whenever i turn on my distortion and turn the volume up there's a humming sound. i've had this for a while and i can't seem to figure out what's wrong.

Of course!

The distortion channel, or stompbox, or whatever, has more gain than a clean channel. This means that any sound from your guitar gets amplified more, including the hum. I'm sure if you turned the 'clean' volume way up, you'd hear hum there, too. Of course if you accidently brush the strings while you're crouched in front of your amp, you may have trouble hearing much of anything for the next few days!

http://www.guitarnuts.com has very good advice about hum-proofing guitars. Or at least improving them.

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Lordathestrings
Guitar Tricks Moderator
www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons

Get a Noise Gate. You can adjust the threshold to keep everything silent until you actually start playing.

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Kevin's Guitar Tricks Lessons
Schmange Music U.K./Canada - Home Page
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Do you play next to your PC? Because the screen is a hum source!!

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http://www.lalimace.net

yes, but my pc is off. does that make a difference?

if it's off, it won't give you hum!!

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http://www.lalimace.net

humming.. could be your pots volume/tone/etc, or a loose wire, or not earthed properly,( if your using single coils they will hum anyway, most times)maybe your amp? could be the wring in your house,lots of reasons..I'd start @ the guitar tho, check your wiring and pots etc..good luck! =)