suggestions for taming a noisy 2N5088?

[CoolJohnny]

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?

[blooze_man]

Putting it in an enclosure actually helps quite a bit. Also, try a 100uf cap across the power if you haven't already

[CynicalMan]

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.

[CoolJohnny]

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?

[CynicalMan]

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.

[CoolJohnny]

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.