Eliminating hum

Posted by Andy R on July 6, 2017 at 10:12pm

So I got my lap steel painted up, ready to go, install the humbucker and it doesn't buck.. it hums

I had the issue in my CBG with a single coil and attaching foil to ground all internals solved it.

How might I quiet my lap steel with no insides to shield?

It is wired correctly, and will quiet when I touch the jackplate or pickup

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Andy R July 7, 2017 at 7:55am
    Thanks for the input on this. So the kit comes up a bit short on the electronics it seems.
    I am considering using a large bolt in place of the bridge, like you see on a lot of cigar box guitars. Connecting a wire between that and the ground lug on the jack might be the way to go for me
  • Peter Hendley July 7, 2017 at 6:38am
    I just finished a lap steel. No bridge either. Put a metal plate on the back that the strings go through. On the inside or the side facing the timber I soldered a wire which is soldered onto the volume pot..could be soldered onto any negative wire maybe. Anyway in effect I have earthed the strings/bridge. It worked for me
  • darryl kernaghan July 6, 2017 at 11:10pm

    Sounds like you need to ground your strings Andy, if you have a metal bridge, try a temporary wire from the jack nut to the bridge and see if that helps, if it does you will need to make something permanent, ideally from the ground that currently goes to the jack, disconnect it from the jack, then connect it to the bridge, then add another wire from the bridge to the jack, doing it that way should safeguard against creating a ground loop

    • Andy R > darryl kernaghan July 6, 2017 at 11:39pm

      There's no metal bridge with the CB Gitty kit.

    • darryl kernaghan > Andy R July 7, 2017 at 12:39am

      I just looked at the kit, i see what you mean, as it's a humbucker, which i didn't notice on your original post, it's unlikely to be a shielding issue, it is more likely either interference from an outside source, flouro lights etc, or a grounding issue, try the test as i said, but connect the wire from the jack plate to some aluminium foil contacting all strings behind the bridge, if that solves the issue, you need to make something permanent, an easy way would be to place a small piece of metal under the guitar where the string ends are, with all strings seating on that metal through holes, then wire the metal to your ground lead to the jack. But 1st eliminate any electrical interference by turning lights off, and plugging into different sockets, even in other rooms, and see if that helps.   Just had another thought, an even easier way to test would be to just strip a wire 3 or 4 inches, wrap it around 1 string, then under,over each string making sure it contacts, then connect the other end to the jack plate, or even just hold it against it while you test

This reply was deleted.