Buzzing from the amp...but only with the PRS CE 24

[Strugglinauthor]

Hi All,

Brand new PRS owner here and I wonder if anyone else has experienced the (small) problem I'm having?

I've been running my PRS through some pedals (TC Electronic & BOSS) and into an amp. I've tried all three amps I own - BOSS Katana, Yamaha and Marshall - and with each I get a buzzing that's loud enough to put me off. I'm also using high quality cables (D'Addario). I can reduce the noise by earthing - ie touching any metal part of the guitar. To cut a long story short, it's the power supply to the pedal that's the cause as running the pedals off battery cures it completely.

So it sounds as though the power supply is faulty? Well, no. If I use any of my other electric guitars while the pedal is connected to the mains, it's completely silent.

Maybe this means that the PRS is hyper sensitive to electrical inference. I could try changing the power supply for my pedals, but this seems a little extreme when four other guitars work fine with it.

Has anyone else experienced and maybe resolve this?

Thanks.

 

[andy474x]

Sounds like a grounding issue in the guitar. Look in the trem cavity and make sure there's a ground wire on the trem claw, and also confirm the grounding connections in the control cavity and on the input jack are properly connected. Hope that helps!

 

[Strugglinauthor]

Hi Andy and thanks for the speedy response. I can't see any cable in the trem cavity, even with a torch, but I guess that doesn't mean it's not there. As for the other bits I'm a bit reluctant to prod around with a brand new guitar unless it becomes necessary.

Having tried again I think it may be a little more than just the grounding as when I touch the strings etc the noise reduces but only by, say, 10%. It's still way too loud until I pull the mains cable.

I'd like to try the pedal with a completely different power supply but I only have one. I may borrow one from a friend and see how that goes.

 

[Strugglinauthor]

I've managed to track down a 9v 1A adapter by pinching one from the wife's iPod speaker.

Connected it to a pedal, plugged in the PRS - blissful silence. At least I've proved there's nothing wrong with the house's electrical system, which I've seen people point to elsewhere.

Now I need to try a new adapter with the original supply (it has multiple isolated outputs and is fed by a separate 18v adapter). I have an 18v supply from my laptop but it is rated at 4.7A, far higher than the 1.5A one that I'm trying to replace. With my basic knowledge of electrics I believe that a device will only draw the current it needs and the higher rating will not damage it.

Does anyone out there with more knowledge know if this is correct?

Thanks.

P.S. I received a reply from Boogie in my email but for some reason it isn't showing on this post. Thanks anyway, Boogie!

 

[Boogie]

I had misread your post and suggested - in a long winded way - something off track, so I deleted it. You've discovered why investment in a high quality, multi tap, isolated power supply is so common on pedalboards. Life is too short to debug electrical issues.

 

[bluenova]

Uncovered pickups make a little more noise than covered pickups and I thought that's what your situation would be, but the fact that a power supply to one of your pedals took away noise that was only affecting one of your guitars is still puzzling to me.

 

[Strugglinauthor]

Uncovered pickups make a little more noise than covered pickups and I thought that's what your situation would be, but the fact that a power supply to one of your pedals took away noise that was only affecting one of your guitars is still puzzling to me.

Agreed. It's an odd one. I've spent today obsessing over it and have concluded that the noise is there with my other guitars after all, but it's far quieter and so I must have just ignored it in the past. Perhaps because the PUs in the PRS are high quality, they're also more sensitive. Another thing I noticed today is that changing the pickup selector on my Taylor T5z makes a big difference to the amount of noise. I'd not noticed noise on the Taylor before and I think this is because I typically leave it on one setting.

So where am I going with all this? I've decided to buy a decent power supply, one that reviews tell me eliminates mains hum: T-Rex Fuel Tank Junior. Hopefully this will solve the issue and I can just enjoy the PRS for the great guitar that it is.