Mysterious static

Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:23 AM

Sounds good, I wasn’t sure because on every strat I’ve ever had the ground has been a stiff piece of solid steel wire soldered to the trem block.

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4436
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:28 AM

Boomerang wrote:

Sounds good, I wasn’t sure because on every strat I’ve ever had the ground has been a stiff piece of solid steel wire soldered to the trem block.

If you are pinning the wire under the tailpiece, having it stranded allows more surface contact.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:31 AM

Makes sense to me Syncro

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Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 02:42 PM

Well I pulled all the covers and I’m showing good continuity everywhere except at the cup…… no continuity at all there. There’s a black wire heading in that direction from the back of the volume pot but evidently it’s not making contact. I gave it a little tug and it seems tight so I’m not sure why it’s not making contact unless they wedged it in there without stripping the insulation off the end. Tried removing the cup but it doesn’t want to budge so I’m going to try drilling a hole from the trem cavity to the pot cavity. I’ll need a long bit which my local hardware store doesn’t have so I’m going to have to order one. No biggie since I’ve got to order the shielding foil anyway. Nothing is ever easy.

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edwardsand

Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 749

Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:14 PM

I'd also point out that if you recently bought the guitar new, then you should contact Fender/Squier and ask about it. If the fault is poor grounding, then they should fix it.

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Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:21 PM

edwardsand wrote:

I'd also point out that if you recently bought the guitar new, then you should contact Fender/Squier and ask about it. If the fault is poor grounding, then they should fix it.

If it was something major I would but this isn’t worth the hassle and time. I’m in a rural area nowhere close to a dealer. It would cost me more in gas than what I can fix it for myself and save me at least 3hrs of driving time.

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4436
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:40 PM

At least the mystery is solved. I agree, fix it yourself. If you make a warranty claim, you will lose the use of it until it is repaired, and if you do it yourself, at the very least, you’ll know that it’s been done to your standards.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 06:00 PM

synchro wrote:

At least the mystery is solved. I agree, fix it yourself. If you make a warranty claim, you will lose the use of it until it is repaired, and if you do it yourself, at the very least, you’ll know that it’s been done to your standards.

Right, I’m confident enough in my own workmanship to feel I can adequately pull this off. I ordered that shielding foil and a 12”x1/8” drill bit. I also just got an email from John at Staytrem saying he has shipped my bridge and trem arm so I’m looking forward to that upgrade. I still have to perform that trem mod you posted about in a previous post. Dremel tool should smooth that out nicely.

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4436
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Oct 20 2024 08:31 PM

You will end up with a very competent Jaguar, once all of this is complete. The StayTrem bridge and trem’ arm will be great additions. It sounds like you’ve got this in hand.

The trem’ mod is pretty easy. I just clamped the offending piece in a vise and a few minutes of file work later, I was done. I think it was actually a plating flaw, and not really a problem with the base metal piece.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Boomerang

Joined: Jun 05, 2024
Posts: 43
Tennessee
United States

Posted on Oct 28 2024 06:55 PM

Just an update on my static/crackling issue. My order from Amazon arrived today consisting of copper foil shielding and a 12 inch x 1/8 inch drill bit for drilling from the trem chamber to the volume/tone chamber to install a new ground. Everything went great and drilling that hole turned out not to be bad at all with that 12 inch bit. Shielded the entire pick guard and grounded it to the vol/tone cover plate. All my problems solved and this thing is quiet as a mouse and all that static/crackling noise is gone and any single coil hum goes away when I’m touching the strings now. My Staytrem bridge and trem arm/collar also arrived this weekend and I didn’t think it would make that much difference but it did. The combination of the bridge and the American Pro nylon bushings make this thing rock solid with zero tuning issues. And the trem arm and collet is smooth and quiet. I did the mod Synchro showed me with a dremel tool and some fine sandpaper and it’s super smooth now and no tuning issues at all. Overall I’m very pleased with how everything went and feel like I have a new guitar now. Thank to everyone for your advice and recommendations.

Last edited: Oct 28, 2024 18:57:13

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4436
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Oct 28 2024 07:03 PM

Sounds like a win. Sometimes a few relatively simple changes are all it takes to end up with a great guitar.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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IceratzSurf

Joined: Oct 22, 2022
Posts: 279
2 Security Pins

Posted on Oct 28 2024 10:13 PM

I'm glad your efforts paid off for the grounding issues.
Jaguars are notorious for these issues more than any other guitar in my experience.
You can get every bit of hum gone by shielding as much as possible with that copper foil tape.

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4436
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Oct 28 2024 10:30 PM

IceratzSurf wrote:

I'm glad your efforts paid off for the grounding issues.
Jaguars are notorious for these issues more than any other guitar in my experience.
You can get every bit of hum gone by shielding as much as possible with that copper foil tape.

