# Noise and Radio signals coming in through my amps



## Dr.StephanHeimer (May 1, 2006)

Not sure if this is the right place on this forum to ask this, just let me know if there is somewhere more appropriate. 

So I moved into a new house recently and I am getting a lot of noise and radio signals through my amps. It varies depending on which instrument and cable i'm using as well as the time of day but it's pretty noticeable and annoying. 

What can be done about this?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Dr.StephanHeimer said:


> Not sure if this is the right place on this forum to ask this, just let me know if there is somewhere more appropriate.
> 
> So I moved into a new house recently and I am getting a lot of noise and radio signals through my amps. It varies depending on which instrument and cable i'm using as well as the time of day but it's pretty noticeable and annoying.
> 
> What can be done about this?


As an experiment, try to wrap the power cable around a metal tube or rod (steel lamp support is good for this) to see if it's that wire that's picking up the signal.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

Any antennae on the roof of your home?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Are you using any pedals? What amps? I have had pedals do this but not amps.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Do any of the patch cables eliminate the problem? If not, it could possibly be a ground fault. Do they do the same thing on different sockets/ circuits?


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

Dr.StephanHeimer said:


> It varies depending on which instrument and cable


 Any with no noise at all? in terms of guitar or cable. When it happens, have you unplugged guitar or cable to see if it stops? Looking for a pattern.

Off the top of my head, I'd guess interference (RFI or EMI or ?) coming in via single coil pickups. There are spots in my house where it's worse than others. There's so many possible sources, it's frustrating to nail down the cause(s).


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

When the noise is happening, turn down all the volume and tone controls on the guitar. If that gets rid of it, it confirms @DaddyDog 's suspicion that it is getting in through the pickups.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Combo or head and cab. Often the speaker cable if the RF antenna.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mrmatt1972 said:


> ...Often the speaker cable is the RF antenna.


How could this occur from an electronics perspective? Would the RF not have to be amplified before it could be heard?

I'm not trying to argue or offend, I simply want to understand how this occurs.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

That used to happen with my original LP's bridge Mini humbucker. Checking the pups like noted is a good first step.


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## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

greco said:


> How could this occur from an electronics perspective? Would the RF not have to be amplified before it could be heard?


Yes it can happen, but usually it is from solid state amps. If the RF is strong enough, the speaker cable acts like an antennae, and the output transistors act like diodes much like a detector diode in a tuner or crystal radio. The feedback loop from the output transistors acts like the signal path and it gets amplified.
Usually when this happens, it's from an amp that has too much gain, and is poorly compensated in the feedback loop or doesn't have a zobel filter at the output.
It is rare, but it happens.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@dtsaudio Thanks for the detailed explanation. Much appreciated!


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

My stereo speakers used to pick up a neighbour's CB calls (tow truck driver). It was awful, especially at 6 am


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Not sure if this'll help, but as an addendum to this post



Dorian2 said:


> That used to happen with my original LP's bridge Mini humbucker. Checking the pups like noted is a good first step.


I was also using a Peavey Bandit 65 (Solid State) and a Boss DS-1. If I turned my guitar South I could pick up a specific AM radio station, but that was a totally different time in the mid 80's.


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