Pickguard- Static, Crackle, Popping...

[Holy Schnikes]

Anyone had issue with static causing pops through an amp???

The main culprits are usually Fender plastic guards. The area where my fingers brush it while picking buildings static and gets to the point of loud "popping/crackling" through the amp upon contact. I've had the same issue with Gibson's LP and ES guards, not near as bad as Fenders though.

I've read that Dryer Sheets will help, simply rub the pickguard down, but this fix is only temporary. Any shielding that could help? Also hear that simple placement of aluminum foil under the guard and grounded at the control plate will eliminate the problems.

Anyone experience this issue that can share success stories in resolving it?

[Jero]

I have never had that be a problem. My tele has aluminum tape under it, and I don't touch my bass's guard much. Maybe there is some truth the the foil thing...that tape is pretty cheap too.

[Officer Bukowski]

I bought my Tele used, and the original owner said that it had this problem so he put this pickguard shaped copper sheet under the pickguard. I've never had a problem like that at all so I guess it works.

I think he said he got the copper sheet thing on eBay.

[Holy Schnikes]

Thanks for the info guys.

I've asked around a bit and the Copper Shielding Tape seems to be suggested most frequently. Think I'll give it a go, fuck I hope it works!

[dubkitty]

i've never seen this. do the Fender guitar bodies have the internal shielding paint common in newer production bodies? do you have wooly carpeting? i'm genuinely curious what's causing this.

[BlindtoFaith]

My blacktop jazzy has this problem!

[Holy Schnikes]

i've never seen this. do the Fender guitar bodies have the internal shielding paint common in newer production bodies? do you have wooly carpeting? i'm genuinely curious what's causing this.

Not sure regarding the Fender paint but I've had 3 recent Fenders (MIM Tele, MIJ Mustang, US Strat) and they all fell victim. LP Custom too but wiping with dryer sheets cured that one...

Also, no wool carpet, mostly wood in my home. The problem is generally a cold weather issue, first time I've run across it in the humid summer. You'd think I drag my feet in wool socks over carpet, then play, but I don't god damn it. If you ever run across this problem, it's VERY frustrating.

I'll report back with findings...

[dubkitty]

if it's a low-humidity issue, it's not something i'd see here because i don't think it ever gets below 50% humidity here...i live less than 50 yards from a creek. i could literally toss a bagel over the deck rail from the window and SPLOOSH! that makes sense...static used to be a problem in the winter in Chicago, but i never had problems with electric guitar. perhaps because i was always playing an ES335 in boots.

[McSpunckle]

Humidity does keep static from building, so that could be part of it. Your A/C could be getting rid of the humidity. Static should be discharged from your body by touching the strings. Maybe it can build up on the plastic pickguard? It works with slides on playgrounds... not that I hang out on playgrounds.

Shielding the guitar should fix it, though. Just run some copper tape under the pickguard and in the control cavity.

It could be bad wiring in the guitar too. I suspect that with my Xaviere right now. It kinda recently started humming like a motherfucker despite having humbuckers. I'm gonna give it a proper re-wiring and shielding. I suspect that'll fix it.

[adrianlee]

None of my fenders......10+ to date have ever had that problem. Report back. I'm interested!

[Holy Schnikes]

Lucky you, it sucks for sure! I'll be sure and update with results.

McS, thanks for the info. You make an excellent point with playground slide = static conductor.

@anyone- With the copper tape, should I be grounding that shit? If so, what's the best way to go about that? Run wire from shielding to pot/something metal? DIY skills could be classified as amateur, at best. This can't be too tough though...

[dubkitty]

it should definitely connect to a ground point. the flat grey shielding paint inside a modern Fender's body cavity is electrically conductive and ought to have a wire with a screw connecting it to the wiring harness. if it doesn't, that may be your problem. shielding on the inside of a Fender pickguard typically is contact-connected by having the pots/switch pass over it when they're attached to the guard, but some folks wire the shielding in for to be sure, especially if there's a full plate like you sometimes see on old Fenders. it can't hurt.

[McSpunckle]

Lucky you, it sucks for sure! I'll be sure and update with results.

McS, thanks for the info. You make an excellent point with playground slide = static conductor.

@anyone- With the copper tape, should I be grounding that shit? If so, what's the best way to go about that? Run wire from shielding to pot/something metal? DIY skills could be classified as amateur, at best. This can't be too tough though...

Yup. It has to be grounded.

For the pickguard, just take the pots loose from the pickguard, and cover the underside with tape (it's not really needed to cover the whole thing-- but it never hurts to get the pickups shielded too), and mount the pots back over the tape. The pot casings are generally used to carry ground (and should be grounded anyways), so they'll ground the tape.

For the cavity, tape it up, and let a little lip go over onto the face of the guitar, so it'll connect with the tape on the pickguard. Try to have a pickguard screw connecting the tape on the pickguard and the tape on the cavity.

Do the pickup cavities the same way if you want.

If the copper tape is too expensive, some aluminum foil and spray glue works well too. Or conductive paint, but it's messy.

[Holy Schnikes]

Alrighty, sound easy enough...

Thanks so much for the info! One last question regarding the pots. It's a Mustang with the separate control plate. This changes things? Different method of ground or run tape to control plate too? Looks like this:

[dubkitty]

if you connect the copper foil/grounding tape to the metal plate you should be good to go. that's only a guess, though. try it both ways.