Hello everyone .... I've had an Eric Johnson strat for about 11 months or so .... great guitar BUT the PUs are a bit noisy for my quieter pieces, noise gates are useless robbing the tone.

Tried different cables and amps it's definitely the guitar. Hands on strings OK... move my fingers .....hummmmmm

Is it common for the EJ to buzz like a chain saw? Is it something that can fixed under warranty?

I've seen some alum-shield plates like this:

http://angela.com/57strat8holegoldanodi ... guard.aspx

Are they any good? Worth the money or hassle of fitting?

Thanks in anticipation.

DubYa

Single coil pickups are noisy. They will always be noisy unless you have noiseless pickups installed. Any high gain amp setting, flourescent lights, pc monitors, etc. will have you single coils humming and squealing. It is just nature of the beast. Sitting farther away from the amp helps a lot, so does facing the right way (the way you turn the guitar can make a difference) good luck

you can shield it, but it should have decent shielding already. there's a wiring system that I tried on a someones strat, I can remember who made it, it was either Bill Lawrence, Duncan, and Lindy Fralin, that takes regular single coils and makes them as quiet as noiseless, and keeps their tone intact. I may be wrong, but I recall that they all have to be wrapped the same way, with the same polarity to work, but I may be wrong. If im not, it means that pretty much no stock 3 single coil guitar will work, because they're all made with a RW/RP middle. Other than those options, you're stuck with hum.

This might be the defining statement of the post. you might have a ground problem here.

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

You're right, you have a bad ground somewhere. It could be the groung soldered to the tremolo claw in back, ontop of the pots, or in you're signal chain. If you're using pedals; unplug from them and plug directly into the amp and see f it still does it. If it doesn't, then its in your chain somewhere and you need to isolate where it is by adding each pedal one by one until you find it and take it from there. If it makes the hum and stops when your hand on the strings, or any metal on the guitar for that matter than its a bad ground on the guitar itself, probably from a bad solder joint. Open it up, and take a piece of wire and touch it from all the ground wires to whatever its grounded to, when the hum stops you've found the bad connection. If you have a soldering iron resolder it, or have someone do it. Its not a big deal, it happens from time to time.

Although I would do this myself, as obviously you would, I would suggest that the OP take his guitar in.
he doesn't seem to have much electronics experience, and an EJ guitar is a pretty pricey axe to use as a learning tool.

If he feels comfortable doing the work himself it's easy enough like you say, but if not well... he could make things worse.

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

When you figure out the problem share it with us.

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He who dies with the most Strats wins.

Everyone, thanks for all the suggestions - looks as though it's a grounding issue somewhere underneath the pick guard.

Tried with and without pedals same issue

Best solution found so far was to put my Tascam DR-07 in the chain before the amp or pedals but it eats batteries @ a rate of knots (or notes). Absolute silence.... a trick found by accident when I got fed up playing the same riff dialing in my Boss GT-6.

I'd rather live with the noise rather than mess around under the pick guard.

Cheers DubYa

Under the pickguard isn't nearly as daunting as it may first seem. Just keep in mind; they're regular single conductor wiring. So there's a hot lead and a ground. The hot lead willngo from the pickup to the switch, then to the pots and the Jack. The ground are soldered to the tops of the pots. You probably have a cold solder joint. Even if you're not handy with a soldering iron, but they sell a type of solder glue. If you take a hookup wire, and touch one end to the ground wires, one by one, and touch the other end to a ground point; usually the back of a pot, you should hear the noise go away. There's nothing you're going to do that will be a permanent change, so if you mess up, its nothing that can't be replaced.
You don't want to use any temporary fixes like what you mentioned, because they're just that; temporary. And once you change amps, or effects or anything, its going to come back.
If you loosen the strings and give them a good amount slack, then pull them toward. The bridge side, and fasten a capo to the first fret, it will keep the strings from going all over the place, and should give youenough room to remove the pieckguard. If its a bad ground, it COULD cause damage to other things or yourself if there's an electrical problem. Plus your really hampering the guitars tone, which the EJ Strat has in spades. Id suggest not coutting corners, and get the ground fixed, its a 5 minute job. Take some photos of the guts and send them to me, or post them. Who knows maybe well actually see where it is.

It's not a grounding issue. It's you, literally. I'm not joking.

Seriously. Your bodies electrical field is interfering with the guitar. When you touch the strings you're not grounding the guitar, you're grounding yourself.

The only way round that is to shield the cavity to stop your pickups picking up your bodies electrical noise. Shielding paint or copper tape round the pickup cavities are the traditional methods used. Shielding in that fashion does change the sound of your guitar, your guitar isn't shielded in that way (EJ is dead set against it).

There is another method. Tie a length of wire to the high E saddle, make a loop in one end. Put your little finger in the loop when you play. That will keep you grounded.

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No no and no

That's intresting. A wire? Ive never heard that; I'll have to give it a try. Sounds like it would help.
I think his has a bad ground though. I think its probably worse than 60 cylce hum. I guess it could be though. I cant hear it.

'Walker

The majority of the noise a guitar picks up is human body noise. We're nothing but a big funnel for it. Thats why folks shield the back of the guitar. The biggest, closest noise source comes from the rear. (I really didn't mean to write that as a funny).

Shielding guitars is a non-answer in my opinion. Whatever you do to the back, you still cant stop it getting in the front, where your arms go. It's certainly not current from the guitar that we're grounding. If so whenever we gigged and wore shoes, it wouldn't work.

I'd like to see a experiment. Play barefoot then play with wellingtons on. If only to see someone play Hendrix in wellies.

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No no and no