Bit of a buzz

[leecow]

Howdy folk,

My first Anderson (08-22-04r) has arrived in fine order and what a cool guitar!! Unfortunately it has a bit of a buzz going on that sounds and acts like a ground issue. Planning on taking it to a local luthier (Mike Lull) unless someone here advises otherwise.

Also, the Fender strap just doesn't seem right - how would I go about ordering a more appropriate TAG strap?

Thanks,
Lee

[tom]

when you send in yuor registration you can get a strap in return. what kind of buzz?

[leecow]

A tell-tale ground buzz when not touching anything metal on the guitar which stops when touching the strings, bridge, control plate or tuners.

re: the strap. I do have the original registration sheet but since it was bought used I didn't figure I was eliglible for the free goody.

[tom]

you can send in a copy of the reg. only about 1/3 of the buyers send in their reg. any of our guitars will buzz when you let go. below is my standard response.
My guitar is making a lot of noise that subsides when I touch either the volume or tone controls. What’s the problem?

The problem you're experiencing is a common one that has a rather complex answer. First of all, any guitar that
doesn't have active pickups will have this problem. The problem is that we humans are very good conductors of electricity, being sacks of mostly water. You're guitar is grounded through the guitar cord to your amp. You, are also grounded when you are touching anything metal on your guitar. You being a great conductor, acting as a shield when you are grounded. This is why when you are near your amp, and holding your guitar, you can turn your body to reduce the hum coming from your amp. When you are not grounded to your guitar (not touching anything metal), you are still a good conductor, but instead of being a shield you are an antenna for all the world's hum and noise, drawing it close for your guitar to hear and amplify. The most common solution for the problem is to roll your guitar volume pot down when you are not playing or keep your hands touching some metal on your guitar.

[leecow]

Thanks Tom. Registration will be on the way as soon as I find a stamp :rolleyes:

[sylvanshine]

The problem you're experiencing is a common one that has a rather complex answer. First of all, any guitar that
doesn't have active pickups will have this problem. The problem is that we humans are very good conductors of electricity, being sacks of mostly water. You're guitar is grounded through the guitar cord to your amp. You, are also grounded when you are touching anything metal on your guitar. You being a great conductor, acting as a shield when you are grounded. This is why when you are near your amp, and holding your guitar, you can turn your body to reduce the hum coming from your amp. When you are not grounded to your guitar (not touching anything metal), you are still a good conductor, but instead of being a shield you are an antenna for all the world's hum and noise, drawing it close for your guitar to hear and amplify. The most common solution for the problem is to roll your guitar volume pot down when you are not playing or keep your hands touching some metal on your guitar.

We need to make this a sticky or put it in the FAQ. I'm still amazed how many times this question gets asked. :)

[HiG]

I know a guy that picks up radio transmissions on just about any rig he plugs into - no kidding. He has a bunch of metal in him from an accident years ago. He can be picking up the airport control tower through his rig, but if he hands his instrument to someone else, it goes away. Pretty frustrating for a guitar player, huh? :D

[tom]

we had a similar, sort of, situation years ago when we were playing near a radio tower. we wrapped the mics in alum foil and ran a straight pin throught the cord into the sheild. stopped the radio signal. maybe you could wrap him up and put on a funnel hat just for good measure.

[sylvanshine]

picks up radio transmissions
Reminds me of the episode of the Partridge Family when Laurie had braces. Man, I'm old.

[tom]

i'm older! the partridge family was after me.

[tomsalvojazz]

I actually bought and then returned a bunch of guitars one after another (certainly NOT TAG!!!) that I thought ALL had really bad grounding problems. Then, for some reason, I needed to plug the amp in in another room and --- POOF --- no more buzz! The guitar's predisposition to buzzing might be exacerbated by a grounding problem in the electrical system wherever you are plugging in.

[leecow]

Was at a fellow guitar-alpha-nut get together this last weekend and one of the rigs (Grosh Strat into a GDS 18 watt ... nice tones!) started picking up a station and all I could do was giggle and think about this thread ;)

[tom]

the world can be an unguitarfriendly place sometimes. gotta roll with it.