Scratchy noise when I touch pickup, screws, use brass slide.

[mauiboy81]

Hey, maybe you could help me figure this out.
This is what I have experienced....

When playing and my finger touches pickguard screw on strat or tele it makes a scratchy popping noise.

When I push on my les Paul pickups I get a scratchy noise.

When using a brass slide there is a scratchy static noise.

When a buddys metal (silver or white gold not sure which) bracelet touched my tele bridge there was a really odd high pitched sort of scratchy jangling that lasted a couple seconds after it touched.

Pots are not scratchy.

What could it be?

[Cygnus X1]

You need Bounce!

See point #6.
http://www.barthworks.com/non%20fiction ... bounce.htm

It may indeed be static buildup.

[selloutrr]

You have a grounding issue. Most likely the guitar. You are making ground. The wire to the bridge might be broken.

[mauiboy81]

I just thought it was odd that all three guitars had some issues. Could it be ground on the amp inputs or something?

[LeftyStrat]

Multiple guitars have the problem, then the problem is you, or your room. Is it carpeted? This sounds like a static electricity issue.

If it is all with the same amp, I might check the ground connection. I'd also maybe try a different outlet and different room.

[martin manning]

Try a different guitar cable? Same amp? Make sure the input jack is tight and that the ground is good.

[LeftyStrat]

Try a different guitar cable? Same amp? Make sure the input jack is tight and that the ground is good.

Good call Martin. I didn't thing about the cable. I've had issues in the past with cables.

[mauiboy81]

So I just checked the amp and with a cord plugged into the first channel I get <1mV on the tip. On the second channel with the cord plugged in I got -31mV on the tip. Could this be the problem?

[mauiboy81]

Bad tube perhaps?

[Reeltarded]

What amp? Something leaking DC...

[mauiboy81]

Channel two is a top boost variant. Channel one uses a 12ay7 with coupling cap switch and vol between the two stages. The top boost channel has the -31mV on the input. The 12ay7 has <1mV.
I'm using a new tung-sol 12ax7 for the top boost and eh 12ay7 for channel one.

[mauiboy81]

Also if I have a cable plugged in and touch the chassis I get the scratchy noise.

[selloutrr]

Touch up your input ground solder points. Tighten the bolts on the input jacks.

The do leaking wont cause the ground noise injection from touch it would display a ground hum during playing as we'll.

Tube issue would give you volume cuts and noise

You have tested your ohm load on the cable? 0.01ohms on both metered tip to tip

[mauiboy81]

I changed the tube and now I get -8mV on the grid. I still have the scratchiness. I'll reflow the connections on the input jack. They are just grounded where they go through the chassis and are not isolated.

In my last post I said that it is scratchy when I touch the chassis but I meant when I touch the chassis with metal not with my finger. I touched it with the brass slide I was using.

I didn't measure the resistance of the guitar cable but tried using three different cables and it didnt make a difference.

Thanks for your help!

[thejaf]

Not that it's this, but something similar happened to me when I had a brain fart and wired the first preamp stage ground to the switched portion of the input jack instead of the grounded one.

THUS - nothing installed in the input jack, first stage grounded normally. When I plugged in cord, groudn connection broken and grounded through guitar, with subsequent low voltage on hot tip of jack, strings, etc