60 cycle hum

this one bar i gig at the power has a real bad 60 cycle hum to it and my lss sounds like crap and hums all night.i have a boss ns-2 pedal witch kills the hum when you stop playing but as soon as you start there it is.any one have any luck the hum-x by ebtec or is there something better out there

I plug everything into a Furman Power Conditioner and don't have any trouble with the dread 60 cycle hum. Also provides protection if there are any issues with the power at the venue. There are alternatives, but that's the one I use

it might be the guitar and/or cable more than the amp.

joe.h said:

this one bar i gig at the power has a real bad 60 cycle hum to it and my lss sounds like crap and hums all night.i have a boss ns-2 pedal witch kills the hum when you stop playing but as soon as you start there it is.any one have any luck the hum-x by ebtec or is there something better out there

Click to expand...

To troubleshoot whether it's the guitar/cable, you could just turn down the volume knob on the guitar and see if the hum persists. To check if it's the cable, try using a volume pedal to cut the sound before it reaches the amp input. If those all turn out to fail and the noise continues, I'd check preamp tubes first, then start worrying about power supply. I'd personally look into a power conditioner anyway, though.

If it's happening at only that one place, it most likely is the power supply of the venue. Check out http://www.furmansound.com. :wink:

It could be electro-magnetic interference from nearby equipment. Does the level of the hum change as you move around? Are you using single coil PUPs?

you should take fox5150's advice and get a power conditioner if you keep playing there. Also, if possible, make sure you use an outlet far from any fluorescent or dimmed lights.

thank guys.the guitar i play is a prs johnny hiland the neck pick up has a coil tap which i use quite a lot so i use a boss ns-2 pedal its stops the hum when you stop playing but at this bar its a guitar players night mare of a gig.i think a conditioner is the way to go.i did a new years gig it was out of town in the local community hall old place and thought i would had trouble with the power nothing great sound.but i do think correct me if i am wrong but i think
class A amp lss are more prone to 60 cycle hum.but today i will check out my cables.just changed my pre amp tubes last week.any conditioners you would recommend

If the hum is consistent regardless of guitar position or orientation then the hum is coming in on the power cord and a power conditioner will help.

If it's an electromagnetic field and it's coming in your guitar cord, then you can buy the best power conditioner on the planet and it'll be useless for reducing noise, but you will have nice clean power.

thanks chuck.i have been looking at a furman pro power conditioner they are pretty exspensive about $400.00.but reading the reviews on it seams to do all it claims to do.has any body else had good luck with any other conditioner

I bought the Furman Power Factor Pro and it did... absolutely nothing.. hehe. I still have the
same amount of hum.. and the tone sounds exactly the same. It seems to me to be a big
clunky expensive box with lights.

I had a similar problem (NASTY NASTY HUM) and I ended up going through my rig cord by cord...lots of chords and power connectors. I found the culprit-a bad Pedal power connector and things have been QUITE ever since! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!