KILL The Hum and Buzz!! - Keeping Your Single Coils QUIET!

How can you keep your noisy single coil pickups from driving you absolutely crazy?
Here are a few ideas, and specialized products to kill the hum!
If you found this video helpful, be sure to like and subscribe :)
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Soli Deo Gloria!

[@jimmyvolakis5194]

I use the J Mascis technique: “just don’t stop playing, man“

[@stratosphere835]

👍👍👍

[@davidcastellanos881]

Jajajajajaja good one.

[@bFOURdwZEROlf]

LOL ABSOLUTELY!

[@benjimontgomery9826]

too bad he ended up using Kinman noiseless pickups lol!

[@benjaminryan9808]

HAHAHAHA

[@km_studios]

Man, Darrell, you were a real buzz kill in this video

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

😂😂😂

[@CaloomClark]

@@DarrellBraunGuitar i bought a telecaster today as my first guitar with a fender champion 20, the guitar wont produce any noise all i get is a static noise and whenever i press any of the strings at all i can hear a sort of static boom in the amp, any help appreciated

[@lukeschiltz9688]

Kristian Todd Hello I also have a Fender Champion 20 and a single coil Fender (a Strat). I hope you’ve solved your issue by now, but if not, here is some input. Assuming there are no issues with the guitar or amp itself, here are some tips. To get a nice, clean sound, turn the Voice knob toward the left to one of the cleaner settings (tweed or blackface), and turn the gain knob down but not all the way down. I usually keep the gain knob at 2 or 3 for a clean sound. This should hopefully solve your issue.

[@user-zn4qy7tw9t]

@@CaloomClark probably the speakers but the guy on top of me tells you what to do.

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

Luke Schiltz I also have a Strat and a Champion 20. Thanks for the tip.

[@denis_kleshchev]

I could hear AM radio out of my single coils when it existed. Now they turned off all AM radios in Russia and all I hear is 50 Hz hum

[@stanksandwich8383]

bring back AM radio !

[@euphority_delay7978]

А мне однажды было слышно, как кто-то слушает русскую народную музыку, я не ожидала этого.

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

Wow. You must be a big deal over there.

[@gothxm]

@@punkisinthedetails1470 lol wut

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

@@gothxm hehe hey Mujushin. I don't remember the exact angle of the joke. I think I was suggesting that the person was physically able to harness or receive radio signals, as a joke. Kind of like a superpower. When the person is obviously referring to their actual radio but their comment made it sound otherwise.

[@tomaszmazurek64]

Turning around is a good method - if you spin 360 degrees you can usually find a position in which the hum is less intense. Moving around also helps. This is most useful while recording, especially with a computer, which can be a massive source of electromagnetic noises. If you use pedals, changing the power supply can help a lot. I've switched from using individual wallwarts to Mooer MPS8 and the difference is huge. Part of it is unlike with most wallwarts, this one is properly grounded, part of it is that a single transformer in a proper metal shielding sends out less interference than 3 with unshielded plastic cases. Finally, since individual PSUs can float in terms of voltage in relation to each other, they can cause hum in the effects chain, even if there was none coming from the guitar. Having a single PSU deals with that too. Finally, a somewhat controversial option for recording is to use a noise removal plugin. Essentially, you leave a few seconds of just noise and hum at the start or end of the recording, then feed this into the plugin so that it can build a noise profile and use that profile to remove the noise and hum in a much more nuanced way then a simple gate would. I use Z-Noise by Waves and just feed it a signal from an amp or a distortion pedal and it works wonders. It has a huge latency though, so it's unusable in live situations.

[@TomGrubbe]

I thought this was a joke comment at first "...if you spin 360 degrees..." but it works. The advice on the PSU and Z-Noise plugin are also very useful. Thank you!

[@truckercowboyed2638]

You need to rename the wall behind you Mount Tele.

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

hah nice!!

[@RobbieTayVaughan]

I've noticed he changes the line up back there every so often

[@Mickocarbomb]

@@RobbieTayVaughan was gonna just say that, every video where he has more than a few of that videos specific guitar he usually swaps the guitars for that body style. Strat video = strat wall, single cut = Single cut wall.

[@gregmerritt9366]

...this...

[@QuikdethDeviantart]

That’s what he does when the camera turns off... mount tele... 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@MikeLee-lg5vq]

Wow. That's more Teles on the wall than at many music stores. 😀

[@russellesimonetta3835]

Different colors create different sounds!blue is for blues, surf green is for ventures, black is for nirvana or angsty music, red is for anarchy rock ect.

[@russellesimonetta3835]

@Loofasword i,m just joking. I know they all serve a different styles based on pickups.

