Amp hum

Dennis Voges · Post by **Dennis Voges** » 14 Dec 2000 7:10 pm

Hello everyone

I am a beginner and have a Peavey Nashville 400 and would like to know if anyone can help me solve a problem.

When i plug my cable in from the steel there is a hum in the amp, If I remove the cord from the amp it has no hum. The cables are new. It even hums when going through a volume peddle. Thanks for your help everyone.

Keep on Steelin

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 15 Dec 2000 3:44 am

Although a new cable could be bad, if you have single coil pickups that is probably where your hum is coming from. Single coil pickups sound great but they have the hum problem.

You may be able to reposition the guitar in relation to the amp and cut some of the hum.

Also where the steel is placed in relation to other electronic components, e.g. a PC monitor or a TV set may help too.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 15 Dec 2000 8:20 am

Jack is exactly right! It doesn't hum when
your volume pedal is all the way off,
does it? If it still hums, & it's NOT the
cord, then a possible problem in the 1st preamp section of the amp. When you pull the
cord out of the amp, the hot & ground part
of the input jack short together which kills
the sound from the first preamp stage.
So if there's a problem there, you won't
hear it with your cord pulled out!

Blake Hawkins · Post by **Blake Hawkins** » 15 Dec 2000 9:58 pm

Dennis, Jack is right. I have several steel guitars with single coil pickups which I play through a Nashville 400.
If the guitar is less than two feet from the amp, I get the hum.
It is caused by the pickup coupling to the magentic field of the power transformer in the amp.
I place my guitar about 3 feet away from the amp and don't have the problem.
You will have the problem with a single coil pickup with any amp which has a conventional power transformer.
Blake

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 16 Dec 2000 4:19 pm

Get a humbucking pickup!