Cutlass noise reduction fail outside USA

[Pharmatrix]

Hi!
I purchased a Cutlass SSS 6 months ago and I love the instrument despite one issue = noise reduction is not effective.
And I just found an explanation =
- EBMM noise reduction system works as follow. It generates destructive signal in opposite phase to cancel 60 cycle hum caused by 110V/60Hz electricity.
- in Europe,UK, Australia and lot of other countries in the world we have 220V/50Hz electricity that causes «*50 cycle hum*» and so EBMM just generate ineffective 60Hz opposite phase signal that is added to 50 cycle hum.
Unfortunately we can’t even disable the system in order to deal only with single coil noise. I know there is a switch inside the guitar to tune the reduction amount but it’s not very easy.

I just noticed all this because I played on a 120V/50Hz power generator into American Fender amp and bam, no noise..

So could I ask EBMM to solve the problem and send me a «*50 cycle hum reduction system*»? Or is it something I must live with, a feature I payed for and that doesn’t work due to bad design?

 

[DrKev]

Welcome to the forum!

It works equally well on 50Hz or 60Hz. It does not generate a 60Hz signal. It senses what noise is around (i.e. in exactly the same way that a single coil picks up because it is infact a small dummy coil with a preamp), reverses that nosie and mixes it with the single coil signal. There is a mini potentiometer inside the guitar to adjust it.

Next time you change strings, take them all off, plug the guitar into an amp, lift the pickguard into playing position and make adjustments while you listen and dial in the minimum amount of noise.

Note that no noise reduction system on the market is 100% effective, how effective can depend on many factors, so your milage may vary. Also remember that unwanted noise can come from a variety of sources, e.g. transformers, generators, dimmer switches, fluorescent lights, computer monitors, TVs, radios, which will generate different types of noise. That means that noise from different sources and/or directions may not be reduced equally. The low 50/60Hz hum may be reduced differently to higher frequency buzzes, and you will still notice the amount of buzz/hum changing depedning on which direction the guitar is facing.

Have you talked to EBMM customer service directly? You can call or email. See links in my signature.

And I almost forgot, congrats on a great guitar! We'd love to see photos when you get a chance!

 

[PeterVV]

I am in the UK and my Cutlass is dead quiet. I would suggest that you contact Musicman customer services if you have eliminated everything bar the guitar.

 

[TripHazard]

I am in the UK and my Cutlass is dead quiet. I would suggest that you contact Musicman customer services if you have eliminated everything bar the guitar.

Mine is dead quiet too. What I have noticed, with all my guitars, is the upstairs wiring in my folks house generates noise from my amp - even with humbucker guitars. Take the amp downstairs, sound goes back to normal

 

[RichieZ]

A thread like this comes up every so often... I even started one a while back.

I have a Valentine and can definitely tell the noise difference between the humbucker and the single coil/split humbucker. Same guitar, same amp, same room, same wiring. Humbucker is truly silent... singles have significantly more noise, especially with gain, obviously.

I have my noise reduction set about halfway. I was told this is normal and to expect about 50-70% noise reduction, and I have no reason to doubt that. I don’t have a straight single coil guitar to compare it to but I can hear the difference when I adjust the noise reduction level, so I know it’s functioning. The pickups sound amazing... so bright and dynamic. So, for me, it’s a worthwhile tradeoff.

Enjoy that guitar... love the Cutlass.