I noticed the post about ernie ball strings and someone says they buzz.
My question is, how come my tele, and es335 gibson both buzz unless the volume on the guitar is turned full. If knobs are in full position no buzz at all, but turn the knob down a little it starts to buzz. This is with both amps I use including a Fender DeVille and Crate practice amp. Anyone ??
Tx.

Maybe a loose wire or grounding in the guitars?

Is your amp next to a big electric appliance, like a refrigerator or something? You know, for easy beer access while you play?

Actually, maybe your amps or the outlet they're plugged into aren't grounded properly.

I'm totally talking out of my ass right now, by the way - this is all most likely wrong.

But I've been using Ernie Balls off and on for 20 years and haven't noticed any extra buzzing.

Try spraying some electrical switch cleaner fluid into the pots and twiddling them round a few times. Then try it and see if it still happens.

If that is the problem, it means your pots are wearing away and you should really replace them.

That said, I wouldn't call the noise I'm thinking of a buzz, but more like a crackle. It's always hard to diagnose remotely.

Thinking about it, if its both guitars, it could be the cable. Don't know why the volume would change the buzz noise though if this is the case.

Now, if it really is a BUZZ, then it is most likely to be picking up electromagnetic interfrance from somewhere. Possibly from lights, power cables, TV, PC monitors etc. Try turning everything off to see if there is interference. If not, have you power lines nearby or even electric train tracks?

If it is interferance, try a different and better quality cable to begin with. You may find that the buzz is greater with single coils than with humbuckers. Also, it may change depending on whether you have your hand on the guitar (metal bits) or mot.

If you do all these things, let us know what you find and we can try to help you more. There could be all sorts of reasons for poor shielding but the fact it happens with both guitars probably means you simply have a strong EM source nearby.

Good luck.

The buzz your describe has nothing to dowith strings. When the pots are full one they appear to be less suspectable to to noise. Itdoes sound like a grounding problem. Do you have a polarity switch on your amp?

I am very close to a big screen tv and the sat. dvd player etc.
I'm sure it isn't the pots because both guitars are practically brand new.But I will buy a new jack cord (what's the best?) and try that. Thanks for the feedback though, love hearing from other guitarists, just wish I knew more close by that love to play the Stones...

The more I think about it, the more I think its electromagnetic interference. Try a new lead but also try turning off the big screen tv and see if there's a difference.

Do you hear a difference when you turn the pots down a bit and then touch a metal bit on you guitar and then take your hands off? If so, it's definitely grounding and EM problem.

The fact that you've got 2 guitars and 2 amps with the same problem leads me to suspect a strong EM source nearby though. Dimmer switches on light bulbs are often a problem, as are fluorescent lights and some TVs and monitors.