Emg buzzing...grounding?

[AlexFinger919]

Hey,
I have a wiring problem with my Emg-equipped guitar...I think. It has a 60 in the neck position and a 81 at the bridge, one volume and a 3-way switch. When it is plugged in and the volume poti is turned up, there's a buzzing sound like when you touch the tip of the unplugged guitar cable, only much quieter.

It doesn't go away when you touch the strings/bridge, but it gets much better when you touch the pickups/jackplate/switch. So I thought it was a grounding issue and brought the guitar to a technician, who renewed the whole wiring inside the guitar (or at least that's what he said...). Problem still exists.

Then I thought, maybe it's the pickups themselves which are somehow damaged. I changed them for another pair of Emgs - same problem.

So it shouldn't be a wiring issue and it's definitely not the pickups. Whats going on here

I'd be really thankful for ANY ideas!

Best regards,
Alex

[LonePhantom]

Do you have a ground wire going to the bridge or tremolo spring claw? If so this is most probably your issue. EMGs are internally grounded, and running a ground to the bridge will cause humming issues.

[silverctr]

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

Do you have a ground wire going to the bridge or tremolo spring claw? If so this is most probably your issue. EMGs are internally grounded, and running a ground to the bridge will cause humming issues.

That's good to know.

[AlexFinger919]

I could't see any grounding wire connected to the bridge. The guitar came with factory installed Emgs, so I wonder why there is this problem in the first place...

[LonePhantom]

Is this a new guitar? If it is take it back, they have warranties for a reason. If there's a problem it should be fixed or replaced.

[AlexFinger919]

Not new enough to do that, I'm afraid!

[LonePhantom]

Ok, well you paid a tech to fix the problem, and they didn't. Take it back and tell them to fix it properly. You paid for a repair, they should fix it for you. There is going to be something wrong with the wiring somewhere.

[AlexFinger919]

Thanks for your advice, but at the moment that's not an option as I'm in another city and need to sort the problem out by myself.

Does someone have an idea what could cause the problem and how to solve it?

Regards,
Alex

[metalhead52]

It is a grounding issue. Check the wires to the input jack. I had this problem when I got a guitar and removed the EMGs for stock Dimarzios. The 2 wires on the input jack were reversed.