Guys (and gals),
I have a question. I'm getting back into electrics after 20+ years of playing acoustic bluegrass.

I have a Strat - MIM with US pickups (N3 noisless in neck and middle and humbucker in the bridge).

There is this annoying sound that's bugging me and wondered if you all had any ideas.

Whenever I touch the metal parts on the guitar (strings, bridge, jack plate, etc.) the little bit of background goes away (no big deal other than I thought the noisless pups should reduce or eliminate this). Also, if I tap any of the metal parts, there is a little pop sound through the amp.

Is this a bad jack (moving the cable doesn't cause any problems or noises), a bad ground somewhere or is it just normal?


Most of my electric days were long ago were with a Les Paul (the two I have now are my first strats). Given my normal "condition" back then, if my guitars made that kind of noise, I most likely wouldn't have noticed or would have trouble remembering if I did notice. (things change a lot once we get over 50 for darn sure.)

Only one of my strats makes this noise so I don't think it's normal (or the one that does not do it is not normal).

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jeff

Nearly every single coil guitar I have ever played has done this, so I suppose it is "normal" for a factory stock guitar to a certain degree. Taking off the pickguard and fully shielding the body cavities will make a HUGE difference. I have also noticed that during winter, when static electricity is a problem, my guitars seem worse. I rest my picking hand fingers on the pickguard when I play, and I notice that if I rub the pickguard in the area between the middle pickup and the selector switch, I can hear a static sound through the amp. You are right about this, touching metal parts will silence your guitar, because YOU are the ground lol. Try either living with it, or spend a little to have the body cavity shielded with foil tape, then make sure your amp is plugged into a grounded outlet. Also, computer monitors and some lights can really do weird things when you try to play near them. I hope this helps!