hello out there i got a mim96 strat it makes a odd kinda sound while plugged up .but u can touch the strings and it is quite ??? this is some type of short right ? any help and info would be great .thanks .gj

Do you have standard single coils in that?
If so.......what you have there is an age old case of 60 cycle hum.....common to single coil pickups.
You can shield the guitar and do some other 'tricks'.....but that's the way it's been since the beginning!
I don't know the technical/scientific reason WHY...(perhaps someone on here with this knowledge could step in.........)

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

thank you so much for this info .gj.

Actually I would be more likely to suspect that he has a grounding problem, if the guitar is noisy until he touches the strings. usually there is a ground run to the bridge, or the trem claw, depending on the type of guitar. it is usually a break of this ground circuit that causes this type of intermittent hum.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

hey man thanks .that sounds like it ........how could i fix it at home ? without taking it apart or solder .i have no solder iron .and not sure if i could get r done ...........thank you so much .gj.ps it is a 96 mim strat.

no way to do it without a soldering iron, if it is a break in the ground wire. You need to find the break. if it is in an easy spot a quick resolder could work, or you may actually need to replace the ground wire.

that said, I can't conclusively diagnose your issue without having the guitar in hand. You may need to bite the bullet and take it in.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

[quote="Twelvebar"]no way to do it without a soldering iron, if it is a break in the ground wire. You need to find the break. if it is in an easy spot a quick resolder could work, or you may actually need to replace the ground wire.

that said, I can't conclusively diagnose your issue without having the guitar in hand. You may need to bite the bullet and take it in.well in it will go.thanks for your help.gj.

Has it just started happening?

Try the pickup selector on a humbucking (essentially noise canceling) setting.
Plug straight into your amp with the cable. Don't use pedals. Try clean channel with moderate EQ settings. Does it improve?

Fastest way to diagnose where the problem is to take it into the nearest music store and test out one of their amps

If its just started happening on the guitar check the wire to the trem spring claw if its loose to get someone to solder this back on shouldn't even cost you anything its such a simple job. Find someone with a 40w soldering iron.

Anything more than that will take some troubleshooting skill.

The same way you can have a friend use their guitar on your amp to try and isolate where the problem is.

ok i will try this .thank you so much for this info .gj.