The wiring in a Jaguar is complicated and the layout is complex. It’s packed in very tightly, and with three control cavities, there is plenty of opportunity for ground loops. When I did my Warmoth build, there were a couple of issues I had to address, but it went better than I expected.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:23 AM Sounds good, I wasn’t sure because on every strat I’ve ever had the ground has been a stiff piece of solid steel wire soldered to the trem block. Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4436 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:28 AM Boomerang wrote: Sounds good, I wasn’t sure because on every strat I’ve ever had the ground has been a stiff piece of solid steel wire soldered to the trem block. If you are pinning the wire under the tailpiece, having it stranded allows more surface contact. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 20 2024 11:31 AM Makes sense to me Syncro Top
Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 20 2024 02:42 PM Well I pulled all the covers and I’m showing good continuity everywhere except at the cup…… no continuity at all there. There’s a black wire heading in that direction from the back of the volume pot but evidently it’s not making contact. I gave it a little tug and it seems tight so I’m not sure why it’s not making contact unless they wedged it in there without stripping the insulation off the end. Tried removing the cup but it doesn’t want to budge so I’m going to try drilling a hole from the trem cavity to the pot cavity. I’ll need a long bit which my local hardware store doesn’t have so I’m going to have to order one. No biggie since I’ve got to order the shielding foil anyway. Nothing is ever easy. Top
edwardsand Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 749	Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:14 PM I'd also point out that if you recently bought the guitar new, then you should contact Fender/Squier and ask about it. If the fault is poor grounding, then they should fix it. Top
Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:21 PM edwardsand wrote: I'd also point out that if you recently bought the guitar new, then you should contact Fender/Squier and ask about it. If the fault is poor grounding, then they should fix it. If it was something major I would but this isn’t worth the hassle and time. I’m in a rural area nowhere close to a dealer. It would cost me more in gas than what I can fix it for myself and save me at least 3hrs of driving time. Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4436 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Oct 20 2024 05:40 PM At least the mystery is solved. I agree, fix it yourself. If you make a warranty claim, you will lose the use of it until it is repaired, and if you do it yourself, at the very least, you’ll know that it’s been done to your standards. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 20 2024 06:00 PM synchro wrote: At least the mystery is solved. I agree, fix it yourself. If you make a warranty claim, you will lose the use of it until it is repaired, and if you do it yourself, at the very least, you’ll know that it’s been done to your standards. Right, I’m confident enough in my own workmanship to feel I can adequately pull this off. I ordered that shielding foil and a 12”x1/8” drill bit. I also just got an email from John at Staytrem saying he has shipped my bridge and trem arm so I’m looking forward to that upgrade. I still have to perform that trem mod you posted about in a previous post. Dremel tool should smooth that out nicely. Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4436 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Oct 20 2024 08:31 PM You will end up with a very competent Jaguar, once all of this is complete. The StayTrem bridge and trem’ arm will be great additions. It sounds like you’ve got this in hand. The trem’ mod is pretty easy. I just clamped the offending piece in a vise and a few minutes of file work later, I was done. I think it was actually a plating flaw, and not really a problem with the base metal piece. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
Boomerang Joined: Jun 05, 2024 Posts: 43 Tennessee	Posted on Oct 28 2024 06:55 PM Just an update on my static/crackling issue. My order from Amazon arrived today consisting of copper foil shielding and a 12 inch x 1/8 inch drill bit for drilling from the trem chamber to the volume/tone chamber to install a new ground. Everything went great and drilling that hole turned out not to be bad at all with that 12 inch bit. Shielded the entire pick guard and grounded it to the vol/tone cover plate. All my problems solved and this thing is quiet as a mouse and all that static/crackling noise is gone and any single coil hum goes away when I’m touching the strings now. My Staytrem bridge and trem arm/collar also arrived this weekend and I didn’t think it would make that much difference but it did. The combination of the bridge and the American Pro nylon bushings make this thing rock solid with zero tuning issues. And the trem arm and collet is smooth and quiet. I did the mod Synchro showed me with a dremel tool and some fine sandpaper and it’s super smooth now and no tuning issues at all. Overall I’m very pleased with how everything went and feel like I have a new guitar now. Thank to everyone for your advice and recommendations. Last edited: Oct 28, 2024 18:57:13 Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4436 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Oct 28 2024 07:03 PM Sounds like a win. Sometimes a few relatively simple changes are all it takes to end up with a great guitar. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
IceratzSurf Joined: Oct 22, 2022 Posts: 279	Posted on Oct 28 2024 10:13 PM I'm glad your efforts paid off for the grounding issues. Jaguars are notorious for these issues more than any other guitar in my experience. You can get every bit of hum gone by shielding as much as possible with that copper foil tape. Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4436 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Oct 28 2024 10:30 PM IceratzSurf wrote: I'm glad your efforts paid off for the grounding issues. Jaguars are notorious for these issues more than any other guitar in my experience. You can get every bit of hum gone by shielding as much as possible with that copper foil tape. The wiring in a Jaguar is complicated and the layout is complex. It’s packed in very tightly, and with three control cavities, there is plenty of opportunity for ground loops. When I did my Warmoth build, there were a couple of issues I had to address, but it went better than I expected. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top

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Mysterious static