Hum in the background DIY Muff, sound clip added

[Sophia2001]

Hi all,

I made a Big Muff on a breadboard. Everything works but I am experiencing a hum.

- Both pickups off (muted guitar), hum still present
- Tone knob affects the sound (audible, see clip below, from 5 seconds when I turn it)

Does anyone have any idea where this noise could be coming from?

Mirror 1: sound
Mirror 2: sound

Thanks for your help!
Sofia 

[FiveseveN]

What are you powering it with?

[GibsonGM]

Yes...battery or power supply? If power supply, do you use it with other pedals with no trouble?

Is there anything nearby that could cause noise?  Computer, 'flourescent' lights, other sources of noise?  Breadboards are notorious for their wide-open susceptibility to noise sources in the vicinity.

[Sophia2001]

Power: Boss PSA-230. No daisy chain. Works fine with other pedals. So I guess this can't be the problem?

As for other sources of interference. I placed the entire circuit in a metal housing. I connected the housing to the ground with a jumper. So this can't be the problem either?

I find it rather confusing that the noise is still there when the guitar pickups are turned off completely. Any idea?

Sofia 

[R.G.]

Does anyone have any idea where this noise could be coming from?

Yes. There are a huge number of ideas about hum.
The problem is that it could be coming from anything around you. We live in a sea of electromagnetic fields created by the power lines around us. There are cases I've seen where changing the >> building << the guitar setup is in can make something hum or not. Getting rid of a hum requires an open mind to lots of possible issues. Our guesses will be based on a whole slew of things we've run into that can make hum.
The first responses you got were to wonder about what powered the pedal. Non-battery power sources are a potent source of hum issues.

Power: Boss PSA-230. No daisy chain. Works fine with other pedals. So I guess this can't be the problem?

Good start, but try it with a battery for power first. Does it hum when powered by a 9V battery? To answer your question, no, just working without hum with other pedals doesn't mean the PSA is not the source of hum.

As for other sources of interference. I placed the entire circuit in a metal housing. I connected the housing to the ground with a jumper. So this can't be the problem either?

It helps, but again, "can't" is far too strong a word. "Probably isn't" is more accurate.

I find it rather confusing that the noise is still there when the guitar pickups are turned off completely. Any idea?

All that means is that the guitar pickups are not where the hum is coming from.

Other things that it could be are:
- flakey contacts in the jacks in the pedal
- flakey contact from the guitar cord to the jacks in the pedal
- the pedal picking up mains-frequency or twice-mains-frequency RF blips from household lights/fluorescents/computer power supplies and so on
- bad contact between the jacks' bushing and the metal enclosure or grounding wires
- ground current leakage from your amp through the pedal to your Boss power supply

A good thing to figure out when trying to fix hum issues is whether the hum is mains frequency (that is, 50 or 60 Hz) or rectifier hum and ripple, which happens at 100Hz or 120Hz depending on where you live. Different fixes are required.
Try it with a battery first, then let us know what happened.