rule this out. If this was the problem, I suspect that other guitars would do this too, through the same amp because it's the frequency and not the individual guitar. Likewise, That guitar through someone else's amp would not make that sound either.

Anyway, if this is the problem, please be careful poking around inside the amp. You have to "zap" the caps, some can contain a charge that will injure you even days after the last time the amp was turned on. Also, New electrolytic caps can be damaged if you just cut out the old ones and replace 'em. The book spoke of a thing called a "variac" that should be used to slowly bring the amp with its new caps up to voltage the first time to condition the capacitors. Like I said, it's all over my head, but this might give you something to think about if the problem isn't in the guitar itself. Play the guitar through another amp if you can, to try and recreate the problem, if you can't then the Amp itself may be the culprit.

Good luck.

January 18th, 2009, 02:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
dynasty32 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 22	g string humming on amp I have a single coil strat that I play through a vox da5 amp. Whenever I play a chord that involves an open g string, (open g chord, open c chord) I get a hum from the amp. Why is it doing this? It doesn't matter if the amp is clean or distorted. I'm suspecting it might have to with the strings? like unwounded or wounded g string? I strung them with Ernie ball 9's electric guitar strings. I'm not sure They're like 2 months old.

January 18th, 2009, 04:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
Justinvs Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Wise River, Montana Age: 47 Posts: 456	Is it a hum or a buzz? Make sure the saddle posts on the g string are at the same height. If one post is a little loose it can cause some really starnge buzzing.

January 28th, 2009, 04:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
Keith S Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Yellowknife, Canada Age: 36 Posts: 133	Hey, I think I know what that might be. I read a book about amps last night. The bass player in my band has somehow gotten his mitts on a couple of really good books on the subject of setting up guitars and amps... I think all my guitars have a professional setup now as a result of my having read that book during breaks... ANyway, there's a couple of chapters about amps in there. Most of it is over my head but I read about weird ghost tones coming from an amp while playing, and one of the things he mentioned was a bad filter cap allowing AC to leak into the audio circuit, which then causes harmonics on certain notes. Like you have 60 hz hum, and the "g" note is the right frequency to create "beat" frequencies that you can hear. (Like when you tune the guitar using harmonics on the 5th and 7th fret). Of course, I can't hear what your amp is doing, but if you can get the amp's filter capacitors checked you can rule this out. If this was the problem, I suspect that other guitars would do this too, through the same amp because it's the frequency and not the individual guitar. Likewise, That guitar through someone else's amp would not make that sound either. Anyway, if this is the problem, please be careful poking around inside the amp. You have to "zap" the caps, some can contain a charge that will injure you even days after the last time the amp was turned on. Also, New electrolytic caps can be damaged if you just cut out the old ones and replace 'em. The book spoke of a thing called a "variac" that should be used to slowly bring the amp with its new caps up to voltage the first time to condition the capacitors. Like I said, it's all over my head, but this might give you something to think about if the problem isn't in the guitar itself. Play the guitar through another amp if you can, to try and recreate the problem, if you can't then the Amp itself may be the culprit. Good luck.

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