eliminating P-90 hum

[Alecto]

Hiyez;
I got (extremely) lucky and scored a 1959 Les Paul Junior (a refin and some replacement parts, which is why I got it so cheap). The guitar sounds gorgeous and resonant as hell (the chunkiest-sounding P-90 I've ever heard); the only problem is that it hums like crazy! I tried a noise suppressor, but the hum is so loud that the suppressor interfered with the sustain. Any suggestions on what to do about it? I want to gig and record with the guitar, but not as is. Like I said before, the Jr. is already modified, but I don't want to do anything that can't be brought back to original specs. Any suggestions?

 

[Fatty]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

Is the cavity sheilded at all? If not, you could try your luck with a roll of copper tape. (Couldn't hurt anything)

 

[rspst14]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

Yeah, try shielding the control and pickup cavities with copper shielding tape, and then make sure you ground the shielding. There is a great article on how to do this at www.guitarnuts.com.

Ryan

 

[Wattage]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

Shielding is big but also make sure your ground wire is well soldered. Might want to hit it with the iron again.

Is it the original P-90? If not you might want to consider trying another and seeing if you still have the same problem. Is it everywhere you use it? I have a tremendous problem with my P-90's where I rehearse, the electrical interference is ridiculous, flourescent lights are a PITA. Not like they set the place up for musicians :smack:

If there are any CRT PC monitors, radios or TV's where you are playing that'll create a lot of noise as well. I use a Rocktron Hush pedal I don't kill all the noise so as not to squash the sound but it helps more than it hurts when I need it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

All good advice...but when all is said and done, vintage style P90's hum...they are the reason humbucking pickups were invented in the first place. Lew

 

[Wattage]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

Absolutely but there is little else that sounds like a good P-90 unfortunately.

 

[Kelsey]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

This is why I have come to prefer the Phat Cats over true P90's, as they deliver P90 tone with less noise. But, that doesn't help the original poster, unfortunately. :grumble:

The shielding may help some, but I haven't found it to be a magic bullet on my Fenders by any means. Checking the wiring to ensure good connections makes great sense, especially since the guitar was modded and the solder joints probably aren't virgin anyway. A better quality guitar cable (I like the Mogami Gold for the excellent cable and Neutrik connectors) has been the most useful solution for me -- not perfect, but it works with all of my guitars.

 

[strat_master]

Re: eliminating P-90 hum

p 90's sound great but there will always be a hum associated with single coil pick ups. You can try following what was said here to reduce the hum but you can never get rid of it completely.