[SHK]

I got a grgr221pa-aqb gio recently, always wanted to try an Ibanez and this seemed like a good versatile entry option. I really like it, except for the huge amount of hum it produces when run through amplification.

I use VSTs and realize that some noise is unavoidable, and know how to use noise gates and so on, but the noise from this guitar makes it unplayable. I run other guitars through the same recording equipment and the noise is nowhere near as bad as from the Ibanez.
I have tried checking for grouding issues using a multi meter (checked continuity between all metal, also checked resistance between solder points) and found nothing that would indicate bad ground or cold joints but the guitar sounds like the grounding is bad. I´m kind of a noob when it comes to these sort of things though, so i came here looking for tips. How should i go about diagnosing this? Any help would be appriciated, and if any further info is needed, I would be happy to provide it.

 

[JsXLine6]

Have you checked the jack? I know my Ibanez guitars all have barrel jacks. None of them like my magomi cable or fender cable... They buzz and cut out all the time. I have zero issues with my monster cable though. It has something to do with the shape of the cables plug tip. It's slightly larger and makes a more solid connection. Barrel jacks are finicky annoying jacks...

Also does it change depending on where you are in the room? Try turning your body, if you find that you can turn at a particular angle and then hum greatly lessens... Then you may have a shielding issue.

 

[3bolt79]

I’m thinking ground issue or lack of shielding. Does the hum go away when you touch the strings/put your hand on the bridge, or any other metal part of the guitar? Or the jack insert on the cord? I have the same issue with an old Ibanez I bought a couple of months ago. I am going to reflow the solder joints to the jack and I have to replace a pot. The hum goes away when I touch anything metal on the guitar.

 

[SHK]

I’m thinking ground issue or lack of shielding. Does the hum go away when you touch the strings/put your hand on the bridge, or any other metal part of the guitar? Or the jack insert on the cord? I have the same issue with an old Ibanez I bought a couple of months ago. I am going to reflow the solder joints to the jack and I have to replace a pot. The hum goes away when I touch anything metal on the guitar.

It does go away when I touch any metal ob the guitar, especially the cable that

Have you checked the jack? I know my Ibanez guitars all have barrel jacks. None of them like my magomi cable or fender cable... They buzz and cut out all the time. I have zero issues with my monster cable though. It has something to do with the shape of the cables plug tip. It's slightly larger and makes a more solid connection. Barrel jacks are finicky annoying jacks...

Also does it change depending on where you are in the room? Try turning your body, if you find that you can turn at a particular angle and then hum greatly lessens... Then you may have a shielding issue.

Went ahead and tried a few different cables i had lying around, sme no brand cheap ones as well a more expensive one and the problem remained.

Have you checked the jack? I know my Ibanez guitars all have barrel jacks. None of them like my magomi cable or fender cable... They buzz and cut out all the time. I have zero issues with my monster cable though. It has something to do with the shape of the cables plug tip. It's slightly larger and makes a more solid connection. Barrel jacks are finicky annoying jacks...

Also does it change depending on where you are in the room? Try turning your body, if you find that you can turn at a particular angle and then hum greatly lessens... Then you may have a shielding issue.

I just tried a few different cables that i had lying around, some cheap no brand ones as well as a a Roland and a Planet waves (i think) and the problem remained. I suppose all the cables might have the kind of tip that doesnt make a solid connection, but i don´t have tools to measure the size of them.

I´m in a tiny room, so i don´t have a lot of wiggle room in here, but as far as i can experiment, the noise is the same no matter what i do. There´s lots of electronics so it might be a shielding issue still though.

 

[SHK]

I’m thinking ground issue or lack of shielding. Does the hum go away when you touch the strings/put your hand on the bridge, or any other metal part of the guitar? Or the jack insert on the cord? I have the same issue with an old Ibanez I bought a couple of months ago. I am going to reflow the solder joints to the jack and I have to replace a pot. The hum goes away when I touch anything metal on the guitar.

It does go away when touching metal, especially the metal part of cable end that´s connected to the guitar, but touching any metal seems to lessen it quite a lot.

 

[3bolt79]

It does go away when touching metal, especially the metal part of cable end that´s connected to the guitar, but touching any metal seems to lessen it quite a lot.

same happened to mine and it turned out they didn’t run the wire to the claw. They skipped it. There was no ground wire at all.

 

[JsXLine6]

If you touch any metal on the guitar and the noise lessens... It's absolutely a grounding issue.

 

[SHK]

If you touch any metal on the guitar and the noise lessens... It's absolutely a grounding issue.

So is the best way of solving this resoldering the joints then?

 

[aidan.creaser]

So is the best way of solving this resoldering the joints then?

You could do that if you wanted but the fastest way to fix it is to follow your ground wire through the guitar (If it only buzzes for one pickup, start there). With your multimeter, you can narrow down exactly where the discontinuity is. That way you only have to touch up one joint.

 

[JsXLine6]

Normally if it's every position your problem is the ground wire to your claw. It wouldn't hurt to even replace that wire all together if heating doesn't work. I have a guitar that is grounded... I personally completely rewired the whole circuit. It still has a slight ground buzz... but it's faint. If you have a meter like Aidan suggested, it would aid you immensely.

 

[SHK]

Normally if it's every position your problem is the ground wire to your claw. It wouldn't hurt to even replace that wire all together if heating doesn't work. I have a guitar that is grounded... I personally completely rewired the whole circuit. It still has a slight ground buzz... but it's faint. If you have a meter like Aidan suggested, it would aid you immensely.

I have reheated the solder on the joints at the claw (i assume you mean the lug on the volume pot that almost all the ground wires are soldered to) and the wire that comes from the bridge, with no changes to the noise. It´s the same, and equally loud on all positions. I can´t find ANY discontinuities either, but i´m not very experienced with this kind of work so i might be messing up somehow. The only solution i can think of is taking all the elctronics out and resoldering everything, replacing all the wire in the cavity at least.

 

[JsXLine6]

Check if your jack is grounded properly. If your jack has 3 terminals... You may have soldered the ground to the wrong terminal. Or the jack it self has a problem. But if your volume POT lug isn't grounded to the back of the POT then you'll have problems as well. Your trem claw wire should be soldered to the pot like this and so should that lug.