Evening all,
I have a quandary with regards to the buzz that i'm hearing from my Strat. More specifically whether or not it's just coil hum or a grounding issue.
When plugged into either or my amps, my Strat (only my strat, my HH VS6 doesn't exhibit this) has a faint(ish) hum to it. When the volume is increased the hum is more noticeable. When in overdrive it's more noticeable still.
When i touch any metal on the guitar it goes a little fainter, and there is the tiniest of noises as i touch the metal. Sort of like a pop, but not really quite as it's so faint.
The first part of the paragraph led me to believe it's just coil hum, but the fact that it goes a bit fainter leads me to believe a grounding issue somewhere. Or maybe the grounding is OK and it's just shielding.
I believe i've narrowed whatever it is down to the guitar, as it's consistent across 2 amps, across multiple sockets in multiple rooms of the house. Multiple cables, with and without a looper pedal running on battery in the chain.
And as i say, my VS6 which is a double humbucker doesn't have the issue.
I therefore took to inspecting the electronics, and as far as I can tell, checking with a tiny tug, all are soldered on securely (the back one is securely soldered to the bridge plate too.
Does anyone experience the same symptoms with their Strats along with the hum?
I can put up with the noise, not a problem at all as it's very faint. I just don't want to be playing the guitar if there's constant electricity running through me as the ground
Comments
Don't worry, it’s not dangerous.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I can deal with the noise if it's just the shielding.
By comparison, some of the cable runs in your double humbucker guitar will shield the signal carrying conductors with a foil or metal braid.
The self-adhesive foil on the underside of the scratchplate is not as effective as the metal plate that was fitted to vintage Fender electric guitars.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/89942/caspercaster#latest
It should look like this - sorry for the poor quality picture, it's actually hard to find one of it done really right!
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kpIAAOSwvktaXPj6/s-l300.jpg
This will make a difference because by keeping the hot wires very close to the grounds and wrapped around each other, you actually create a bit of shielding.
It's really remarkable how careless the wiring in most Fender-type guitars is, even the high-end ones.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've got a replacement nut on order and some makeshift files, so once that arrives and i've filed it down ready to attempt to fit a nut for the first time, with the strings off, i'll remove the pickguard again and have a proper go at twisting the pickups to try to help shield some of the wiring like in the picture.
Thanks again! It's a huge help!