anyone know why i'm hearing intermittent buzzing? it goes away for a bit then returns then goes away... of course, i only notice when i'm playing the amp clean.

EDIT: seems like it's got something to do with the humbucker. it goes away completely when i select the middle pickup. and it's no longer intermittent, just a constant buzz. normal?

I think you mean to say tremolo "block" and not tremolo "bar". But it is good advice. A nice beefy quality steel or brass block can make quite a difference compared the the crappy mexi standard block, which is probably made from chimichangas or some alloy derivative thereof..

The trem block, tuners and nut..( and the ability to play a Strat) can make more difference then what country the guitar was made in all else being "equal".

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.

This issue is electrical related..and what is the electrical source?.... Whatever the amp is plugged into. Intermittent problems are more difficult to solve, even if one of us where there to diagnose it in person.

I do know we have played rooms where the noise was so bad..we switched to our all humbucker instruments..and still the noise was unacceptable.

So..it could be the pickup, the switch,a solder joint, a ground loop, a dirty power source, or the amp or in some cases..the chord. In other words..to diagnose this on a forum..is guesswork and assumption at best.

Have you tried this ax through other amps/chords...or the same amp used at another location..or a different amp at a different location? The results of trying that can help guide to a suggestion. If all else fails and you are not capable of pulling the pick guard and metering components, might be time to bring it in to a pro.

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it has to be from the guitar. It only happens when the guitar is hooked up and gets louder/quieter when I change the volume on the guitar. It also disappears totally when I switch to either of the single coils (which is kind of ironic huh). Is it normal for fat strat humbuckers to buzz a little bit or is this something I should contact the seller about?

I only left those suggestions to eliminate what is not the cause..as troubleshooting noise is a 3 step process...1) identify, 2) isolate...3)eliminate.

Probably no point in contacting the seller as most likely the reason he sold all that gear and sweet ax for such a good deal, is he did not want to deal with finding and fixing the problem.

From your description, it could be the guitar..or, it could be something else. Electronics do not follow human logic..electronics behave by their own set of rules.

Assuming the problem is the guitar....I don't know how someone can tell you this is "normal"...has just telling you it is normal will not fix it.

I have had similar issues before and it requires pulling the pick guard and metering the grounds. It could be something as simple as spraying the pots with tuner cleaner..or a bad switch contact. Bottom line is if you won't take my suggestions as credible..then I can't really offer much help.

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.

Also to note..it is NOT normal for the humbucker to have buzzing noise...as a matter of fact, the humbucker should be the most quiet pickup...which is the purpose of the humbucker technology.

There is an electrical issue..probably something simple...if you understand electronics. If not...take it step by step...if it is an issue with the wiring..you may need to pull the pick guard..not the end of the world..we can advise from there. I just want to make 100% sure it is not an issue with the amp or chord before you pull the guard so I suggested what to try first to verify.

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.

Yes, thanks you are correct.

I also overstated the size of the GFS Trem block. I have one here with me and it is 1/2 inch thick. I was guess-timating yesterday as I did not have one with me. But they are twice as thick as the crappy zinc block that some of the MIM and Squiers come with. The improvement in sound is multifold.

And to be fair with other vendors, there are other brands out there at various prices. I have used only the GFS ones so far.

Very heavy and well worth the money at $20.00

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I remember when we were free!

Ok thanks for the help. Right now I don't have access to another guitar or another amp. The only thing I could do was go to another room and it was pretty much the same. It's this low humming/buzzing noise that I can ONLY hear when I have the humbucker selected and it becomes more audible either as I increase the volume knob on my guitar or change my amp to the overdrive channel (even on OD everything is dead quiet when selecting either of the two single coils). I was wrong when I said intermittent before. It's always there, but sometimes it seems to get a little louder in a fashion that makes you think there's some physical element to it. Also, I don't know if this is related or not, but sometimes I get that booming microphone noise that happens you put a mic too close to the speaker.

I'm willing to bet the seller didn't know about this or didn't notice it. The guitar hadn't been played in forever and he had to know it would be noticed fairly quickly. It may have been this way since it was bought.

Take your time and you will figure it out. It will be OK.

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I remember when we were free!

Another thing:

The sound disappears when I mute the strings, especially when I press them all down slightly right over the humbucker. Tiny spacing issue? I can take the pickguard off, but how hard is it to adjust the humbucker's height?

Ground issue. And unfortunately those are not easy to diagnose on a forum. Good news is, it is generally an easy fix. However if you do not know how to check the grounds, or use a meter, it may require a trip to the repair guy.

It is not hard to adjust the humbuckers height..all you need to do is turn the screws that are on both sides of it.

Overall how does it sound? I wish I was able to have the guitar here as it would take me literally 5 minutes to determine the noise issue, but if the sound overall is good, it is worth a fee to have it checked over by a pro.

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.

Ok thanks, since it's probably not that big a deal I'm not gonna bug the seller too much and I might hold off on it for a bit. It doesn't really bother me too much. I'll take it to a pro and see what he thinks. Do you guys recommend guitar center for this kind of thing or would I be better off going to a smaller shop?

I love the way it plays and way the guitar sounds through this amp. But I'm a noob and don't really know if it's supposed to be even better. That said, I need new strings and the saddles need a good amount of work.

According to www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx
this guitar's info is the following:

"Your guitar was made at the
Ensenada Plant (Fender), Mexico
in the Year(s): 2005 - 2006"

Hope this helps!

Ok, now I noticed something else. It does happen on all of the pickups at a certain range of volumes. I noticed that when I turn the knob to its highest, the hum only persists on the humbucker but at somewhere around 6-7 I can hear it in the other pickups too.

I'm just gonna take it to a pro.

Cool. I guess it can't hurt to ask the seller if he was aware of the problem..maybe he changed the pickups at some time and when he put the originals back in something was wired wrong. Because it could be something minor, or a combination of minor issues causing the buzz, I could not pinpoint the source of the problem very accurately on a forum.

I would bring it to guitar center AND smaller shop but ONLY for an estimate. Then you will have an idea which one is going to overcharge you. The problem is since you do not know yourself what the problem is you are at the mercy of the tech...would could tell you it needs new pickups or pots etc and then nail you with full retail on parts and labor..so a 5 minute re-solder becomes a 200 dollar ordeal. In other words I would pay a little more as long as I knew i could trust the tech..it is pretty easy to get sucked into an expensive unnecessary repairs from a crook so beware.

That said, you are a noob, you love the way it plays and sounds..it's not like you are going to be playing any big live shows soon where the little noise issue matter so...enjoy the heck out of it. Might want to go to GC or similar and try out a few other Strats and see how it compares to yours feel wise. As far as sound, the only way to really compare it fairly, is to have your guitar with you and plug it into the same amp with the same settings as the other guitars you are comparing it to. I guess you could bring your ax into a music store and tell them you want to try out an amp with it. Then ask to try a few more strats through the same amp and this will let you know how yours stands up to others.

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I'm almost out of stuff to sell.