Strat noise issue!!

BigMonka

I've got a terrible noise issue with my cheapo strat.

It's quite a weird almost digital sounding noise that gets better/worse depending on the angle of the guitar relative to the amp (it seems to almost disappear at around 45degs offset to the amp).

It doesn't get any better by touching the strings or trem block.

But it is much better in positions 2&4 on the pickup selector.

Any ideas? I don't think it's always had this problem (hadn't played the guitar in a couple o years). I'm thinking of upgrading the pickups anyway which I have a suspicion may help.

ecc83

Which amp? Some radiate a lot more crap than others.

Have you ruled out computer and lighting noise?

Screening the cavity might help a bit but the fact that the "humbucking" pos' 2 and 4 kills it tells me it is electromagnetic and not electrostatic pickup.

Buy a longer lead?

Dave.

BigMonka

It's into a Squire Champ15G but previously I was running it through a hifi via a POD and that had the same problem.

There aren't any computers or fluorescent lights in the area but I'll try and move things around a bit to see if it helps. I'm using a decent length lead but the issue may be that I'm quite close to the amp so the lead is all on the floor by the amp.

There's no shielding in the body cavity other than some tinfoil-like sheet on the back of the scratch plate where the pots are.

Could it be the pickups being too microphonic?

ElectroDan

Microphonic noise doesn't tend to sound digital. Is your mobile causing it, or a charger or something of that nature?

Headphones

if it disappears at certain angles and changes volume as you move back and forth it's most likely to be stray fields you're picking up.  The classic causes would be CRTs, PCs, flourescents, dimmers and very cheap SMPS, possibly a railway line.

ICBM

That's definitely external noise being picked up by the pickups. The reason it's less bad in the 2 and 4 positions will be because the middle pickup is RWRP so they form a hum-cancelling pair.

As Headphones said the most common sources are switch-mode power supplies (computer, TV, phone charger etc), lighting dimmers, some effects pedal power supplies. It's unlikely to be the amp, I think they use a standard transformer.

Upgrading the pickups won't help unless you go for noiseless types - stacked or side-by-side humbuckers, or actives - and shielding will do very little.

BigMonka

Headphones said:

...possibly a railway line.

lol - I've been analysing the noise compared to the position of the amp rather than compared to the 4 tracks of 25kV electrified east coast mainline railway about 2m beyond my wall!!  (and I probably should keep quiet that for a living I design electrical systems for railways!)

I'll try moving everything to the far end of the house and see if that helps at all. I've also just realised that my wifi router is about 1m directly underneath the amp - would this be a contributer? 

BigMonka

Last night I tried moving it down to the far end of the house and it was no better but what I did notice was that getting anywhere near the ipad made it bad, and it got really really bad when I was holding the ipad whilst it was charging.

So do I need more shielding in place or is it something I've just got to live with?

Headphones

Single coils and the East Coast Main Line (I suspect) aren't likely to be good bedfellows!

That said the sound should be more like typical mains hum from the OLE (with some weird wooshing as a train passes); more likely the track circuit/signalling systems than that.

If it really is the railway, distance is is the only real palliative.

Switching stuff off in the house bit by bit would be the easiest way to be sure.