Nasty hum from my Fender...

[SiFi]

Hi all,

I have a Fender FM-52E SB acoustic/electric (and very nice it is too!), however I'm getting a nasty hum when I plug it into an amplifier. If I touch the screws on the pickup, the hum goes away. Same if I touch the exposed metal on the lead.

I'm just wondering if this indicates a loose connection somewhere in the wiring, or is it just a limitation of the single coil pickup?

If it isn't a loose connection, I guess my next question is: is there anything I can do about it other than replace the pickup (presumably with a humbucker)?

Apologies if I have the terminology wrong; I've never been one for electronics!!

Many thanks,

Simon

[Sellars]

Coming from the Netherlands, this may not apply to your electric plugs and all, but here goes:

Is your plug socket earthed?

If this question doesn't make sense or is too obvious to ask, thats probably because our electricity stuff is different than yours.


In the Netherlands, this hum is avoided by using an earthed plug socket.

regards,
Roel

[Bluemando]

for that matter you could simply try plugging your amp to a few different outlets in your house. I had a similar problem with an 8 track recorder, plugged it to the outlet across the room, and problem solved. It might also be useful to get some sheilding tape and sheild the inside of your control cavity.

[SiFi]

Roel, Bluemando, mutant_dan,

Many thanks for your replies. I've tried it through a couple of different amps in a couple of houses and keep getting the same problem, so I'll take it into the music store where I bought it and see what they think.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Simon