Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG's rescue?

[Big D]

I'll make a long painful story as short as I can. I bought a slightly used RR1 that had the original Duncans replaced with EMG85/81's. I'm not a big fan of EMG's so I had a qualified tech replace them with a set of Duncans (same models that come stock from Jackson).

Well, after 2 months of struggles by the 3 best techs I know, the guitar is still unplayable. When it is plugged in with the volume turned OFF, you must keep your hands in contact with the strings or a knob otherwise it buzzes terribly.

The entire guitar has been re-wired twice. New pots, new input jack, 2 sets of Duncans and they still can't get it figured out. They've called Jackson, etc.

Now on to my question, when I bought the guitar with the EMG's it didn't have this problem. Maybe this is a stupid question, but if I put EMG's back in it am I essentially guaranteed the buzz/humming problem will go away just by the active nature of the EMG's electronics?

thanks for your advice...

[rjohnstone]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Sounds like it's not wired properly... bad ground, possibly at the bridge.
Also, make sure that the EMG input jack has been replaced with a standard 1/4 mono jack.

[Big D]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like it's not wired properly... bad ground, possibly at the bridge.
Also, make sure that the EMG input jack has been replaced with a standard 1/4 mono jack.

[/ QUOTE ]

Input jack was replaced. It has been completely re-wired at least twice by professionals that followed the Duncan schematics. These are guys that have done lots of other pickup swaps for me with zero problems.

But what about my idea of swapping back to the EMG's? Is there something about active pickups that inherently makes them less susceptible to buzz/hum?

thanks

[rjohnstone]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Have you tested the guitar on other rigs... different cables and such?
Also, did they replace the Vol and Tone pots?
EMG's use 25k pots... You're SD's are gonna require 250k or 500k pots. There's a difference between re-wiring and replacing incorrect parts.
Not knocking your techs, but this ain't rocket science.

[Big D]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

[ QUOTE ]
Have you tested the guitar on other rigs... different cables and such?
Also, did they replace the Vol and Tone pots?
EMG's use 25k pots... You're SD's are gonna require 250k or 500k pots. There's a difference between re-wiring and replacing incorrect parts.
Not knocking your techs, but this ain't rocket science.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, been tested on multiple amps with different cables. All pots were replaced (twice).

I hear what you're saying about this not being rocket science. It's gotten to the point where it's not just frustrating, it's freaky weird. The one shop had it for 4 weeks before they just gave up. They think maybe there is some bad mojo or something with that axe. [img]/images/graemlins/help.gif[/img]

[rjohnstone]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Hmmmmm.... now that is a strange one.

Test the pickups... you could have a broken lead wire inside the pickup itself.
Try another set if possible.
After that, I'm stumped.

[Big D]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Thanks for your efforts and advice Rick, we did try 2 sets of pickups already.

So anyone have any thoughts on my original question:

"But what about my idea of swapping back to the EMG's? Is there something about active pickups that inherently makes them less susceptible to buzz/hum?"

[Newc]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Other than the low impedance of the actual pickup, EMGs are no more prone to hum and buzz.

However, I'd get a bag of jumper leads fro Radio Shack and do some experiments myself. "Professional" techs usually follow the "standard", but you may have a guitar that - for whatever reason - needs a non-"standard" wiring scheme, like an extra ground wire.

[der_kopf]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

I got the same problem with my KV1

[DonP]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

EMG's are quieter than passives.

This is because:
1. The passive part of the pickup is low impedance. This makes it a "weak" antenna for picking up hum. Hot coils with lots of windings are just better at picking up stuff, including noise.

2. The signal is boosted. EMG's have a pre-amp built into the pickup, boosting the signal before it is "exposed" to outside noise. This boosted signal fights off noise better through the cable runs.

But, I don't find a "huge" difference between passives and EMGs.

If you are familiar with passives, and can compare your RR1 to some other guitar, it shouldn't buzz any louder than any other passive. If so, it's not wired correctly.

Here is an idea, although your statements already shoot it down. If you reverse the hot and ground wires on a pickup, the hot lead is on the "outside" of each coil instead of the inside, making slightly more hum (still works descent). I know you said they wired it up right, but some manufacturers use different colors for hot and ground, and your tech might be wiring it like he always had. I did this with my OBL L500XL. I wired it up like a Seymour Duncan, which is backwards and caused slightly more hum.

[Ozz666]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

I would check over all the grounds...there should be a ground on each of the 3 pots, the jack, the switch, the Floyd claw, and each of the pups. All the grounds should be tied into each other. Then look over the wiring and compare it to the Duncan diagram...also check to make sure no wires are stripped and touching something they shouldn't be.

- Joel

[RobRR]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Theres something wrong with your wiring. You shouldnt have to switch over to EMG's to get it playing right, thats rediculous. Thats like putting in a new motor because your current one needs an oil change! If you interested in having rewired correctly, shoot me a PM and Ill take care of you.

[Big D]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescue?

Thanks for the advice everyone. I hear what you're saying about this not making sense. It shouldn't be this hard.

I have one more clue to run by you. The buzz seems much worse anytime I grasp the guitar on the top fin a few inches above where the input jack is. If I even rest my arm on the fin with the volume off, the buzz is worse than if I'm not touching the guitar at all.

And one other thing, turning the tone knob all the way to the "bass" setting also gets rid of the buzz. [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[rjohnstone]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescu

"And one other thing, turning the tone knob all the way to the "bass" setting also gets rid of the buzz."

You need to stop using whoever it is that's doing your wiring.
The pot is wired wrong. Sounds like the tone cap is soldered on incorrectly.
Please post pics of the electronics cavity if you can.

Rob's pic is what a clean wire job is supposed to look like. Color coded wires make things easy to follow.
Of course his is wired with two volume pots and no tone pot.
btw.. nice solder job Rob.

[Big D]

Re: Buzz/hum problem with my RR1. Can EMG\'s rescu

OK, here are a few pics. I hope these are good enough for you to see what you need to see....in case it's not obvious, the tone knob is on the right.

And honestly I'd prefer to not have a tone knob anyway, so if that's an "easy" fix, let me know. thanks