about noise from guitar.

[ggodoree]

Hi,
I have g&l legacy special guitar.
it makes lot of noises when hands are free from the strings.
it doesn't make noises when the hands on strings (ground effect)

is this normal for this guitar?
My friend has cheap strat style guitar but his one doesn't make much noises as mine.

would it be problem with ground circuit?
I checked wiring but they all look fine which is exactly same as g&l schematic diagram.

[Ken Baker]

is this normal for this guitar?

No.

would it be problem with ground circuit?

Probably. Likely even.

It could also be environmental. It is, after all, a single coil guitar.

I checked wiring but they all look fine which is exactly same as g&l schematic diagram.

Did you disconnect the bridge/tremolo ground while you were digging around in there?

[SouthpawGuy]

Hi,
I have g&l legacy special guitar.
it makes lot of noises when hands are free from the strings.
it doesn't make noises when the hands on strings (ground effect)

is this normal for this guitar?
My friend has cheap strat style guitar but his one doesn't make much noises as mine.

would it be problem with ground circuit?
I checked wiring but they all look fine which is exactly same as g&l schematic diagram.

The Legacy Special is fitted with blade style single coil sized humbuckers, so it should be a lot less noisy than a cheap s style guitar. Does yours have blade style buckers or has it been modded ?

[ggodoree]

Its not modded. All parts are original.

Did you disconnect the bridge/tremolo ground while you were digging around in there?

Following the schematic diagram, the bridge is not connected to the out put jack directly, but it has its connection with brass plate which is attached to the floor of the body hole space where pots and circuits are positioned (brass plate does not have any connection with output jack as well, but only with pots only through the brass plate)
Should bridge plate have direct wire to the output jack?

and also, should there be two wires connected to the switchcraft out put jack?
one from the pot circuit and the other from the tremolo bridge?
because, in the schematic diagram, two wires from pots are going to out put jack.

[Ken Baker]

Following the schematic diagram, the bridge is not connected to the out put jack directly, but it has its connection with brass plate which is attached to the floor of the body hole space where pots and circuits are positioned (brass plate does not have any connection with output jack as well, but only with pots only through the brass plate) Should bridge plate have direct wire to the output jack?

It is not required that the bridge be connected directly to the sleeve connection of the jack, though that would certainly be acceptable. It is, however, highly recommended that the bridge be connected to ground. This recommendation is made to reduce line frequency hum and for the safety of the person playing the instrument. Based on your previous statements, it does not appear that the bridge is grounded properly. To test this, connect a continuity tester (such as an ohmmeter) between the strings and the ground connection on the free end of a guitar cable plugged into the instrument. A good reading would be zero or near-zero ohms of resistance, and this reading should not vary.

and also, should there be two wires connected to the switchcraft out put jack?
one from the pot circuit and the other from the tremolo bridge?
because, in the schematic diagram, two wires from pots are going to out put jack.

There may or may not be two wires actually connected to the jack. There will, of course, be a signal wire connected to the tip of the jack because without it there would be no sound. The other wire, ground, may or may not be physically present if there is a foil shield on the back of the pickguard and the jack is attached to the pickguard where this foil exists. A ground wire can always be connected to the jack in addition to any foil on the pickguard, and I recommend that this be done as a method of assuring a good ground connection from the instrument's circuit to the ground of the amplifier.

Schematics can give a very different view of a circuit than physically looking at it. A schematic is a pictorial representation of current flow and the various components that affect that current flow. If done correctly, if is a logical representation. It must be remembered that the actual circuit in question may look different than the schematic. A circuit or wiring diagram will usually provide a view that is closer to the actual collection of wires, etc.

Ken...

[ggodoree]

the problem seems to be coming from the jack plug where i have soldered two wires in reverse position.

Now it has been corrected and the noise is lot more reduced. Thanks

However, i am still getting bit of "zzz" sound from the amp coming out which seems to be changing when i move the guitar around in my room

is this just "normal electrical interference" coming from the amp? because if the guitar goes far away from the amp, the noise is gone, but if i get closer to the amp, the noise gets increased. also the noise can be stopped once i place my hand on strings.

I have also compared this noise with cheap strat guitar. but the cheap guitar doesn't make any of noises wherever the guitar is located from the amp. ( i haven't expected such noises from good quality g&l guitar )

[Ken Baker]

Over the course of several threads about pots and other wiring issues, it appears that you have either made mods of some sort or have attempted to make some mods. The wiring has, at minimum, been altered; as you note above, if even temporarily. You now have a guitar making noise, but that guitar should be relatively quiet.

I don't have the guitar in front of me, so I can make no further judgments as to what may be going on with it. My recommendation to you is to take it to a good guitar technician or luthier for proper diagnosis and possible repair.

Ken...

[ggodoree]

Thanks Ken

[zedsnotdead]

Hi

don't know if my reply will come in time (probably you got your problem solved already), but here it goes.
I had the exact same problem with my tribute s500. And this is really a induced electro-magnetic interference problem.
All i did to mine is shielding the cavities with aluminium foil. Also, i re-wired all the ground conductors like this: http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php.

I think i didnt need to re-wire the grounds as in the link above, because shielding the cavities would certainly solve the "buzzzzzz" problem.

My guitar is very quiet now, really. No buzzz at all.

[danzigdan]

I have the same issue with the Superhawk I just bought. Someone put a Dimarzio HB in the bridge and took the ground wire and just placed it underneath the Kahler---no solder or anything.

The wire doesn't have much lead so I thought about taking a piece of copper tape, placing it under the bridge and soldering the wire to the tape and then replacing the bridge, but I don't think that's going to work. I might just use that
shielding method from the guitarnuts.com website and attach a shielding ring to the wire and screw one of the Kahler mounts to it.

The output jack needs to be replaced too as that is intermittent. Lots of fun!!