Hi,
I'm just finishing building my first hubcap guitar but I'm having issues with the wiring and hope someone can suggest a solution. I've got a basic single coil pickup with a volume control, I've followed various wiring guides online regarding grounding etc but I still get a massive buzzing when I plug it in. I'm wondering if this is because the whole thing is basically a metal box? Should I insulate the components from the metal body so that just the ground wires are in contact with it?
Thanks
Replies
I've now been back over my wiring and it looks OK (not the neatest soldering you'll ever see but they joints seem solid enough). I've tried connecting the pickup directly to the jack, the buzz has quietened down quite a bit but picking a string just results in a scratchy/crackle through the amp and if I touch the hot wire from the pickup the buzzing gets a lot worse (or is that normal?), does this sound like the pickup could be to blame?
No, if you are direct to jack, no loop, perhaps your hum is from an outside source, flouro lights etc, try it with lights off , or another room where there is less electrical equipment to interfere
scratchy/crackle while playing sounds are from a bad contact, a loose jack, bad instrument wire partially proken inside, a volume pot gone dirty will crackle as you turn the knob. a bad solder joint will vibrate and make intermittent contact like you are stroking a bare wire across the contact and crackle.
a bad solder joint will be dull in color and tuck under at the edges like a meatball
A good solder joint will be shiny and flare out at the edges like a fried egg.
Soldering tips I learned the hard way: Use a 'helping hands' (or make one) to hold the components in place while soldering. Always pre-tin the components to connect (pre solder the bare wire, the pot or jack lug, etc). Use the iron to heat the solder, not the components, the hot solder will transfer plenty of heat to make a good connection without cooking the wire or the pot. Place the solder on the point you will solder, put the iron on top of the solder, let it melt (feed a little more in if needed) and heat the solder, not the component, till the solder flows/spreads out on its own.
Hi
Thanks everyone for your help. I've changed the lead from my amp and I've been back over my wiring and resoldered everything, all the connections seem solid enough. The hum/buzzing has almost gone but there is no sound at all from the pickup. If I touch the hot connection on the volume pot the buzz returns but still nothing from the pickup itself. Back to the drawing board as they say.
Just 1 thing i didn't mention above, is the chance you have a ground loop, not normally an issue with a metal guitar, but it comes up at times when 1 fixture is isolated from the steel body, and the grounding goes to it, and returns to the circuit, then the jack
That sounds like a bad joint, or even a bad lead from git to amp, crackle almost always indicates something moving or intermittant contact, and sometimes a bad pot, eliminate them 1 by 1, I'd start by checking your lead with another git, then, by passing your volume pot, just lightly heat the wires and remove them from the pot and go direct to jack, as they already have solder on them it should be pretty simple
does touching the strings, metal part of the volume knob, metal cover on the instrument cable or the hex nut for the jack change the sound?
have you tried a different instrument cable?
does the same cable and amp not make noise when you plug in your commercially produced instrument from the big box instrument store?
Hi JL, touching any of the parts does reduce the buzzing, I've tried another cable and it's the same, when I plug my commercially produced guitar into my amp there is a very faint hum but nowhere near as load as with the hubcap. I think I may need to start again with the wiring.
Thanks
Sound like would may have reversed the hot and ground wires.
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