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Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

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  • #1

    Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

    Hi Everybody,
    Scenario - I have a Strat with 2 x DimMarzio HS3 PUs at the neck and middle positions - a Stock fender at the bridge. A long time ago I removed the tone controls completely. I do not know if the volume pot is the original and it's label was soldered over long ago so I do not know what resistance it is - 250 or 500 perhaps? (it may even be a tone pot from another guitar...). Anyway it is important to note that ( before the job) the guitar worked great and there are no issues at all.
    So, I added a SSL-3 in the bridge position and I was immedietly impressed with the power - it is louder than the Di-Marzio HS3s and brighter - However it hums when I go over 7 on the volume. When I move the guitar around then it varies - but only slightly - as soon as I switch to the HS3 PUs then everything is quiet - yes I have a high gain amp but this does not happen with my other guitar which is an ESP with Seymour Duncans. I also removed the shielding just to see if that was not working and then I got a massive amount of additional static so obviously the ground is ok. I even reversed the black & white cables but it made no difference.

    I am wondering whether a) it has hum cancelling and it is normal? b) this is a incorrect volume pot which cannot handle the extra power or c) whether the PU is faulty.

    Please help!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

    Originally posted by man_in_a_blackbox
    Hi Everybody,
    I am wondering whether a) it has hum cancelling and it is normal? b) this is a incorrect volume pot which cannot handle the extra power or c) whether the PU is faulty.

    Please help!
    Welcome to the forum!
    Well, none of the above. The DiMarzio HS-3 pups are, as I believe, stacked coil designs that are hum-cancelling, whereas the SSL-3 is a true single coil pup, which does not cancel the hum. It is the nature of the beast - the pickup is not faulty.

    If you really dig the tone, you could live with the hum.

    Or you can get a Seymour Duncan Stack pickup that will not hum, but I believe it will sound differently from the SSL-3.

    Hope this helps.
    Tony
    Gibson Hawk Series guitars rule!

    Fave SD pups: Duncan Custom, Alnico II Pro, Pearly Gates, Phat Cats; Nashville Studio and Alnico II Pro for Tele; a Sadducer in my Crafter acoustic.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

      Hi Tony,

      Thanks for the reply - it is a shame that the SSL-3 hums at very loud levels - I play loud rock music and it is quite noticable compared to the HS3 and the other Seymour Duncans in my ESP. Still, I will try and nail as much interference with new shielding and a new 250 volume pot.
      Question1 - is there a resistor I could use on the volume pot which would not kill the power/sustain?
      Question 2 - which 'power' Strat PU actually has hum cancelling? What would you recommend?

      Regards brett

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

        Originally posted by man_in_a_blackbox
        Question1 - is there a resistor I could use on the volume pot which would not kill the power/sustain?
        Question 2 - which 'power' Strat PU actually has hum cancelling? What would you recommend?

        Regards brett
        Question 1: see https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=27328
        and also http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/potm.htm

        Question 2: The hum-cancelling Strat pups I know of are:
        1. Fender Noiseless - vintage tone without hum. I haven't tried any of those.
        2. DiMarzio has several types - see their website; I only tried the Fast Track 1 that is not made anymore. A cool pickup, though not the most powerful one: I believe the SSL-3 is louder.
        3 Seymour Duncan has several types of hum-cancelling Strat-style pups:
        - Hot Rails: mid- and bass-heavy tone, good for distortion - actually sounds like a hot humbucker. I have tried the neck/mid version and to me it sounds best in a guitar that's naturally bright-sounding (alder body/maple neck; I have it in a mahogany/maple body, maple neck guitar and it sounds cool).

        - Cool Rails: more open, slightly weaker output tone - somewhat like a vintage PAF-style humbucker. I have tried a neck/mid version again. It's brighter than the Hot Rails and can do clean tones better in my opinion.

        - JB Junior: a Strat-sized pup intended to emulate the sound of the JB humbucker. Again, I tried the neck/mid version: bright and articulate, though not as treble-rich as true single coils. Could be a good pickup for you - Fender Japan made (or maybe still makes) the Iron Maiden Stratocaster with a Floyd Rose and the Hot Rails (neck + mid) and JB Jr (bridge) pickups - definitely a guitar for loud rock.

        That's about all I can say from my own experience.

        Hope this helps
        Good luck!
        Tony
        Gibson Hawk Series guitars rule!

        Fave SD pups: Duncan Custom, Alnico II Pro, Pearly Gates, Phat Cats; Nashville Studio and Alnico II Pro for Tele; a Sadducer in my Crafter acoustic.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

          Originally posted by man_in_a_blackbox
          Hi Tony,

          Thanks for the reply - it is a shame that the SSL-3 hums at very loud levels - I play loud rock music and it is quite noticable compared to the HS3 and the other Seymour Duncans in my ESP. Still, I will try and nail as much interference with new shielding and a new 250 volume pot.
          Question1 - is there a resistor I could use on the volume pot which would not kill the power/sustain?
          Question 2 - which 'power' Strat PU actually has hum cancelling? What would you recommend?

          Regards brett
          I would make sure that I also hadn't melted the wiper in the pot. Been there done that. My singles are vintage output but have a barely noticeable hum. I would use a meter and make sure all my grounds connected well. All that said if an hum is unacceptable then I'd go with the hot stack if I were you. It's the hum cancelling version of the hot. For Single sized buckers JBjr or the rails series are the way to go.

          Luke
          “That which we do for ourselves dies with us … that which we do for others lives forever.”

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

            Your SSL hums because it's a single coil. They all do that when you turn up the volume and/of gain.

            For what you want, I'd go with the Virtual Vintage Solo. It doesn't sound like a humbucker or a strat pickup. It kind of falls in between a P-90 and a Strat pickup as far as tone goes. AS far as output is concerned, it keeps up very well with the Pearly Gates set in my LP.
            Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Humming with may SSL-3 - Help!

              If you compare the HS-3 with the ssl3, you should not wonder about it's output.
              The HS-3 is a low-output pickup, but many people think its a high-output, because its a famous pickup for using in heavier styles.
              Its not a power-pickup, it just has a nice sound with a lot of gain.
              If you want a hot single-Coil tone without hum, i would suggest the live wire hot.
              They are the hottest and clearest pickups i ever heard!
              Pickups... the final frontier.
              These are the voyages of the Seymour-Duncan Forum-Users.
              Their continuing mission: to explore strange new pickup mods, to seek out new tones and new guitars, to boldly go where no mod has gone before.

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