[@MikeLee-lg5vq]

@@russellesimonetta3835 If having a different color guitar in your hands makes you play it differently, it actually does create different sounds! Can't deny that! 😄

[@martijnvandenakker803]

Russell E Simonetta ...And woods...

[@error404m]

I have a 97 Japanese Jaguar. Very very well shielded, and hardly hums at all.

[@alexbowman7582]

In the UK we do not have a problem with 60Hz buzz. We do have a problem with 50Hz buzz.

[@mr.purple250]

Alex Bowman lmao

[@roypalfrey169]

And anyone who has experience of 70 cycle hum will tell you; The hum isn't as good as it used to be.

[@samfosdick9874]

In Soviet Union guitar buzz you..

[@lucasaltamirano1354]

Ohh. Sorry for live in America with 50hz. Sucker

[@PhuVet]

Goofy 240V is even worse I bet. There is a push here in the US to cut the amount of 120v lines running in houses because most things in the households really run off of 12v or less. Edison screwed us over all those years. The newest thing people are doing is installing big transformers in their houses to drop the voltage to 12v so they can run almost everything on solar. No stupid wall warts or transformer boxes on electronics. Imagine that, Tesla was right all along.

[@youngslump8735]

i really dont know why but something tells me Darrel really likes Teles.

[@avinandandey6418]

We all love teles

[@blackstormer95]

@@avinandandey6418 not really, Strat gang all the way

[@hathaway.1166]

@@blackstormer95 Everyone loves the strat, including me, but the telecaster is for the matured mind, and you can play pretty much any kind of music with it.

[@EXHUMEnCONSUME]

If it ain't hummin', I ain't strummin'.

[@MrMattias1991]

That hum is like when you were being wrapped in soft and clean blanket, fresh out of the dryer in Winter

[@sarondiesel588]

Mine's a hummin' but it ain't a strummin' because I left my strings at the store I bought them from. :)

[@clawhammer704]

If its humming then I'm not strumming.

[@MonsieurVersatile]

Self-adhesive copper tape (anti-snail tape) throughout the pickup cavities and routing cavities, and on scratch plate, all joined up, wire from tape to back of volume pot. Done. Costs virtually nothing and is amazingly effective. Takes 20 minutes and transforms your guitar.

[@mihaiiatan6720]

Agree. My Fender strat has all the cavities (vibrato one too), tapped with copper foil. The hum it's just at the same level as for the humbucker. I can go even further with the statement, my Washburn has more background noise when i don't touch the strings, than my Strat.

[@ironkiko]

Hugelongjohns Awesome

[@ironkiko]

Mihai Iatan Very cool

[@1thess523]

@@mihaiiatan6720 did you ground the cavities together?

[@mihaiiatan6720]

@@1thess523 yes, connected with the pickguard too.

[@ChadWork1]

I just had an electrician come over and put my studio on it's own circuit / ground. Everything is very silent.

[@ArmanBaig]

How much does something like that cost? Is it invasive work?

[@ChadWork1]

@@ArmanBaig That depends on your house. I have a crawl space under my house. It was like between 1-2 hrs work. It's not a big deal to do. It would be good if you talked to an electrician and told him whats happening. There is still a little bit of hum with single coils. BUT if you have a big hum going on, that can be mitigated with a new clean line with it's own ground. It made me not hate single coils LOL!

[@ArmanBaig]

@@ChadWork1 I have a 2 story house with attic and crawl space. My studio is on the second floor. Could I still do it?

[@ChadWork1]

@@ArmanBaig Of course. Anything is possible. Just have an electrician come out and bit the job. It would be nice if he had some experience with studios, as in killing the hum. It may be that he just tests your lines and finds they are can be tweaked. You could call a local studio and ask if they have a recommendation for an electrician too.

[@ArmanBaig]

@@ChadWork1 awesome, thank you so much. I really appreciate it

[@Arcturian1111]

Also check your guitar cables too. My sons guitar sounded bad. I changed the guitar cord, it made a world of difference.

[@geespar1]

Certainly easier than changing the son 😄

[@nightcoreunny2114]

@@geespar1 😂

[@ifhami4122]

@@geespar1 lol 😂😂😂😂

[@0Imtheslime0]

​@@geespar1 Killed it... :):)

[@jairocabrales5139]

@@geespar1 SAVAGE !!!! LMAO !!

[@onefatstratcat]

Why does your guitar hum? It doesn't know the words :)

[@nathonalexavier1505]

Dan Nullmeyer he was just making a joke..

[@teleplucker6802]

It doesn't know the words.

[@nicke.424]

*HMMMMMMMMMM*

[@ganiburce6299]

😂

[@gregmerritt9366]

Where dad jokes, reside, my like button does well.

