Weird buzzing behavior

A

abbnyc

New member
I set up in a new space, and I'm getting an irritating buzzing from my Eastman T185. I've unplugged everything else electronic in the area, turned off lights, etc, and none of that made a difference. Initially I assumed it was my amp, but it goes away when I unplug the cable, so it's definitely in the signal itself.

I noticed some odd behavior, though. My volume pots are set around 80%, and the buzz goes away below maybe 40%. At 100% the noise changes in character - tightens up and gets more treble. This happens identically on the bridge & neck pickups. But in the center position the noise gets way quieter.

Does anyone with a better understanding of wiring than me know what this suggests about the cause?

It's also worth mentioning that my tone pots are push-pulls set up to tap the humbuckers into single-coils, and tapping makes no difference to the buzz.
 
...I discovered that my wifi was causing problems, also extension blocks weren´t helping.
 
Not a grounding issue. I say that because there is also a quiet ground hum, which remains whether the guitar is plugged into the amp or the amp is sitting solo. I'm fine with minor ground hum, but this is something else, and far more intrusive/irritating.


Mincer said:
Any dimmer switches, old TVs, fluorescent or neon lights in that space?
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mincer. There was a dimmer switch on the other side of the room, first thing I unplugged. No difference. All lights are LEDs, and while there's a mildly-aging TV serving as a computer monitor, there was no difference when I unplugged it and waited a while for any capacitors to discharge.

playas said:
...I discovered that my wifi was causing problems, also extension blocks weren´t helping.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid it's going to turn out to be the wifi, or a refrigerator on the floor below. Not much I can really do about either.

It's a dual-band router, any idea if the interference would be likely to come from 2.4GHz but not 5GHz, or vice versa?
 
Maybe the wiring is picking up interference. That's why hollowbodies use shielded wire to wire everything. It's always slightly noisy, but you just gotta do your do diligence with shielding everything and make sure there's a ground wire to the bridge.
 
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The network that causes me problems is using powerline to extend the range of the main router and the space where I play is also the same room where the main router is located (and not easily moved). It transmits both 2.4 GHz & 5GHz.

For now all I can really do is plug the amp in as far as possible from where the routers are plugged in, as it's rarely practical to switch the wifi off.
 
Modems and routers are a cause of noise, for sure. USB connections can also be a source...like if a multi-effects is connected to a computer (for editing). Those can get very noisy, and you wonder why- it is hard to adjust the sound when half of it is hum.
 
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