Loud hum and buzz from les paul wiring

[Casey Jones]

Hey all my first post here, was wondering if I could get some advice or something regarding this wiring diagram.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_2t_3w

So it's wired up correctly, I checked many times, and I went through and swapped out all the pots, and switch to brand new ones. I'm making this into a es 175 harness if that matters.

The deal is when I plug it in it hums like crazy until I touch the strings, bridge, switch or pots. There is a ground wire that goes to the tail piece which I thought was supposed to suppress all the buzz, but it's not.

Everything functions as it should, there's just a lot of hum. Help appreciated.

[jeremy]

Re: Loud hum and buzz from les paul wiring

welcome to the forum!

it sounds like a ground is not doing its job. do you have a meter to check continuity?

[Casey Jones]

Re: Loud hum and buzz from les paul wiring

Hello, and thank you,

Sorry about the late response. So when I rewired the entire guitar again and strung it up and the buzz was considerable less, but there is still a little bit of hum and when I touch the strings or tail piece the hum goes away. It's not completely silent like my Gibson Les Paul. And funny enough I have the same issue with my Tele that has a Duncan mini humbucker in the neck and a lil 59 in the bridge. I went in and replaced all ground wires with cloth covered wires and double grounded to the tail piece because I read that thinker insulated wire would ground it better but I still get a little bit of hum. I just thought with humbuckers this shouldn't even be an issue.

I have a meter but really only use it to check the ohms on pickups. I know that I burned through a bunch of pots on this project, I think its' because I always use CTS pots and never burned one but this time I used alphas and I burned about 4 in one week, also my soldering iron tip was pretty bad which I also had to replaced. But all that said right now everything functions as it should I just cant kick the hum issue.

Thanks!

[AlexR]

Re: Loud hum and buzz from les paul wiring

If you use a bad iron, then you will kill components. You need a hot iron (or a powerful one), that way you can be on and off the pot in no time flat - and heat isn't built up.

Some hum and buzz will happen with no hands on the strings. And some guitars seem, for one reason or other, to be more susceptible. Some cavity shielding might help too.
Have you also made sure the grounds aren't connected in a loop??

[Casey Jones]

Re: Loud hum and buzz from les paul wiring

For some reason my tips become corroded in the first 5 minutes of turning on the soldering iron, and it's hard to find replacement tips. But I just bought a new set from harbor freight.

If by ground loop you mean all the pots grounded in a circle its not, it's like a horse shoe shape around the pots. Sorry I'm not good with terminology, I just follow diagrams and have good luck with that. I just thought with humbuckers there shouldn't be any hum at all. Also how would I even insulate a hollowbody?