[@billdollar7011]

I was reading this week about a new way of winding a single coil that's completely silent. This is genius! You wind the first 3 magnets fully and then go on to the remaining 3 magnets and wind them in a reverse direction....TA RAAA! ....silence...

[@carlwilson4375]

Leo Fender did this in the 1950’s with the P Bass, and later with the G&L Comanche.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

That's just a humbucker.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

Also, that's what "noiseless single coils" means in his list. They're the in-line split coil humbuckers you're talking about.

[@infectionsman]

That doesnt work, it creates a soft spot between the coils, if you bend over it it makes a horrible sound. The coils have to be set apart, like in the G&L Z-coil pickups

[@terrainx]

There are a lot of myths about 60hz hum. In a nutshell, any electric instrument is effectively an electrical circuit thus 60hz hum (electrostatic noise) is nothing but RF interference. The only way to get rid of it is to ensure a proper electrical grounding of the circuit. Electric guitar circuit is basically conformed by the pickups + cable + amplifier, the amplifier should have a metal chassis which is grounded internally . The important thing here is to make sure your amplifier is electrically grounded when you plug it to the power line. This ensures the RF interference bleeds to ground and is not amplified by your amp's circuit. Shielding the interior of the guitar's body and the back of the pickguard can help to reduce the hum however only grounding the amp can get rid of the hum. If you choose to shield the interior of the guitar's body and back of the pickguard, it is very important that you make sure you ground it to the output's jack ground terminal and not to the tremolo bridge. Fail to do this and in case of an electrical discharge you might get a very unpleasant electrical shock. In some cases this might even be life threatening.

[@apotato9227]

Terrain So does that mean i should place my amp on the ground? i usually always place it on my bed

[@mal2ksc]

Running two wires in parallel (one to the bridge and one to the cavity) versus running one wire in serial (touching the cavity and continuing on to the bridge) is not going to make a significant difference in how hard you get zapped if things go horribly wrong. Prevention must be done elsewhere, and it starts with keeping your amplifier in good repair and properly wired. Better still, run through an opto-isolator so there isn't a high voltage anywhere on the guitar side of the circuit -- although this won't stop you from getting zapped by directly touching an amplifier with the chassis tied to live.

[@terrainx]

@@apotato9227 No, grounding refers to electrical grounding which means the outlet and the house/building electrical installation should be correctly grounded for safety. In practice, if this is done correctly, this means your amp should not buzz when it is on. In case you want to verify your house/building electrical installation is correctly grounded, only a certified electrician should perform that task.

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

I’d suggest using the gate as the very last solution. It’s the most obstructive method to your sound. First step, use high quality cables! Second, check the other electronics in the area and where their magnetic fields are! Third, insulate your guitar’s electronic cavities with the proper copper shielding tape (adhesive needs to be conductive), by this point you should be almost noise free. Then a gate with very low settings could certainly help. And/or hum/noise reduction if your setup has that option.

[@jefjahn247]

What a "Tele" of a day! Darrell, did you intentionally fill the wall with Teles, and rock that T-shirt to match? LOL ... Thank You for these fast and easy fix solutions!

[@directassault1662]

Something you didn't say: Stand the exact right direction to minimize it.

[@squidwardstesticles5914]

That’s only really practical when you’re recording though

[@directassault1662]

@@squidwardstesticles5914 Except for when I've done it live...

[@squidwardstesticles5914]

Direct Assault you can’t really get into the performance though, cause you have to just look in one direction the whole time

[@ASSman864]

You say that as if anyone is going to take squidwards testicles serious

[@samueljett7807]

I figured this out by accident lol. I dropped my pick so I turned to get it and behold! All noise disappeared.

[@Michael-hp2pe]

Darrell, your videos are the best man. If there is a guitar topic I'm thinking of and want to research, you always seem to have covered it. Plus, you aren't lazy, you always link to related stuff in annotations or in the video description. Keep up the great work man!

[@annihilator7787]

this is so unfair. i just typed a fresh search and still found this posted by you. 👌 man please live a thousand years.

[@ArtAlienTV]

I put 3 hotrails in one of my Strats. With a toggle switch for each one to go from single to humbucker. No noise. Noise Gate otherwise. 👍

[@mynamefrank6567]

How much did it cost for the 3?

[@mkaali]

But isn't coil split again noisy?

[@mikesmit9770]

I have a strat ultra from 91 which has noiseless lace sensor gold pickups

[@DMSProduktions]

Yes, split will make it noisy!

