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Post subject: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:14 pm
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Hey guy's I really hope someone can help me with this cause I'm about to throw these pickups out. I put 69 custom shop pickups in my strat and while they are usually great if i play in a place with bad electrical and as anyone who plays allot knows that is most places they buzz so loud that it over takes the guitar sound.

I can not emphasize enough that this is NOT THE REGULAR SINGLE COIL BUZZ. I have played allot of single coil guitars before and I know how to deal with them. Another thing that makes this not typical is that when i select two pickups to make the single coil buzz go away it actually gets worse much worse. The buzz is so loud that it makes the guitar unplayable.

I have taken this guitar to several top repair guys including David Neeley who has worked in the fender custom shop before and they cant see that I've connected anything wrong and i have replaced and rewired all the ground and even put in heavy shielded cable for the ground wires. the cavity is now shielded and backplate is on and no difference. I can finally test this on a daily basis as im teaching in a place with horrible electrical. Now i have students come in everyday with strats and whith two pickups selected there buzz goes away and mine gets worse.

Any ideas??? anyone want to buy some pickups that i think Ive waited to long to return lol?


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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:44 pm
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clydeshere wrote:
...69 custom shop pickups in my strat...I can not emphasize enough that this is NOT THE REGULAR SINGLE COIL BUZZ... when i select two pickups to make the single coil buzz go away it actually gets worse much worse. The buzz is so loud that it makes the guitar unplayable.

I have taken this guitar to several top repair guys...even put in heavy shield...

Any ideas??? anyone want to buy some pickups that i think Ive waited to long to return lol?


Welcome.

First off, the CS69 set does not have a RW/RP middle pickup. In other words, teaming the middle pickup with either of the outer two will not cancel the 60 cycle hum. Further, teaming two pickups on a Strat puts them in parallel so the output will be weaker but the hum will remain constant.

As CS69s are incredibly popular and their specifications have been around literally since 1968, we can rule out a design defect. Further, I think we can rule out the three of yours being duds as the odds of this is astronomically against it (unless of course, you've accidentally degaussed the magnets or something).

Based on my experience and SIGHT UNSEEN, I suspect you have a crossed wire somewhere or a bad pot.

A very common problem which causes your symptom is the output jack wires being reversed. I'm not saying this is your problem but I've seen it many a time. Also, even if the pots are good, if you have one of those treble retention circuits on the volume pot, remove it as this can cause the noise too especially as it is inappropriate for these pickups.

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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:19 pm
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Thanks for the response. I really wish I had known that they didn't have a RW middle pickup before i bought them Just looked at the site I purchased them from and no information on that at all seems like a glaring omission and makes me wish I had returned these right away.

Anyway back to the problem one thing I came across is that I might have a ground loop because I put a new pickgaurd on with foil on the back. With the ground tied to all the pots and them grounded to the foil maybe causing a ground loop? IDK but I'm gonna take them off tommorow.

I know the jack is wired correctly I build my own pedals and guitars and have had experience wiring those wrong before lol.

I was thinking if maybe I had a bad switch? I had the ground tied to the switch and its a very crappy switch from a old squire a friend had. I don't know if maybe that would help?

Oh and I don't know what a treble retention circuit is so unless your talking about the tone cap I don't have it.


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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:02 am
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clydeshere wrote:
its a very crappy switch from a old squire a friend had.


I would look there for your problem -- a quality Oak-Grigsby switch may be the solution. Likewise if your pots, tone caps, and/or wiring are sub-par they likely are a contributory factor.

I have the CS 69 set installed in a MIJ 12-string Strat, along with an aluminum pickguard shield -- the guitar is as quiet as a church mouse.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:49 am
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clydeshere wrote:
Thanks for the response. I really wish I had known that they didn't have a RW middle pickup before i bought them Just looked at the site I purchased them from and no information on that at all seems like a glaring omission and makes me wish I had returned these right away.

Anyway back to the problem one thing I came across is that I might have a ground loop because I put a new pickgaurd on with foil on the back. With the ground tied to all the pots and them grounded to the foil maybe causing a ground loop? IDK but I'm gonna take them off tommorow.

I know the jack is wired correctly I build my own pedals and guitars and have had experience wiring those wrong before lol.

I was thinking if maybe I had a bad switch? I had the ground tied to the switch and its a very crappy switch from a old squire a friend had. I don't know if maybe that would help?

Oh and I don't know what a treble retention circuit is so unless your talking about the tone cap I don't have it.


You're welcome.

It is impossible for you to have a ground loop in your guitar's wiring unless there exists two independent and unequal voltage sources. In other words and contrary to popular belief, ground loops do not exist in typical pickguard wirings such as yours. This "ground loop" business in guitar pickguard wirings is unfortunately, more preposterous "Infallible Web Dogma".

Replacing the Squier switch MAY help as they are prone to shorting as well.

The treble retention circuit is a resistor and/or capacitor soldered to the volume control's left and center terminals as you hold the pot with the shaft facing downward.

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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:32 am
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[/quote]

You're welcome.

It is impossible for you to have a ground loop in your guitar's wiring unless there exists two independent and unequal voltage sources. In other words and contrary to popular belief, ground loops do not exist in typical pickguard wirings such as yours. This "ground loop" business in guitar pickguard wirings is unfortunately, more preposterous "Infallible Web Dogma".

Replacing the Squier switch MAY help as they are prone to shorting as well.

The treble retention circuit is a resistor and/or capacitor soldered to the volume control's left and center terminals as you hold the pot with the shaft facing downward.[/quote]

Hey thanks again. That was always my theory about ground loops. Theres one problem though this sounds exactley like a ground loop problem. It isn't that typical single coil hum it's something else.
Anyway I'm ordering another switch today and maybe that will work. I'm sure this will come with a wiring schematic but does anyone know if you hook the ground up to most switches or not? I've seen schematics that say you do and then read that you shouldn't. I have tried the switch I have with ground on and off and no difference. So just wondering.

Anyway thanks for the responses guys.


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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:58 am
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clydeshere wrote:
Hey thanks again. That was always my theory about ground loops. Theres one problem though this sounds exactley like a ground loop problem. It isn't that typical single coil hum it's something else.
Anyway I'm ordering another switch today and maybe that will work. I'm sure this will come with a wiring schematic but does anyone know if you hook the ground up to most switches or not? I've seen schematics that say you do and then read that you shouldn't. I have tried the switch I have with ground on and off and no difference. So just wondering.

Anyway thanks for the responses guys.


Glad to help.

The reason why no one bothers to ground the switch is because most pickguards nowadays are foiled. Naturally, the switch's metal frame comes in contact with the foil where via the foil, it is grounded to some other component's housing where through this, the switch's frame joins the rest of the grounded circuit. Personally, I don't trust the long term integrity of the foil and so as a standard operating procedure, I file the zinc coating off one of the switch's rivets, solder a wire from there and then to the back of the volume pot.

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Post subject: Re: 69 replacement pickups buzz
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:05 pm
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clydeshere wrote:
Thanks for the response. I really wish I had known that they didn't have a RW middle pickup before i bought them Just looked at the site I purchased them from and no information on that at all seems like a glaring omission and makes me wish I had returned these right away.


FWIW...

It is possible to make your middle pickup effectively RWRP. For a CS69 it only requires a strong magnet to reverse the polarity of all 6 slugs. Once that is accomplished you only need to reverse the leads and wire it back in.

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