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Hum/Buzz Elimination Device [message #12601]

Thu, 31 December 2009 12:12

tony0000
Messages: 3
Registered: December 2009

Junior Member

Hi. Just found your site. It seems like a great resource.

My friend has an old Kustom amp. It's a K50-2. It has a two-prong plug. When he plugs it in, there is a hum/buzz. The hum/buzz is constant and not affected by any controls or the plugging in of a guitar. What is the best way to deal with this problem?

At Guitar Center, I was shown a device for eliminating hum/buzz:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ebtech-Hum-X-Hum-Exterminator-10 2570686-i1124325.gc

Do you think this will work? Is there a less expensive way to handle the problem? I'm not very mechanical, so it anything complicated would require my taking the amp into a shop.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions,

Tony

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Re: Hum/Buzz Elimination Device [message #12604 is a reply to message #12601]

Thu, 31 December 2009 13:40

chicagobill
Messages: 2006
Registered: April 2003

Senior Member

Hey, welcome to the place.

The buzz or hum that you describe sounds more like either bad filter caps or a bad ground connection somewhere.

How handy are you?

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Re: Hum/Buzz Elimination Device [message #12605 is a reply to message #12604]

Thu, 31 December 2009 14:31

tony0000
Messages: 3
Registered: December 2009

Junior Member

How handy am I? Well, I don't know much about amps or electronics, but I can follow directions . . . .

I like the bad ground hypothesis . . . .

Any suggestions appreciated.

Tony

[Updated on: Thu, 31 December 2009 14:32]

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Re: Hum/Buzz Elimination Device [message #12634 is a reply to message #12601]

Sat, 02 January 2010 10:47

stevem
Messages: 4772
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

We need to pin down terms as to what a hum, and what a buzz is, as even amps with a three prong cords will have a buzz that stops when you touch the strings or anything grounded thru the bridge of the axe.
A hum can be eitheir a 60hz tone( coming from the power transformer) or a 120 hz tone which comes from poor or bad power supply filters.
One way to tell is to tune is to re-tune your guitars low E to just sharp of a octave lower which will be close to 60hz, if the hum you hear is higher in pitch I would say that the amp sould get its two main power supply filter checked and replaced by a tech and at the same time have a grounded AC cord installed to eliminate the shock hazzard that you now have should you touch the chassie of another item of gear and the ground switch on the k50 is by chance in the wrong position.

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Re: Hum/Buzz Elimination Device [message #13063 is a reply to message #12634]

Sat, 27 February 2010 02:06

helizond
Messages: 1
Registered: February 2010
Location: Houston

Junior Member

Wouldn't it be easier to check the noise against the A string (110HZ)?

Sound a bit sharper than A --> 120Hz .'. caps
Sound lower than A --> 60Hz .'. transformer hum

IMHO that would be easier than trying to re-tune the E string and then compare.

As for the GC device, I can't think of how could a device like that work, other than having a couple of chokes, one in the hot and another in the neutral leads, from input to output of the adapter --and perhaps a cap between h & n. This would eliminate external noise from entering the amp, but wouldn't help at all if the noise is from transformer hum or bad caps, as stevem correctly suggests.

My 2 cents.
/-/

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