[@doyledarby9020]

I've got the same setup preloaded pickguard from dragonfire.i love it.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

As a HUGE single coil fan this is a subject near and dear to my heart! If you guys have any favourite noise reduction or gate pedals post them below :)

[@maxo.2312]

MXR Smart Gate :)

[@Meiji1868]

Dryer sheet for the pickguard static. Got my tele shielded, but it was pickguard static!

[@junkyardconnection]

What do you think about a parallel wired humbucker? I did the P-Rails wiring to a set of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates and found that running the pup in parallel gave me a very similar sound to the tapped humbucker. Minus the 60 cycle hum, of course.

[@junkyardconnection]

Oh, and I use a modeling amp, so my gate is built in.

[@Ripprock1]

Zexcoil pups

[@quicksilverstrom]

I love how you let your viewers form their own opinion and place the facts in from of them in a clear concise manner. Thanks a lot...

[@Evan-tj1te]

Eating lunch, watching Darrell, how could life get any better ?

[@stephenhookings1985]

The doorbell rings and another new guitar is delivered - a free gift?? Just saying:-)

[@timmyv694]

I have Ibanez RC430 that uses 2 dummy coils . One in series and one in parallel to eliminate virtually all single coil hum without changing the tone. It’s pretty ingenious:) This guitar is quieter and more authentic sounding than my Fender Stratocaster with Dimarzio Area pickups in it. The best part is it’s all passive ( no batteries needed ) and I can use any single coil pickups I want with it.

[@zaqwoodward8851]

TimmyV there’s a few epiphone sig models by metal guitarist Lee Malia from Bring Me the Horizon that have the dummy coils in the back. His guitars come with a humbucker in the bridge and a hum sized p90 in the neck. No buzz at all!

[@ArielsSmartyPants]

Embrace the hum. Favorite album: Jimi Hendrix - Blues, tons of hum on almost every song, does it bother me? No, it's part of the tunes to my ears now :)

[@PhuVet]

I thought his was mainly his pedals though....they dont seem like 60hz buzz. More along the lines of an amplified feedback loop.

[@orchidmalevolence9726]

It's just a sound coming from his fuzz pedal

[@starr_shine3060]

My advice is 1. shield the guitar properly (create a Farriday cage by making sure all shielding is touching and grounded ) 2. don't play under florescent lights. Play by candle light if you have to. 3. Unplug unneeded electrical appliances (including wifi devices). 4. Try plugging your Amp into different outlets, because sometimes a high amperage appliance can create line noise on all outlets running on that breaker (of course this problem effects humbuckers too)

[@RjBenjamin353]

😂😂😂😂

[@LandOffConfusion]

I plugged my amp to another outlet and boom. Hum was mostly gone Ty

[@rayschoch5882]

Nicely done as usual, Darrell. I have a couple instruments with single coils, and this will give me some ways to deal with the noise that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for the tips!

[@52Tele]

As John Mayer once said, "60 cycle hum is like the guitar is breathing".

[@RobSanx]

It's more like snoring.

[@tallon3925]

@@RobSanx lol

[@jaysison6987]

Snoring. Hahahahaha

[@yogicbeats]

@@RobSanx HAHAA

[@Dreamdancer11]

More like breathing in your deathbed.....

[@bills48321]

Some people like the Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger pedal. It's not a noise gate, it works differently.

[@AGTR98]

Will take a look at it, I hate noise gates.

[@DKinMN]

I bought one and it's pretty stunning. "Tone suck" is negligible, noise reduction is massive.

[@donniebradley9687]

Boss NS-2. Awesome pedal for even the simplest of feedback. Has a great "decay" range to get short chops or nearly unrestricted sustain.. threshold has nice range to adjust the strength of gate up front. I highly recommend it!

[@vicenteriquelme7528]

10:24 I felt kind of intimidated by that look. That soul eating look.

[@jacksonricebreadman240]

Aervik that is the face my microwave see’s when I am making microwaveable Mac and cheese at 4:17am while my parents are sleeping

[@mktaftsr]

Very informative, thanks for today's topic. I've agonized over 60 cycle hum for decades.

[@segueoyuri]

how about a humbucker? lol

[@ThomHarp]

I recently bought the Electro Harmonix Hum Debugger, and it's a fantastic solution. Doesn't affect the tone at all. The only issue: it has to be plugged directly into the wall with the power adapter that comes with it. Not a gate. It goes after JUST the buzz/hum and it's INCREDIBLY effective. Won't play without it now. Has 2 settings: Normal and High.

[@johnhennessey5]

3 years later, I bet you agree the pedal changes the tone. Everyone who has it says it gives a weird ring-mod/delay effect on notes

[@DanCooz323]

I've been using the EH Silencer, with all my gain pedals in the loop, and modulation coming after. The other guitarist in my band is using a Decimator. I showed him my setup and he was blown away that he didn't have to keep stomping it on and off. Hell, he would play (thru my setup), and then we'd talk gear for a second. There were a few times he'd hit the strings and scare himself, completely forgetting that the amps were on and turned up! Those pedals make a huge difference. I've also used the Boss Noise Gate for a long time, until it was stolen. Keep the vids coming Darrell!

