Noise from my new house electrical system

[sfrisius]

I just moved and my electric guitars are all buzzing whenever I play them on anything plugged in my new home. My first thought was a grounding problem, and for most guitars when I touch a screw on a pickup the buzz goes away, but I tried ground lifts and a HumX and they haven't worked. I have the same issue with solid state and tube amps, my Eleven Rack, and even a battery operated Korg Pandora when it is plugged into external speakers that run off of house power. If I completely unplug (i.e. Pandora to headphones) the buzz goes away. I have tried numerous outlets all over the house and even went as far as plugging in by my circuit breaker box and shutting down everything but the circuit I had an amp on to see if there was something in the house generating the noise.

Any ideas on how to fix it? Would a good power conditioner work? Is there something an electrician can do to the house electrical system?

Thanks!

Scott

[TimOBrien]

Dont mess with electricity. It will kill you and burn your house down.

Call an electrician and tell him the problem. The house may not be grounded or wired properly.

(I got a surprise when I sold my last home and during the inspection found that half my outlets were not grounded. At all.)

[fdew]

I just moved and my electric guitars are all buzzing whenever I play them on anything plugged in my new home. My first thought was a grounding problem, and for most guitars when I touch a screw on a pickup the buzz goes away.
Scott

Are you saying that the noise goes away when you touch a screw on the pickup when you are playing in your new house?

If so, The problem is You. You are not grounded, and because you are very close to the pickup you are "broadcasting" noise to it. (A guitar pickup is a excellent detector of electrical noise.) You could be picking up the noise from a number of places including the neighbors houses.

If this is the case the fix is to first make sure the house wiring is safe. Have it checked, especially the grounds. Next plug in your amp with a good grounded cord. Don't use a "humex" They work by lifting the ground until there is about 5 volts difference between your amp ground and the building ground.

Next, once you know everything is safe, ground your self. Look up wrist ground strap, get one and put it on your ankle.