Noise Issue With Guitar

I handcraft electric guitars & ever since we have moved to a new location I have a noise issue with the guitars.

Not sure what sort of noise it is called white, pink etc, just a fuzz type of sound that disapears when you touch the strings or the controls, pickups etc or any metal cover parts.

The bridge is earthed & all the control pots are earthed on the back, I have copper shielding tape under the pickups & in the control cavity with an earth wire to the shielding.

This noise is amplified when using any effects with gain & is an issue, with some amps you here it more than others & not at all in some. It's not noticable when playing the guitar as you are touching it.

Any idea's how I can eliminate this noise?

I have included a wiring diagram very simillar to what I use.

My control covers & output jack plates are metal but I don't have an earth wire to these?

Cheers

So the problem is only evident in your new location ?

Gday Ross,

The noise has always been minimul like most guitars but is certainly more evident now.

I have a valve amp that you can hardly hear the noise & a transitor amp that the noise is more pronounced when using it.
I suppose the old valve amp filters out the noise somewhat & the transistor amp is much cleaner so the noise is more pronounced.

Bugger of a problem

Cheers.

linguist said:

My control covers & output jack plates are metal but I don't have an earth wire to these?

Click to expand...

Add an earth wire to those also. Many times the source of the noise is fluorescent tubes. Maybe the lighting in your new place is different? Guitar strings act like antenna picking up the noise. Make sure your strings are properly grounded.

misterT,

I'll try it, although I thought they would be grounded by the control pots & the non isolated output jack?

It's worth a try

Cheers

The bridge should be grounded(!) and the pots bodies.

It may help to use higher output pickups as they make a higher sound/noise ratio, likewise you could go to active pickups like EMG or other brands.

I have seen some issues lately with the new coated strings, these look like metal but have a superfine plastic top layer (they are sold as anti-corrosion etc). These don't conduct when touching the strings so you have to touch the bridge to cancel the noise, its very annoying!

linguist said:

Not sure what sort of noise it is called white, pink etc, just a fuzz type of sound that disapears when you touch the strings or the controls, pickups etc or any metal cover parts.

Click to expand...

That is normal on single coil pickups, do you get it on humbunkers or single coil ?

I found the problem this morning, we have a wireless router for the internet, I had this turned off this morning while testing a guitar & the noise issue was gone.
When I turned back on the static noise was back, need to throw the wireless router out the window.

cheers

How close is the router to your guitars and equipment?

My router and also the external antennas connected to my computers to create a rather loud buzzing/clicking sound in speakers within about 6 feet. Its kinda cool to hear the devices 'talk' to each other!

Maybe load you router with DD-WRT software (quite easy to do actually!), then adjust the output power. This is really cool, simple, and adds to security. If you turn down your transmit power so you can only pick it up in your house, no-one can snoop or leach free internet access!