[@svart42]

Why does expensive Fender USA guitars don't come with paint or copper/aluminum foil out of the box?

[@VictorVonBelmont]

Some of them do, but only the realy high en models. Also most Gibsons come without any kind of cavity shielding. I work as a guitar tech and it's funny because sometimes $400 Asian made guitars come with better shielding.

[@CsykKrit]

You're paying for a name not innovation.

[@stankfanger1366]

The ones that don't have copper tape shielding will either have dark gray conductive paint lining the cavity or they'll have shielded wiring.

[@nunyabeezwax2059]

They only add it because it's cheaper than convincing everyone that it doesn't actually work.

[@tatoler38]

Maybe they don't use shielding because there are using humbuckers and/or noiseless single coils.

[@MartinCliffe]

I've tried a number of noise gate / reduction pedals over the years... Boss, MXR, ISP... the MXR Smart Gate is the best I've used. But the Suhr SSCII system built into my red Suhr is a much more effective solution :) No battery needed unless you're using the S90s (P90 style) too.

[@andrelp9596]

Great video, and I learned a few things! Thanks!

[@shouldireviewguitars7908]

This is something I've been struggling with this for a long time, this video was extremely helpful. Thank you!

[@robsantorobass]

Very helpful! Thank you! I’m a bassist and usually my basses I have have hummbuckers in them but I have gotten a bass with hummbuckers but has the option to go single coil for both the neck and bridge pickups and at first I was just experimenting with having the option to go single coil or hummbucker and didn’t notice it right away because I was still experimenting with it and adjusted my tone knob accordingly I noticed this buzz coming from it. But when I’d switch it to just hummbuckers for both pickups the noise went away completely. At first thought it was a cable or my amp then found out it was just the single coil settings. Glad I found out that this is a common occurrence and not something actually wrong/broken.

[@rudiyantohalim736]

Before watching the vid and just by looking at it's title, i thought that u gonna give us tutorial on how to do EMI shielding with copper tape 😁 Nice vids as usual sir. Thank You

[@denniswalsh8476]

I use only StewMac's copper shielding tape. It works very well but takes some practice to install efficiently. First couple of guitars I wasted as much tape as I installed making pieces that didn't fit well enough for me, then trying again. I got better at it with time and more appropriate tools. Conductive adhesive (??) but I solder across any seams/joints JIC. Pickup pockets too, but these need ground wire connection led back to the control cavity's shield tape. Back of the pickguard, sure, control compartment cover, sure. These places require making a copper tab across one (two's better) screw holes (both pieces) that will connect them together when installed. Tub routes are easiest, a typical Strat is a total PIA in the body but "cheap therapy". No special tools, paper, pencils with good erasers, Sharpie, sissors, an Exacto knife, and small misc. $50 worth of the 3 widths of tape is enough for 5-8 guitars if most pieces are well cut. Actually the 1/4 wide is kind of useless. Have FUN, (I'm sure there are You-Tubes, good and not so good) demonstrating tape installation. Should have said this first but the idea is to build a copper **box** around everything but the front of the PUs. ** aka, a Faraday Cage. Your results may vary and it won't be perfectly silent, so there's that.

[@bradg2078]

The Boss NS-2 noise gate is my favorite. Easy to use and effective. Plus, it has some unique routing options where your pedals run in a loop if creates and your guitar goes in and out. That way it can separate the guitar signal from pedal noise. Really helps with high gain setups.

[@divusaugstus]

I have discovered with my guitars that playing with guitar volume turned down between 5 and 7 reduces hum and I feel like my tone is much better. Sharper and less compressed and more nuanced.

[@alwaysrockn2009]

Awesome video dude! Your videos are always enjoyable. Thank you for the tips. Rock on!

[@monkymonk6]

Shielding paint worked wonders on my MIM Tele. Virtually no hum, even under fluorescent lighting.

[@LamppostInTheWoods]

I have Lace Sensors… when in single coil, no noise. And, they truly can sing. Once everything is heated up and rolling, sweet sting. Clarity is amazing, and the cello tones I can get on the lower portions of the fretboard give me whole other voice to go to.

[@kevinalspaugh6641]

Me too no hum

[@alangriff1]

A great article as usual Darrell. Lots of posts so I guess it's try them all and see what works best for you. Love your tee and the gats on the wall.

[@freeelectron8261]

Really useful video on hum elimination techniques - thanks Darrel!

