HELP! Hum in Les Paul!

[josh_w]

So I just finished rewiring all of the electronics in my Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop. I used Burstbucker Pro's, CTS 500k pots, .015 and .022 PIO caps, all vintage style braided shield cloth wire, and wired 50's style.

Here's my problem, I'm getting what sounds like a ground hum, but only when I'm using a single Burstbucker. As soon as I switch to the middle position, combining both pick-ups, the hum is gone. I thought that this was a single coil problem?

Another kicker, the hum is canceled in the middle position unless one of the volumes gets turned down. As soon as either one of the volumes goes below 10 the hum is back. I'd appreciate any suggestions, thanks!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/been4givon/Guitar%20Stuff/IMG_0346.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/been4givon/Guitar%20Stuff/IMG_0347.jpg

[SamBooka]

Are you sure they ARENT single coils? (I mean, not in single coil mode)
I have dont it before (made the white wire hot instead of red, or was it the other way around). Anyway, if you made the same mistake with both pickups it would indeed sound like that.
You can tell with a screwdriver. Set your switch to the bridge pickup and GENTLY tap the magnets for each coil.
If that isnt it I would just double check all the wiring, including the switch for cold solder joints or reversed wires.

[josh_w]

Are you sure they ARENT single coils?

Well, the Burstbucker Pros have 1 lead and 1 ground, so I didn't think that they had the capability of being split into single coil mode. Do they?

I know this might sound ridiculous, bear with my lack of understanding, but would a guitar hum if the ground wire was touching something it shouldn't? I only ask because all of the cables I used have the braided ground on the outside of the wire, so the "ground wire" is openly exposed in pretty much all places.

[cc9cii]

How loud is this hum? Is it noise or 60Hz hum? Does anything change if you touch the bridge? Do you have another humbucker guitar to test your amp & lead?

[SamBooka]

Well, the Burstbucker Pros have 1 lead and 1 ground, so I didn't think that they had the capability of being split into single coil mode. Do they?

Ok.. nevermind :)

[josh_w]

How loud is this hum? Is it noise or 60Hz hum? Does anything change if you touch the bridge? Do you have another humbucker guitar to test your amp & lead?

It's a 60Hz hum. I have a '72 Tele Deluxe with humbuckers that I tested and it was dead quite. I'm thinking I may have to take it to a professional, I was just hoping not to have to pay.

[cc9cii]

A humbucker that hums is "broken" IMHO. e.g. maybe one of the winding is shorted out (is the output loud or thinnish like a split coil?)

Some humbuckers, however, do have "mismatched" coils to give it some "character". These can hum a little, but should not be very noticeable.

[SamBooka]

test all 4 coils anyway.. just for fun?

[walterw]

he'd have to tear the pickup apart to do that!

anyway, burstbuckers are deliberately "unbalanced", with a little more wire wound onto one coil than the other. this recalls actual PAF pickups, which were never precisely calibrated, and adds a bit of "cut" to the tone.

it also makes them less than perfectly hum-canceling. it shouldn't make a difference in the field, but you can indeed notice a bit of noise if you listen for it.

putting two pickups in parallel tends to slightly reduce the noise anyway, along with the output level.

[SamBooka]

he'd have to tear the pickup apart to do that!

.
of course not... gently tap the coil with a screwdriver while plugged into the amp.

I used to use a tuning fork parallel to the coil. Hit the fork on your knee and you will hear the volume increase as it gets closer to the active coil.

Try it, it works :)

[Rollo]

Can you show us the wiring diagram you followed?

[walterw]

of course not... gently tap the coil with a screwdriver while plugged into the amp.

I used to use a tuning fork parallel to the coil. Hit the fork on your knee and you will hear the volume increase as it gets closer to the active coil.

Try it, it works :)
duh, i was thinking you meant electronically testing them :jo

you're absolutely right, a gentle tap with a steel object through a clean amp can tell you if a coil is active or not.

(on a humbucker you'll still hear a little noise even if the coil is dead, but the working coil next to it will be much louder.)

edit: the above is true for a shorted coil, but an open coil won't work that way, because the two coils are in series. you'll just hear a thinner, weaker sound from both coils.

[josh_w]

Can you show us the wiring diagram you followed?

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/been4givon/Guitar%20Stuff/50s_wiring.jpg

test all 4 coils anyway.. just for fun?

I'll see if I can do a test today. I don't have a tuning fork, but I'm sure I can find something.

Thanks so so so much for everyone's input thus far. I can't express how much I appreciate it!

[guitartech01085]

From what I have learned from the thread here, I think you will find that the pickup has been miswired internally, in which case sending it back to where youi go tit is the way to go. To ensure its not in the controls, just wire the good pickup to the humming pickups controls and send the humming pickup to the good pickup ccontrols and make sure the problem follows the pickup.
If you had a short where a shield was touching the hot someplace, it would cut out entirely. The wiring is too simple to mess up here. One last thought is make sure there is only one path to ground, that you have not created a ground loop which can can cause hum, as well.

[josh_w]

One last thought is make sure there is only one path to ground, that you have not created a ground loop which can can cause hum, as well.

A ground loop could very well be it. I have a lot of exposed ground wire going through the guitar. I'm taking it to my tech tomorrow, so hopefully his ears will be more discerning than mine. I'll be sure to update once he gets back to me. Thanks!

[SamBooka]

If you wired this yourself I would suggest this:

Before you go chasing ground loops try a simple expirement. Run the bridge pickup directly to the output jack (bypass EVERYTHING else) . Does it hum?
When you each coil are the close to the same volume? Does the hum go down when you touch the strings? Does the hum go down when you touch the metal cover? (if you have covers)

[josh_w]

Just got the guitar back and it sounds awesome. My tech said that he just cleaned up some of my soldering, but whatever he did fixed it. Thanks again for all the input!