A guitar that hums, buzzes, or crackles through the amp is frustrating, especially when you’re recording or playing at low volume. At TuneUp Guitar in Redding we find where the noise is coming from and fix it.
This page is about electrical noise. If your strings rattle against the frets, that’s a playability issue. See buzzing strings fix instead.
Common noise problems
- Hum that goes away when you touch the strings. Usually a missing or broken bridge ground.
- Hum that gets louder when you touch the strings. Can be a wiring or grounding fault that should be checked.
- Loud buzz on every pickup. Often a bad ground, a cold solder joint, or a worn jack.
- Single coil hum. Normal to a point, but shielding and good grounding help a lot.
- Crackle and pops. Usually dirty or worn pots, switches, or a loose jack.
- Noise only with certain cables or amps. We help sort out whether it’s the guitar or something else in your rig.
How we track it down
We test the guitar through an amp, check every pickup position, and look for the source. Inside the guitar we check:
- Ground connections to the bridge, pots, and jack
- Solder joints for cold or cracked connections
- Shielding in the cavities and on the pickguard
- Pickup wiring and phase
- Output jack and switch condition
Fixes range from resoldering a ground wire to shielding the control and pickup cavities with copper tape or shielding paint. We’ll tell you what we found and what it costs before doing bigger work.
Related fixes
Crackly knobs or a jack that cuts out? See pots, switches, and jack repair. Want quieter pickups altogether? Ask about noiseless single coils or humbuckers with pickup installation.
Bring it in
Bring your guitar to our shop on Redcliff Drive in Redding, along with the cable and pedals you use if you can. Most noise repairs are done in a day or two. Players come in from all over the Redding area.
Guitar Hum and Noise Troubleshooting questions
Is some hum normal?
Single coil pickups always have a little hum, especially near lights and computers. But a loud buzz, a hum that changes when you touch the strings, or noise on every pickup usually means something can be fixed.
Is this the same as fret buzz?
No. This page is about electrical noise through the amp. If your strings buzz against the frets when you play unplugged, see our buzzing strings fix.
Does shielding change my tone?
Done right, shielding cuts noise without noticeably changing your tone.