[@csehszlovakze]

this was really informative! now I'm off to find a good noise gate for my Cort strat clone.

[@ColeRambaldi]

I love listening radio on my single coils.

[@Macula223]

Thank you very much. Your video helped me out a lot to understand what was going on, I'm a bit of a DIY electrician, and I kind of figured some of it not all was due to the ground, but I still don't understand why the companies just haven't overcome this overall, it's dirty, electricity! And in this day and age, they should've overcome that, that kind of integrity is passed on to the consumer and we really shouldn't have to deal with that! Nobody wants to walk around with a pebble in the shoe and you've already figured out. All you have to do is take it out! I want to thank you very much for taking the time out to make your video and explain everything, keep up the good work a lot of us depend upon people like you!

[@nazmoking3171]

Good explanation of the benefits and drawbacks of a noise gate and how it can somewhat negate your sustain and attack.

[@samueljett7807]

One thing I noticed with my strat was that if I stood perpendicular to my amp most noise disappeared. I guess it has something to do with the magnets lining up and cancelling interference?

[@randoshus3762]

I think you catch the hum out of phase with itself...it basically noise cancels itself.

[@Danny-el8ww]

those noiseless pickups were so good my soundcard failed and i couldnt even hear the video LMAO

[@hahahahaha8436]

I love sitting by the fire with my prs sc45 and watching your vids such a helpful person!

[@joseph-ow1hf]

Interesting you posted this, as I just acquired a Boss NS2 noise suppressor. It works exceptionally well at cutting out hum from vintage single coils without altering attack or killing sustain. If you hold a note, you can hear the hum start to creep in (but reduced in volume) before the gate shuts, so like most things, not perfect........but otherwise pretty great. The other thing that helps w/ pedals is a good isolated linear PS vs a cheap daisy chained switching unit, but this is more about hiss than 60 hz buzz. I don't play professionally, but having a rig that is now nearly silent makes me really happy. Plus, I could swear that my little 20 watt Mesa combo now has more clean headroom without all the noise being fed to the input. Could be my imagination, or confusing the noise added to signal as distortion.

[@RedSnake517]

My Boss Katana 50 has a built-in noise suppressor. Only problem is that it's only accessible in the Boss Tone Studio via USB but it works wonders once set up.

[@rakoboy8]

I've never plugged in my katana to my computer, once you set up the noise suppressor do you constantly have to be plugged in to use it or can you unplug it and you're all good?

[@mikewhitfield2994]

lol I have one and did not know that. Thanks!

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

rakoboy8 Hey as far as I’m aware, you can save the setting into any of the eight channels available to the 100w or any of the four on the 50w. It would have to be done initially through the Tone Studio software then you’re good to unplug and go.

[@rakoboy8]

@@SeemsLikeSomething sweet, thanks dude

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

rakoboy8 No worries and by the way, not sure if you know, but the Katana has been getting a lot of firmware updates! If you go to the boss website and check downloads under the Katana model you own, you can get the latest firmware, driver and tone studio. Keeping that up to date is gonna be VERY helpful! Especially if you only have the version 1 software because they doubled the channels that you can use in an update!! Cheers and good luck 😉

[@RodneyWallaceDynamoC]

A perfect solution for me is a plugin called Noise repellent. It eliminates noise in realtime, introduces a bit of latency but very little and it doesn't interfere on your tone or playing. Awesome.

[@robertofernandes4375]

Darrell.... You're the man! Always awesome tips. Cheers mate.

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

Actual practical solutions, good work.

[@schreds8882]

I've been using Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger for a few years now. Works well.

[@BongEyedBastard]

Same, but it's very tempramental about where it sits in the FX chain.

[@schreds8882]

@@BongEyedBastard Yes, it has to be first and it's not a noise gate for pedals. It's for cancelling the 60 hum only. If you're looking to cut pedal noise, this isn't the tool to use.

[@schreds8882]

@Zach Isley I'm going to look at that. An fx loop could be handy. Thanks. 😀

[@slo_carry]

I use the Donner Noise Killer. It's a fairly cheap pedal on Amazon, but it gets the job done.

[@davidkastin4240]

Yep. I highly recommend this pedal. Works excellent for me.

[@draganm7823]

I ordered my Donner but it never arrived and they aren't replying when I asked for a refund due to not receiving the pedal.

[@slo_carry]

@@draganm7823 Did you contact Amazon or Donner? I've never had an issue with Amazon not responding

[@slo_carry]

@KC you're talking about a pedal that's $100 more. It should be far superior. I mentioned the Donner because not everyone has that much to drop on a pedal and for trying something out, the Donner is great. For $135 I'd personally look at Boss or TC Electronic.

