Guitar picking up electric noises when turning on PC

Wojtek12as

Inspired
Hey !
Recently I discovered that when I turn my PC on, I can hear electric noises through the speakers, something like this:

So, when I put my guitar very close to the PC noise is getting louder. I general when I move guitar around the amount of noise is changing. I don't have this problem with my macbook pro.
Is there any solution to this issue ? Maybe the PC PSU is not good enough ?
Best regards, Wojtek !
 
Unfortunately, it's "normal" for your guitar to pick up those noises through the pickups (and it's not specific to the Axe).

The real issue is PCs don't often have shielded/metal cases to reduce emitted interference anymore. I'm currently shopping for a case that does NOT have smoked glass sides, and choices are surprisingly limited. My laptop is much the same and has a mostly plastic case, and I hear the same noises when I'm near it. The Macs I've seen are typically a metal chassis, so it's not suprising to see they emit less interference. Changing the PSU might help, but I'd just move the computer a few feet away or get a shielded case.
 
Thanks for reply ! Yeah I have Fractal Define C with glass on one side :( Is there any way to shield the PC case ? Any DIY solution ? :)
 
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Noise in a sound system is a complex issue. There are several things that you can do to minimize the noise:
  • Shield your guitars control cavity and connect the shield to ground
  • Shield the bottom and halfway up the sides of your pickup cavities and connect the shield to ground
The preceding two items will help with the pickups amplifying EMF/EMI that is present in the system/environment.

If you want to try to reduce some of the noise in your system/environment these are some things you can try:
  • Make sure that none of your cables are adding noise to the signal chain
  • Verify that your electrical system is fault free and has a good earth ground connection (you can buy a tester for less than $15 at most home improvement stores)
  • Ensure that you have good power filtering on your rack ($50 power conditioners have no meaningful power filtering regardless of what the manufacturer claims)
    • If possible, eliminate fluorescent bulbs and dimmers, these add a lot of noise to the environment
    • Look for other noise sources (wireless routers, cell phones, AC motors, refrigerator/freezer motors, fans, power tools, power lines)
  • Ensure that you have no ground loops
    • Run your computer from a UPS that does not draw directly from the AC electrical system. Alternatively if your computer is a laptop, run it on battery power.
    • Ensure that the chassis of components in your rack do not touch and do not have their grounds bonded (use Humfrees)
    • Lift the ground between the Axe and your power amp
    • If all else fails include an EBTech Hum Eliminator HE-8 in your rack and run your inter connections through it (DO NOT run power amp output through the HE-8!!)
  • If using 4CM, use Humbuster cables for the two output runs from your Axe FX to the amp
  • Adjust the noise gate on your Axe FX and make sure you are using the Intelligent gate.
That noise in your recording sounds like it could be a router or cell phone.

With EMI there is probably not a single silver bullet. It is typically a combination of items that are contributing to the noise. It is also unlikely you will ever completely eliminate all noise, the goal is to lower the noise floor as much as possible then cover up what is left with a noise gate.
 
Last edited:
Noise in a sound system is a complex issue. There are several things that you can do to minimize the noise:
  • Shield your guitars control cavity and connect the shield to ground
  • Shield the bottom and halfway up the sides of your pickup cavities and connect the shield to ground
The preceding two items will help with the pickups amplifying EMF/EMI that is present in the system/environment.

If you want to try to reduce some of the noise in your system/environment these are some things you can try:
  • Make sure that none of your cables are not adding noise to the signal chain
  • Verify that your electrical system is fault free and has a good earth ground connection (you can buy a tester for less than $15 at most home improvement stores)
  • Ensure that you have good power filtering on your rack ($50 power conditioners have no meaningful power filtering regardless of what the manufacturer claims)
    • If possible, eliminate fluorescent bulbs and dimmers, these add a lot of noise to the environment
    • Look for other noise sources (wireless routers, cell phones, AC motors, refrigerator/freezer motors, fans, power tools, power lines)
  • Ensure that you have no ground loops
    • Run your computer from a UPS that does not draw directly from the AC electrical system. Alternatively if your computer is a laptop, run it on battery power.
    • Ensure that the chassis of components in your rack do not touch and do not have their grounds bonded (use Humfrees)
    • Lift the ground between the Axe and your power amp
    • If all else fails include an EBTech Hum Eliminator HE-8 in your rack and run your inter connections through it (DO NOT run power amp output through the HE-8!!)
  • If using 4CM, use Humbuster cables for the two output runs from your Axe FX to the amp
  • Adjust the noise gate on your Axe FX
That noise in your recording sounds like it could be a router or cell phone.
Or... don't use a computer with a glass panel.
 
I will order just the metal panel from Fractal cases, hope it will change something :)
Luckily they have a metal version of it That Fractal (no relation!) case looks nice. I was planning on getting the same one... with metal sides, of course. ;) Let me know if it helps!
 
It also depends on what's inside the case and how much EMI it's emitting. It could also be your monitor. I've had times where I've been playing in front of a screen and scrolling a document / PDF on the screen would cause noise to be picked up by the guitar. Turning away from the monitor or just sitting at a different angle would fix it.
 
Ok I kind of removed this issue by putting my pc tower behind my desk. It is much quieter and also adjusted input noise gate and its fine for now !
 
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