Static electricity = ground problems?

[butter_fingers]

Hey guys, newbie here.
I recently acquired a Les Paul Studio 50's Tribute w/humbuckers in Goldtop. I get SO much pleasure out of that guitar, it's almost illegal...

One thing bothers me:
When the guitar rubs on my thigh, I can hear crackles. When it comes away from my body, I can hear crackles.
Now, I opened the cavity and saw that it was a pc board and that almost no soldering was used.
Has anyone experienced this before? If so, how did you solve it.
Boy I tell ya, Sunday morning worship gets awkward when I pray and move my guitar and you hear that crackle noise. It gets in the way, you know?

Thanks for reading. Your help is appreciated.

 

[River]

It's normal. If your pew isn't humidified, it can get pretty bad. I recommend a noise gate.

 

[butter_fingers]

Thanks.
However, the problem occurs everywhere I play. I kee my studio at an almost constant 45% humidity level. Should I foil the cavity cover?

 

[Couldn'tStandTheWeather]

It's static and normal. Use some Gibson polish on it right before you play. Bye bye crackles.

 

[butter_fingers]

Really? That static electricity crackle is normal? Hmm. How come my ES-339 and my Strat don't have it? Is it something that is specific to Les Pauls only?
Thanks for your answers by the way.

 

[TerribleRacket]

We're talking P-90's, right?

There's going to be some P-90 noise, but what you're describing sounds like a cold solder to me. I recently had one in my Tele and it did odd things like that.

It was a devil to track down.

 

[BGLeduc]

Really? That static electricity crackle is normal? Hmm. How come my ES-339 and my Strat don't have it? Is it something that is specific to Les Pauls only?
Thanks for your answers by the way.

I can't speculate as to why your 339 does not do it, but I can tell you that every guitar and bass I own has the same problem. I have a mid 90's LP Classic that is the worst of the bunch, followed closely by a Fender Geddy Jazz bass..

I can rub the areas that trigger the static with a dryer sheet, which will cure it for a little while, but it will come back.

Of course, I live in the high desert, where humidity does not exist, so I probably have it worse than most.

Brian

 

[randelli]

+1 on the dryer sheet

 

[butter_fingers]

We're talking P-90's, right?

There's going to be some P-90 noise, but what you're describing sounds like a cold solder to me. I recently had one in my Tele and it did odd things like that.

It was a devil to track down.

No. Humbuckers...

 

[butter_fingers]

Guitar polish or drier sheet huh? Hmm. Interesting. So it IS a common problem. Let's run some tests then shall we?

Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

[Lurko]

Here is the solution to the static problem: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gib...c-paint-wow.html?highlight=static+electricity

 

[KenG]

The problem is the finish is a static generator. So when you rub against it a charge builds up and then dissapates which is picked up by the pickups. The only way to prevent this is to attach a ground lead to the surface of the static generator (ie finish) which would be hard to do on a Les Paul. On a Strat there's usually a ground lead that goes up to the Switch on the back of the pickguard, usually under the mounting screw, then the mounting screw goes thru the hole onto the top surface of the Pickguard where it drains static from the PG. On an LP you could try the same thing by running a ground lead to a small sloder terminal which could be mounted on the finish under one of the PU ring screws between the finish and PU ring.

 

[AxeBuilder]

Stop wearing those polyester leisure suits......

Your clothing does have a lot to do with it; try wearing all cotton in addition to using the dryer sheet on the guitar. Shoes with leather soles are best.

 

[Lurko]

The only way to prevent this is to attach a ground lead to the surface of the static generator (ie finish) which would be hard to do on a Les Paul.

All due respect, but this is not the case. Shielding the cavities with Stew Mac shielding paint solves this static problem.

 

[KenG]

All due respect, but this is not the case. Shielding the cavities with Stew Mac shielding paint solves this static problem.

ESD is one of the issues I deal with daily as an Electronics Technologist and the effect I'm describing is correct.
If your shielding paint is connected to ground and also touches the nitro surface (it would in PU cavities because they're often over-sprayed) it's doing the same thing as a wire, just with slightly higher resistance. So you fixed the problem more by accident than by design.

Shielding paint is normally used in a cavity (in conjunction with a shielded cover) to form a shielded enclosure to reduce the effects of EMI and RFI.
If you paint the PU cavities though, you aren't getting the full effect of shielding because one end of the enclosure is open (ie where the PUS sit)
I didn't recommend it as a solution initially as it modifies the guitar irreversibly and as I mentioned, shielding and ESD are two different things.

 

[Lurko]

ESD is one of the issues I deal with daily as an Electronics Technologist and the effect I'm describing is correct.
If your shielding paint is connected to ground and also touches the nitro surface (it would in PU cavities because they're often over-sprayed) it's doing the same thing as a wire, just with slightly higher resistance. So you fixed the problem more by accident than by design.

Shielding paint is normally used in a cavity (in conjunction with a shielded cover) to form a shielded enclosure to reduce the effects of EMI and RFI.
If you paint the PU cavities though, you aren't getting the full effect of shielding because one end of the enclosure is open (ie where the PUS sit)
I didn't recommend it as a solution initially as it modifies the guitar irreversibly and as I mentioned, shielding and ESD are two different things.

Could be. I'm no expert, for sure. All I know is that my problem with static is gone now, and painting with shielding paint did it, for whatever scientific reason. Gift horses, mouths, you know the drill.

 

[KenG]

Could be. I'm no expert, for sure. All I know is that my problem with static is gone now, and painting with shielding paint did it, for whatever scientific reason. Gift horses, mouths, you know the drill.

The ends justifies the means!

 

[gtimach1]

I had the static problem with my LP Traditional Mahogany Satin and recently with my 15 year old LP Custom. Both were most evident at the back plate covering the electronics. The Traditionl was worked on by the guitar tech shortly after I got it and it has been fine since.

The Custom never had the problem before and was a bit trickier to eliminate the static. Eventually, dryer sheets were used and the problem went away.

 

[Six Gun]

You did not say what kind of amp you are using?

Is the amp an old tube amp with a 2 prong power cord?

A simple tester will help you check your outlet you are using
to make sure the ground and polarity is correct. Many people
have loose or UN-connected grounds in the box-wiring.

I always test from the box the amp is plugged into first,
then work my way to the guitar.
I found some outlets wired backwards in my home, this simple
little plug-in device is well worth it. Tells you right away if there
is a problem.

Gardner Bender GFI-3501 GFCI Outlet Tester

 

[Lurko]

My outlets are fine and the static was relentless. It's a shielding issue, I'm telling you. I tried everything else and only this works.