Static discharge on Fender guitars

[Randall]

I have a very talented musician friend who came to me with a problem earlier regarding a crackling in his Blues Jr when he ran his fingers over the pick guard of his Telecaster. We researched and found some stuff online such as sandpapering the underside of the guard and even putting in a laundry anti static sheet under it. We never figured it out.

Then, a few days ago he is at my shop, and I let him play my Tele through my latest DR build, and... "what's that noise?" he says, yeah it makes a crackle when i touch the pick guard just like on mine.

well, I have had that guitar for a good long time, and it never did that before. I take the guitar and I cannot reproduce the noise. He takes it again, and "crackle".

What is going here? It is obviously about him, but what?

[NickC]

High GSR, galvanic skin response.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_conductance

[Leo_Gnardo]

I've found this static problem mostly on multilayer pickguards. Somehow rubbing against them in normal playing forms a mini Van de Graaf generator.

One solution I've worked a couple times on strats is lining the underside of the pickguard, all the way to the edge, with copper foil, plus putting a nut on the back of each 6-32 bolt holding a pickup, with a wire across the back of the pickup, and a wire from each of the pickup "bails" plus copper shield to ground at the output jack. The idea being, the player's hand will discharge thru the metalwork before thru the pickup, thereby avoiding crackle noise. Seems a bit extreme but it worked.

Some kinds of clothing make static more than others (polyester vs chainmail for instance...) and some people as you have found, raise more static than others, naturally. But it's twoo, it's twoo....

[Randall]

I'm convinced this is definitely about this person. One ply guards in both cases. Nothing with me trying it, crackle with him. All else the same. Thinking maybe static cling on his clothes?

[randalp3000]

I've had the same issue with some customers and recommended rubbing a dryer sheet on the pickguard. Also had success with shielding like mentioned above.

[stevlech]

A piece of packing tape on the back of the guard has worked for me.

[Tillydog]

...rubbing a dryer sheet on the pickguard.

^+1

Worked for me, and for some reason, it has never needed repeating.

[Phil_S]

High GSR, galvanic skin response.

Ask him to use some talcum powder and try again.

[Drewline]

I have always had very dry skin & here in Colorado we get lots of static to begin with. On an 83 Tele which was impossible I found that changing to a single ply acrylic pickgard solved the problem. Of course everything is grounded. I always run a strip of shield tape from the pickgard under the control plate front screw for a solid ground.
Hand lotion used sparingly helps reduce the problem.