How to fix or improve Telecaster Thinline noise/buzzing?

jaymenon

If after all that you still get inductive buzz when you take your hands off the metal parts just do this:

https://i.imgur.com/THMHsxG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zQBFZDL.jpg

I suppose it might be odd if you are gigging

jaymenon

You have done a very good job…!

nonesuch

Thanks @ICBM I've left the clip in and it fits okay. My screw holes didn't quite line up completely parallel to the sides, but nobody needs to see that! (Looking art the screw holes I think the drill bit might have got deflected slightly by the metal clip, but it's okay)

And @jaymenon I really hope I don't need your rig!

jaymenon

nonesuch said:

And @jaymenon I really hope I don't need your rig!

I admit it looks a bit silly - but it is actually very, very effective - works spectacularly.

I had a Tom Anderson Hollow Cobra which I sold because I couln't get rid of inductive buzz.  Likewise with a Yamaha SA700 that I sold to TTony of this parish (with the ugly trick I know now, I would have kept both - though possibly not the Yamaha, which weighed a ton).

You need to ensure that the foil on the undersurface of the pickguard makes electrical contact with the foil that's lining the cavities. Easiest way is to extend two little tabs of foil over the holes for the pickguard screws. When you install the screws they will ensure the electrical connection.

https://i.imgur.com/9RuHBhy.jpg

Funkfingers

I love that Imgur thinks your improvised guitar grounding photographs warrant an adult content warning.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

I love that Imgur thinks your improvised guitar grounding photographs warrant an adult content warning.

#StrapOn

jaymenon

Oh the problems associated with being too good looking...

jaymenon

It doubles as my silent jack plug too...

nonesuch

A few things have been getting in the way of progress - gigs, work, people etc. but I'm almost there now.

Just got a quick question: The old pickup had a plastic base with a little lug going to ground, so do I still need to use this if the new pickup has a metal base plate? The old one had the wire from the pickup cut short, soldered to the lug, then the long ground wire went to the control cavity. I didn't want too cut the pickup wire short, so I've left them both to go through to the back of the volume pot. Is this okay?

When I came to mount the neck pickup onto the pickguard, the screws supplied with the Oil City pickups were too long to fit in the cavity (Presumably they're the screws if the pickup is mounted into the body, not the pickguard). So I used the original screws which are maybe slightly bigger, certainly a different thread size. This seemed as if it would be fine, but due to the different construction of the base of the pickup it looked like I wouldn't be able to lower the pickup enough. (The original Fender pickup has an extra raised area around the screw hole to give you extra adjustment)

Anyway rightly or wrongly I've decided to try and use the new longer screws - I've cut them down to size, but because I screwed the other screws in first, I've obviously enlarged the hole slightly. I put some PVA glue in the hole and screwed the longer screw in slightly, and I'll leave it overnight to see if that'll be a strong enough fix. Wasn't sure if super glue might have been a better choice, I don't know.

Little bit stressful!

nonesuch

So finally I’ve got everything connected and reassembled! It seems like it’s taken a long time, but that was partly getting hold of all the bits and doing a lot of double checking.

I was a bit worried about the new Oil City Thames Delta neck pickup, that I wouldn’t be able to lower it down enough because of how much taller it seems compared to to original one. I did get into a bit of trouble with the mounting screws, but luckily it seems to be okay with the shortened new ones.

In actual fact I’ve had to raise the neck pickup a lot more than I would normally would to try and balance it with the bridge. The bridge pickup seems a LOT louder. So the bridge pickup is lower than normal, and the neck is much higher than normal (normal to how I’d usually have it), I don’t really have enough experience of vintage style Tele pickups to know if this is a thing? (I think both pickups are 7K resistance)

Anyway, back to the whole point of this exercise - the buzzing/noise. Well it hasn’t just reduced it a bit - it’s almost gone! In fact I was so surprised, it’s made more of a different than I would have ever imagined. There’s hardly any difference in background noise from not touching the strings to touching the strings.

So thanks to everyone that has chipped in with advice and encouragement, it’s been at times very fiddly and a bit stressful, but I got there, and most importantly - the guitar still works!

Here’s a few pictures of the final stages:

Finished copper shielding, assembled pickguard, shielded cable to output, tall new pickup vs old pickup.

nonesuch

And everything back together in the sun!

jaymenon

Great job - well done!

ICBM

Excellent .

BillDL

Great job and a nice looking guitar.  It's a good feeling when it all comes together in the end and was worth the effort.  I love that blue colour on the wall (and the themed strap).  It's very Moroccan, or perhaps even Santorini-inspired, and great for a shaded garden area.

nonesuch

Thanks @BillDL, it's the first time I've attempted that much work on a guitar, so I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

I'm having a little bit of trouble getting the new pickups balanced, and I'm not sure the output jack is quite clicking in as well as it could be - I might try removing that metal clip after all.

We just painted the wall a couple of months ago, it used to be white (or or more accurately dirty white with hints of moss). We were kind of going for a Moroccan theme, although Greek works too. This summer the back yard has been a proper little sun trap. And my new favourite photography studio!

Dave_Mc

Nice work 

I'm not that well up on Teles, but I think the bridge pickup is normally a bit louder than the neck one?

ICBM

Dave_Mc said:

I'm not that well up on Teles, but I think the bridge pickup is normally a bit louder than the neck one?

Yes - and much more midrangy, which makes it even louder through a typical overdriven valve amp sound. (Valve amps tend to focus the sound into the mids when overdriven.)

Some people find this a problem, some use it as an advantage for switching from clean(er) to dirtier using just the pickup selector.

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

Dave_Mc said:

I'm not that well up on Teles, but I think the bridge pickup is normally a bit louder than the neck one?

Yes - and much more midrangy, which makes it even louder through a typical overdriven valve amp sound. (Valve amps tend to focus the sound into the mids when overdriven.)

Some people find this a problem, some use it as an advantage for switching from clean(er) to dirtier using just the pickup selector.

Yep  

Funkfingers

nonesuch said:

Are those chilli plants? If so, what variety?

nonesuch

Funkfingers said:

Are those chilli plants? If so, what variety?

No, they're avocado plants that my partner grew from the stones - which is pretty neat!

And they're outside, within a stone's throw of the North Sea!