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In short I've got an electric guitar that makes a buzzing sound when I'm not touching metal, I know it sounds like the thousandth time this has been asked but bare with me, it doesn't go away ONLY by touching the metal of the guitar, if I'm touching the body of the guitar (so no metal just wood) and then I touch a piece of metal it will go away. For example if I sit it on my lap and touch my MacBook it will go away, again I'm not touching any metal on the guitar BUT there is an exception.

If I plug my computer in to charge and then touch it the buzzing gets significantly louder, the same thing happens if I just touch my phone in general (doesn't have to be charging and the buzzing gets louder the closer my guitar is to my phone) and the whole time I'm not touching the metal of my guitar, if I do while touching either my phone or my charging MacBook it gets slightly quieter but doesn't go away.

I am very curious as to if this is just a faulty ground that gets louder when I touch my phone for whatever reason or if its something else. Again I am stressing I am NOT touching the metal of the guitar and it gets louder and can CAN either touch the metal of the guitar OR touch something else metal with the guitar just resting on me for it to go away.

For information I am using a Spider V 20 amp and a Yamaha guitar (I can't remember the exact model)

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    This really is a duplicate of Noise while not touching guitar strings or metal parts but with one additional factor. When your computer is plugged in you gain addition noise from the switch-mode power supply that these things use. There is no fix for that other than unplug it or see if you can find a proper, heavyweight core-wound transformer, fully earthed, with similar output spec. [This, btw, is not an actual earthing issue, per se]
    – Tetsujin
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 12:13
  • @Tetsujin The linked question says "when I touch the strings or touch any metal parts (strings, bridge or the metal portion near the output jack), the noise goes away completely". This question says "it doesn't go away ONLY by touching the metal of the guitar". Commented May 15, 2020 at 19:42

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I was about to chalk it up to your guitar electronics, which would've been sad but a cheap fix, but the amp might very well be the problem. Even for a beginner, Line 6 amps and especially the Spider series, are some of the absolute worst amplifiers money can buy. Not only does it sound like a box of drunk wasps, but they often have engineering issues that aren't worth the repair price. Have you tried playing with a friend's amp on your guitar or their guitar in your amp?

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  • Welcome to the Music SE. Your advice is helpful, but it could have been conveyed without belittling the OP's choice in gear. Commented Mar 12, 2021 at 15:11
  • Wasn't meant to sound belittling, I absolutely sympathize with not being able to afford decent gear. I used a Chinese strat knockoff for my first three years of guitar and after eight, I'm still stuck with my crappy 20-watt digital. That's why I suggested trying combos of theirs and others' gear to eliminate the issue. It's very likely just a cheap amp, but I'm willing to recognise it may not be.
    – Jett M
    Commented Mar 12, 2021 at 23:33
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It doesn't go away ONLY by touching the metal of the guitar

It may be that there's an earthing problem in your instrument (or cable, or amp). Normally, noise that's picked by your body and retransmitted to the pickups is reduced significantly when you touch the strings or bridge of your guitar, because that grounds you. See https://hazeguitars.com/blog/electric-guitar-string-ground.

See if the problem goes away when you touch the 'shield' of the cable that plugs into the guitar (while it's plugged into the amp). If it does, then that part of the chain is all fine, and there's probably an issue with the earth aspect of the wiring in the guitar.

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