Hum Eliminators?

[Potts]

Do these work? I've been having the oddest problem (it probably isn't that odd). My acoustic will sometimes "scream" with 60hz hum. Last night was so bad at a gig I could barely handle it. Obviously it only happens at certain venues. Should I pick one of these up?

[sevenyearsdown]

Is it 60 cycle hum or piezo/acoustic feedback? I've had some pretty interesting problems amping my acoustic upright with piezos.

[Potts]

Is it 60 cycle hum or piezo/acoustic feedback? I've had some pretty interesting problems amping my acoustic upright with piezos.

Definitely 60 cycle hum. I cant tell you how bad it is to show up at again and be met with this. It's so obvious when it's just acoustic and vocal.

[chrisp2u]

Is it 60 cycle hum or piezo/acoustic feedback? I've had some pretty interesting problems amping my acoustic upright with piezos.

Definitely 60 cycle hum. I cant tell you how bad it is to show up at again and be met with this. It's so obvious when it's just acoustic and vocal.

I know there are a few things out there targeted specifically to rid of 60 cycle hum from ground loops... the EBtech HumX is one I've seen. Never used one, so not sure how well it works, but reviews I've seen seem to indicate that it does the job. Not sure if it's right for you situation. I'm no electrical engineer, but I suspect other factors like stray EMF (neon signs, florescent lighting, etc) at venues with marginal power, or on the same circuit may possibly be causing issue too in some instances.
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c

[Potts]

Thanks you guys...

It's weirding me out a little though. Everything was a mess last night and they just installed a new electrical system (at least a new panel) on the patio. I would think that the power there would be better than the 1950's power I have in my garage. I set everything up in the garage today and no hum...everything was fine. I dunno.

[crentist]

learning the words can stop humming.....

[Rick Johnston]

Move the guitar. Does the hum change? If so it's probably caused by proximity to a neon or fluorescent light or a transformer, as Chris said. The guitar's pickup is acting like an antenna. A hum eliminator may or may not help. A humbucker pickup will stop all of it.

By a cheap electrical circuit tester from Home Depot. It will tell you if the receptacles are wired correctly. If the hot & neutral are reversed or if the ground isn't connected it will not only hum and spit like a 2 dollar whore, it's extremely dangerous.



You can also determine if it's a ground loop by temporarily putting a 3-to-2 ground lift adapter on your main power cord. In this case, a DI with a ground lift switch should solve the problem. Don't leave it there, though, because your system won't be grounded.

[Potts]

Thanks Rick! All these years playing and I don't know shit about power. Having a tester the other day would have saved me all that aggravation because I would have at least known where the issue was. I will actually pick one up today. Great advice- thanks again!

Darrell

[Potts]

So I bought a DI today... Why in God's name didnt I buy one before! Dont know about the hum but it was nicer signal to be able to play with.

[guitardave]

Cool.
The only thing better than finding a solution, is finding a CHEAP solution!
A $30 D.I with ground lift, a $5.99 circut tester and a $0.99 ground lift are all in my gig bag.

Every time I hit a new venue I pop the tester in all the outlets we'll be using.
It doesn't cover everything, but what a great start.

Can't tell ya how many times I've found faulty circuts and bad wiring only to tell the owner/manager and hear
"Well we have bands here all the time and they never complained of any problems"

Just to be fair, the whole pavillion at Jellystone Campground was screwed up except for one outlet.
I told their manager and grounds keeper in a nice way that they had "safety issues",
and the next year when we returned, everything was rewired and in top-notch condition.
Very cool, cuz my friends' bands play there too.

[Potts]

LOL Dave! I just bought all 3 and I checked my outlets all weekend at gigs. Again I can't believe I haven't always carried these!

[Kyle B]

This guy says it all:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/ele ... /index.php


FWIW I'm an electrical engineer -- Really. (I'm just a rock-n-roll god at night ) The words that cat writes are 100% true. Ignore at your own risk.

I plug our PA and my own gear into a GFCI cord. Nothing else does, 'cuz I can't seem to get anybody to believe I know WTF I'm talking about so they ignore me. But at least I'll be a spectator instead of victim if something bad happens.