so i'm swapping out transistors on a buzzbox circuit and got great results with a 2n5088 combined with, well just about anything. problem is, this sucker is noisy as all getout. when im not playing the rf and hum i get is a loud as when i am playing. granted i am using single coils but there has got to be a way to tame some of this. the circuit is currently on a breadboard so there is no kind of enclosure providing any shielding but i doubt putting it inside a hammond will do much on its own. any ideas?
Putting it in an enclosure actually helps quite a bit. Also, try a 100uf cap across the power if you haven't already
Shield your guitar. The hum and rf noise are probably coming from your pickups, and sound much louder because the fuzz compresses a lot. Shielding your guitar reduces noise by quite a bit.
you mean in addition to what is already there? i think the cavity is pretty well shielded but should i do more than what the fender factory did?
Hmmm... If there is already shielding, then there probably isn't much you can do for the guitar. It is weird, though, to have so much noise with a shielded guitar. I guess try boxing up the circuit.
ive also thought that some of the problem might come from the fact that i am playing very close to the unboxed circuit and the amp itself (a fender bassman). im literally only two feet away down here in my workshop/cave. all my longer cables are in the trunk. maybe i should see what stepping back a few feet does.