Hummmmmm...

[Honky Tonk]

There's a humming coming from my pups which stops when I touch it, what's the usual cause for this?

[PhatTele]

60 cycle hum. It happens in all single coil guitars (especially in the forward/neck or back/bridge positions). They pick up the hum from the AC current. The fact that the hum stops when you touch the strings means your guitar is wired properly. You are becoming part of the shield ground.

[jwells393]

What sort of guitar are we talking about here?

Attach a wire from your bridge plate to your control plate somehow. A jumper with alligator clips if you have one .......... If not rig something. If the hum is reduced, then you need to run a ground wire from under your bridge to the volume pot. If the hum is not reduced ......... I don't know.

[newey]

HT-

Jack has given you the solution to the guitar half of the equation, which you should try to see if it helps.

The other half of the equation is the electrical environment where you're playing. If, for example, the room has florescent lights, try turning them off to see if that makes a difference. TVs or CRT monitors in the area, likewise. Also anything with an electric motor, like the old-style light timers. And recognize that it's not just stuff in the same room, but anything plugged into the same circuit which may be a part of the problem. There may be multiple sources contributing as well.

A good quality shielded guitar cable, in as short a length as you can live with, may help. My Tele is much quieter since I sprung for a new cable.

With SC pickups, your goal should not be to eliminate 60-cycle AC hum entirely, that's a fool's errand, your goal should be to knock it back to a tolerable level.

[telecaster1987]

Originally Posted by newey

HT-

Jack has given you the solution to the guitar half of the equation, which you should try to see if it helps.

The other half of the equation is the electrical environment where you're playing. If, for example, the room has florescent lights, try turning them off to see if that makes a difference. TVs or CRT monitors in the area, likewise. Also anything with an electric motor, like the old-style light timers. And recognize that it's not just stuff in the same room, but anything plugged into the same circuit which may be a part of the problem. There may be multiple sources contributing as well.

A good quality shielded guitar cable, in as short a length as you can live with, may help. My Tele is much quieter since I sprung for a new cable.

With SC pickups, your goal should not be to eliminate 60-cycle AC hum entirely, that's a fool's errand, your goal should be to knock it back to a tolerable level.

Newey's right. As a tech, I can also tell you that there is in fact, a limit to the length of a guitar cable as well, which is 20 feet. Above that it turns into an antenna. Has to do with the impedance/capacitance of the coaxial cable it's made of, which is why the longest ones you can find are <20 ft long. Noisy electrical environments drive everybody crazy.

Humbuckers were created to cancel out this noise, thus the name, however their tonal characteristics are very different than SCs. It's something we have to live with to some degree or another.

[Guitar_Ninja]

60-cycle hum doesn't go away when you touch the strings though, only outside interference does.

[newey]

Humbuckers were created to cancel out this noise, thus the name, however their tonal characteristics are very different than SCs

Humbuckers have tone????

[garytelecastor]

Ok, Guitar Ninja, I just have to say this....
I am very worried about you. We want you to just sit and listen. Several of your friends are going to express to you the impact this has had on their lives. Where do you keep coming up with these strange vids?? It says something very disturbing about you. Perhaps a little lithium and therapy may be in order.