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Post subject: Re: Annoying hiss from pickupsin position 1,3 and 5.
Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 6:19 am
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Mowgli77 wrote:
Im able to dramatically reduce it by cranking the volume to the max on my amp and using the volume dial on my guitar dialed in real low to start. This works well but since I'm a novice player I cannot identify if I am loosing tone or not

You hear no difference -> keep the amp dimed & control the vol with the guitar.
BTW, that's exactly (part of) the 'secret' behind Roy Buchanan's wonderful tones...

If the hum continues to bother you, go ahead & shield the guitar - at least it wont't do any harm.

And if you're anything like all other Strat players, you eventually will change the pickups - then choose a set that is noiseless.


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Post subject: Re: Annoying hiss from pickupsin position 1,3 and 5.
Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 6:29 am
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jimmy_james wrote:
Yes I can confirm I have tried proper shielding.
I am not running it down or your suggestion but bang for buck i would go for a stacked humbucker
A lot of people go to the trouble of covering the wooden cavity with copper and grounding it and if it works for you great.
The pickups however are still covered in plastic.
They also poke above the pickguard. Not many people bother to shield the pickup cover yet this is the primary point where RF interference has the most effect. :D


I see your point and do agree..and as stated I have played at clubs where even my most expensive humbucker guitars could not avoid the hum. But in the case of this poster who is a novice and probably not too concerned about live performances, recording or spending too much money to deal with this the shielding can still help. Even though there will still be a portion of the pup coil exposed the poster states moving around to certain areas eliminates the noise. So better shielding could very possibly make it so it is easier to find a position to play where the noise is minimized in his situation. Then again it may not help at all since we are dealing with an unknown source factor...all we have concluded so far is the guitar is working as a normal single coil Strat.

Now there are some that have gone as far to actually shield the plastic pup cover as well in severe cases but at that point it would seem logical it would change the tone to the point where it might be easier just to find a cheap set of used lace sensors on ebay and pop those in. I mean the bottom line is this person wants to play the guitar and the noise seems to be an issue. I would hate to think this person will play less when a few bucks in proper shielding could make all the difference or possibly enough to live with.

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Post subject: Re: Annoying hiss from pickupsin position 1,3 and 5.
Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 6:38 am
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Mowgli77 wrote:

Im able to dramatically reduce it by cranking the volume to the max on my amp and using the volume dial on my guitar dialed in real low to start. This works well but since I'm a novice player I cannot identify if I am loosing tone or not/

By the way my guitar tech also suggested I consider a noise reduction pedal but again I may just learn to live with it.


The reason is by doing this you are increasing the signal to noise ratio. You are essentially letting the amp do more of the "work" by giving it less input. It certainly will have an effect on the tone but then again tone is subjective. As long as you can achieve the sounds you are happy with then it "works".

As far as using noise reduction pedals, a rack mount noise gate, new pups etc that all comes down to how much you are willing to invest over the noise issue. As stated most Strat "purists" simply learn to live with the noise as they demand Fender and other companies to continue making older spec pickups using the same materials in the quest for the perfect tone of a guitar that once cost a few hundred dollars and now would be easily into the 5 figures because they have become collectors items. Heck go on eBay and price out a set of original 50's or 60's pups. Even for 70's pups they ask at least 200 a piece for a questionable one and honestly in the 70's the pups were usually switched before the guitar made it home. They were not actually that great sounding.

But with that comes a trade off and that is simply the inherent quality of a single coil passive pickup when amplified. The shielding is a "band-aid" so to speak but in many cases it will help, in some situations not so much. Not that big of an investment just to try and can be a fun project if you are not afraid of what you are doing and follow the directions to the letter.

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