[@davidkastin4240]

@@draganm7823 Those bastards. I feel your pain. I got mine off of eBay and love it.

[@1upfx281]

Great video! Ive been thinking about getting a Suhr Classic with single coils. That D'Angelico is one sweet looking guitar!!!

[@gusviera3905]

Great comparison, as usual, Darrell. Thanks, man.

[@trevorgwelch7412]

Thank You For Your Intelligent Guitar Reviews . 🇨🇦

[@keithling417]

I think gating is by far the answer most pros use, even if they play the high end single coils. One point I would make is that the gating will also change the way you play. It actually helps you become more subtle with left hand pressure. It also makes the rhythm riffs sound more punchy, provided the player has the gate dialed in right and gets used to it.

[@leonardoporcaro2285]

This video was precisely what I was looking for, specially due to its details. Thanks a lot for such info!

[@hunterthompson2206]

Very helpful video, Darrell. Another thing I would offer regarding noise gates is if the gating is too strong, it can mess with some effects such as delay pedals (the later, quieter echoes might get cut off altogether) and flangers (the swooshy noise character can be affected).

[@chopslamar6092]

TC Electronics Sentry! Amazing gate pedal with a loop for your noisier peddles.

[@emobutpoofy]

The ISP Decimator II is the best thing ever.

[@fastracon]

This is what I'm looking for. Nice work sir amazing youtuber for my kind of needs

[@davidtyler3116]

Thanks, my Tele is used for 40% of my live songs! I think the gate is best for me. Great job DBG!

[@alexdjents6145]

Why am I watching this I don’t even own a guitar with single coils

[@rentaspoon219]

Because you will one day

[@adamsalazar8214]

Obviously you are a closeted single-coiler waiting to break out of your shell.

[@elsonh1913]

Makes me wanna get Jimmy’s dragontelecaster hahaha

[@spartan8390]

Because you appreciate knowledge.

[@Dukerdr]

@@spartan8390 That must be why I'm here...I don't even own a guitar (or play).

[@adielricci]

Sometimes we can achieve great single coil sounds from humbuckers wired in parallel, with no 60 cycle hum whatsoever. I have some guitars wired like that.

[@billkennedy8379]

I just installed a simple dummy coil in my MIM Telecaster...big improvement. Hum/buzz is reduced to a tolerable level. The pickups aren't RWRP, so I was able to use the same dummy coil in all three switch positions by wiring it between the output of the switch and the input of the volume control. And cost $0, since I already had an old pickup to use for the dummy coil.

[@JohnnyFiacconi]

This was very helpful! Thank you!

[@spartan8390]

The Decimator II is always a good choice. However, my experience has been using Mogami cables took care of the buzz. I do keep my cable ends clean as well as use a volume pedal, so I don't notice anything. The gates always seemed finicky when I played. I won't get rid of it though. Telecasters do seem to suffer the most. Good grounding, shielding, good cables, should be all set. Great video!

[@alefty4463]

Gold plated, high quality cables definitely make a big difference in my experience. I like to use Fender's deluxe/pro cables.

[@SixSilverStrings1992]

The quality of your cables will also make a hugh difference (clean or overdrive) especially if you are using multiple pedals. Quality cables are a better investment than a new pedal on a noisy pedalboard!

[@xdoctorblindx]

Quality cables can't eliminate 60-cycle hum; they only prevent additional noise from being introduced into the signal path.

[@ko44chpm59]

Nice vid, and I really enjoyed the scenic view of every Telecaster on Earth.

[@jcoulter43]

I play live with a Firehawk FX and use the gate all the time. Thanks for the informative video Darrell. God bless and rock on 👏🎸😎

[@carlosmarques8380]

You can shield the pickup cavities and make the ground wire go to the strings so that your body absorbs all the static, but people often forget about the amp, it needs to have a ground conection, your house sure must have one (a copper rod burryed in the ground) but the plug you have on the wall may not have the ground part conected for various reasons (lazynesis a common reason, many people just connect the red and black and ignore the green\yellow because it serves little to no purpose, but it's important for this) so make sure it has, it makes a huge difference, my guitar has humbuckers and when i use it conected to a solar inverter that has no ground it buzzes a lot, but when i use with normal energy it's perfectly silent, also make sure that if you are using a extention cord (or a triple one) , make sure its all stretched and that it has a ground pin in the plugs, at home i have some that only have the holes for the plug but not the metal part that is supossed to make the ground for the amp and it's kinda common in many cheap extensions, the ground conection is really important and easy to neglect, i noticed this because the amp would buzz even with the guitar cable disconnected :v

[@ondrejkauzal8969]

Where the heck do tou live that it is common not to have the yellowgreen cable not connected to the whole house??? Just the black and red (and by red we in Europe mean blue, red is for DC voltage). This is just totally crazy. The yellowgreen does have purpose, it saves lives!

