BriGuy1968
New member
OK… So I am going to let you guys in on the fact that I made a real BONEHEAD move a couple of years ago.
Just about two years ago I completed my first build/assembly/partscaster. I was really excited about it and pretty proud of how she came out:
Now this was my first “all single coil“ guitar, and it had a buzzing sound going on right from the beginning which I miss took to be 60 cycle hum. The pickups had a really cool sound to them but were a little weak in terms of output, which I compensated for by using a boost before everything else in my rig. After a couple of months of playing, however, I realized that the buzz I was getting was NOT 60 cycle hum but some other issue instead. Eventually it got to the point that I just quit playing her.
“So why not just get in there and fix it?” you might ask. Well, I made a VERY complicated and intricate wiring set up for her and I just didn’t feel up to digging her open and troubleshooting the whole thing:
So yesterday I finally got around to pulling off the pickguard and looking for problems. All the connections seemed good. I turned her over and made sure that the bridge ground was attached firmly to the trem claw, which it was. Puzzled, I plugged it in to my amp and still heard the buzz. I started touching things like the switch, the volume and tone pot casings, etc. and discovered that every time I touched any of them the buzz got louder. At one point, though, my hand pressed against the jack and the buzzing stopped. Bingo! Something was obviously loose behind the jack plate. I opened it up and to my dismay everything was connected perfectly. I took a little closer look and realized that…
…are you ready for my bonehead move from two years ago?
… I had reversed the ground and hot wires at the jack!
I switched them around and plugged it in… NO BUZZ! I put new strings on her and got her all tuned up… plugged her in again, started playing and WOW what a difference it made to these pickups! they are rich and full and sound simply amazing! I went ahead and took her to band practice last night and the guys there were also commenting about how great this guitar sounds.
Can’t believe that I let such a stupid little mistake keep me from enjoying this guitar for the last two years!
Just about two years ago I completed my first build/assembly/partscaster. I was really excited about it and pretty proud of how she came out:
Now this was my first “all single coil“ guitar, and it had a buzzing sound going on right from the beginning which I miss took to be 60 cycle hum. The pickups had a really cool sound to them but were a little weak in terms of output, which I compensated for by using a boost before everything else in my rig. After a couple of months of playing, however, I realized that the buzz I was getting was NOT 60 cycle hum but some other issue instead. Eventually it got to the point that I just quit playing her.
“So why not just get in there and fix it?” you might ask. Well, I made a VERY complicated and intricate wiring set up for her and I just didn’t feel up to digging her open and troubleshooting the whole thing:
So yesterday I finally got around to pulling off the pickguard and looking for problems. All the connections seemed good. I turned her over and made sure that the bridge ground was attached firmly to the trem claw, which it was. Puzzled, I plugged it in to my amp and still heard the buzz. I started touching things like the switch, the volume and tone pot casings, etc. and discovered that every time I touched any of them the buzz got louder. At one point, though, my hand pressed against the jack and the buzzing stopped. Bingo! Something was obviously loose behind the jack plate. I opened it up and to my dismay everything was connected perfectly. I took a little closer look and realized that…
…are you ready for my bonehead move from two years ago?
… I had reversed the ground and hot wires at the jack!
I switched them around and plugged it in… NO BUZZ! I put new strings on her and got her all tuned up… plugged her in again, started playing and WOW what a difference it made to these pickups! they are rich and full and sound simply amazing! I went ahead and took her to band practice last night and the guys there were also commenting about how great this guitar sounds.
Can’t believe that I let such a stupid little mistake keep me from enjoying this guitar for the last two years!
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