Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

[Robert Delahunt]

Ok, so I'm not happy with the hum I get from the church's Peavy Delta Blues amp. Any non-hum-cancelling position hums like crazy, and sometimes the notch positions hum too!

Last night I ran my guitar into my Star Force (korean brand) amp with my same cables and ME-50. No hum at any time (but the noise suppression was at say 50% on the ME-50).

So... should I:
1) Buy power conditioner for church (or ask them to get one), ~$200
2) Buy three custom shop Classic Stack 2's (Alnico II classic stacks) at ~$140 each
3) Send Lite Ash off to a shop to get modded for ~$100 to shield it and reduce hum?

Just so you know, I HATE pickup hum, but most the other strats I've played never hummed this bad (so is it a design defect?)

 

[ErikH]

Re: Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

I can almost guarantee it's not shielded. Shield it, but you can do it yourself. It's very easy to do. You can even use heavy duty aluminum foil and 3M adhesive but the copper shielding tape is easier to work with in the cavities. The foil is great for the back of the pickguard.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

I can almost guarantee it's not shielded. Shield it, but you can do it yourself. It's very easy to do. You can even use heavy duty aluminum foil and 3M adhesive but the copper shielding tape is easier to work with in the cavities. The foil is great for the back of the pickguard.

Yeah my badd, that was #4. I'm eyeing one of Callaham's aluminum pickguard shields right now, and I'll do that, but otherwise I don't want to have to tamper with a stock guitar I just bought! lol

 

[jeremy]

Re: Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

i dont think its a defect per se but alnico II magnets tend to be a little more noisy for some reason but there is no reason it should be that noisy.

i shield my strats with either paint or copper tape. the shielding paint is easier and works well, just make sure its grounded. make sure the pick guard has shielding on it too, usually some aluminum foil looking stuff.

if the church's power is that noisy then a power conditioner wouldnt hurt either.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

And when you shield the cavity, make sure some of the shielding material comes up and on top of the guitar a little bit so when the pickguard is put on (with shielding too), the two make contact. I make sure a little foil comes up and over one of the pickguard screw holes, usually the one below the bottom tone control.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Alnico II / Lite Ash anti-hum advice

Once I have installed the Callaham pickguard shield, I have never had a strat that made excessive noise at all...in fact all of them have been exceptionally quiet. I have AII's in the neck and middle of my Ash strat, and they are exceptionally quiet. I don't do anything else to my strats, and I am no wiring/shielding expert...

The Callaham pickguard shield is $13.