[@Melkor0410]

There is a different between 60 cycle hum and ground noise. Most guitars have problem with ground. 60 cycle hum can be solved super easily by using humbuckers, noise gates or stacked noiseless single coils and it goes on. While ground noise until now still has its debates on what is the best way to ground a guitar other then copper shielding

[@Joe93819]

But I don’t have no money to spend on pickups or pedals

[@Megas_Alexandros]

Doesn't noise gates kill your sustain

[@ramspencer5492]

Humbuckers have a very different sound.... Which I do like, but it's not a replacement for a single coil sound. It's a different sound. You're right about grounding issues.....I have guitar with some that I need to sort out....

[@ramspencer5492]

@@Megas_Alexandros not the overall sustain vibe, in normal playing when set well..... But on really long notes.... Yes it does

[@michaelwampler9118]

Extremely helpful video. Added a noise gate to my helix and it solved the problem. Thanks!

[@JustinHaglerMusic]

A noise gate is SO HELPFUL in reducing/killing your hum. I have always used the noise gate from my Line 6 interface in every single coil tone/chain I have built and saved. Okay, with the exception of 2 or 3 saved tones without noise gate all the rest include a noise gate. Great recommendation Darrell. My Nashville Tele has the noiseless pickups and I love them!!! In my opinion if one hates or dislikes hum, the fender noiseless pickups are the way to go. Keep up all of the great work...love what you are doing here!!!

[@revredbeard3289]

Just finishing up an eBay $60 strat kit so this is a very timely video. Thanks for the video. I’m going to go with stand-alone Gate pedal solution.

[@kuitaristi3003]

I think too that hum is part of the magic, the vintage sound from 60's and 70's.

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

Kuitaristi turn a negative into a positive. I just ignore and or don't get too worried about a bit of hum.

[@PhuVet]

I guess we should add an open ground too so you get the hell knocked out of you to fully enjoy the 60s vintage feel.

[@stevelaferney3579]

Thanks, finally proof that someone else shows the hum I’m hearing during single coil playing.

[@AXPena]

Great work Darrell!

[@liorangel7511]

Mooer noise killer is amazing and Mooer is also a great company with a very good products so my advice to you guys is to go with the noise killer by Mooer

[@hanomag251]

Good to know that there are solutions. Now, you need to do a video about setting the gate. I have an Helix but dont know nothing about setting the gate.

[@rickhill6277]

Good Vid Darrell! I had this problem with my Telecaster and my Reissue Gibson ‘60s LP w/P-90s. My solution was Duncan Classic Series Stacked Pickups. NO NOISE AT ALL even in Old Clubs with bad worrying. I was pleasantly surprised at the tones from this Series. Very hard to tell the difference. Please keep up the Good Work! I truly enjoy your Content and look forward to you Vids. Have a great day!

[@SkogliJotunn]

The Sentry noise Gate some TC electronic is incredible. Kind of hard to explain but you can go into the toneprint editor. And tweak it VERY SPECIFICALLY, for your specific rig. That is the only gate that has this option. OUTSTANDING

[@NathanMinski]

I have a Joe Barden pickups on my Eric Clapton signature Strat. They are quiet in every volume and position. That`s tree pickups are Mini Humbeckers , but thay sunds 95 % singel coil . This is the perfect solution . All the best to everybody .

[@lealjaja]

Excellent video, many many thanks and for all efforts on perform sound diagnostic but also providing different solutions, thanks

[@kenoakee]

Great info as always Sir🔥🤘🏻🎸

[@danduntz9112]

On my strats I use a star ground and regardless of pickups and gain, it’s quiet like a church on Tuesday.

[@K.114.]

is "star ground" the name of the product? ..sorry i'm new to guitar world :(

[@TheMyndsurfer]

Zoom's G1on and G1Xon multi effects pedal have a filter called a ZNR. (zoom noise reduction) Brilliant!! Most of the effects in this pedal are really digital sounding and I dont like them particularly, BUT, put the ZNR on and watch the hum disappear. Worth the price (A$100 or so) just for this effect.

[@antonakis79ohyes]

I am very grateful for this video.. As a beginner, I had never heard of noise gates..! Might try one out.. Thanks!!

[@daviddequasie6816]

After trying everything, I got an Electro Harmonix Hum Debugger. It is not a gate or a notch filter. I don't know how it works but it solved the problem on a steady gig that I had which was plagued by neon lights.

[@superpig4589]

Glad to know it’s not that my amp is messed up 😂