Tonebender Noise

[SonicVI]

Are you using single coils or humbuckers?   the MK2's I've built have been very quiet with humbuckers but pretty noisy with single coils.

[Jay]

It is the hum you get in a high gain circuit.

You shouldn't get much in the way of hum.  Try two things - long guitar lead and stand further away, use a battery not a wall wart.

My money is on the wall wart.

If it is hiss rather than hum, well its kind of inevitable with a high gain Ge circuit.  I think Steve tests his matched sets for noise before he ships them.