Static electricity from my pickguard?

[ganttmann]

A question for you guys from a long-time-lurker-who's-never-(or rarely!)-posted:

I have a Franken-Tele... Started life as an ESP Tele copy, now the only original parts are the body, pickguard and strap pins. It has a USA Custom Guitars one piece maple neck. Jay Montrose installed his bridge/bridge-pieces and replaced the pots and knobs w/ his Vintique stuff. The bridge PU is a '53 clone by Jim Rolphe and the neck is a Duncan Antiquity Strat. It has recently begun making weird staticy noises in the amp when I brush my fingertips on the pickguard. If I dampen my fingertips it goes away, then comes back as they dry. Sounds like static electricity, right? Any thoughts? How do I get rid of it?

Thanks!

gantt

[WilliamTele]

This has been covered recently in the Tele Tech section but basically you need to line the inside of the pickguard with aluminum foil and ground it to the control plate. I did that with my Baja Tele, as well as completely shielding the pickup and control cavities, and the thing is as quiet as a mouse now.
Complete instructions here:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

It's a bit of a job, requiring attention to detail but it works wonders.

[TG]

When I shield my guitars I run a strip of the copper tape up out of the neck pickup cavity onto the body (under the pickguard). I then stick a strip of the copper tape onto the back of the pickguard, about where my fingers will rub against it on the top when I play...and so that it contacts the strip of tape on the body.
You don't need to shield the whole guard, I've found.

[ganttmann]

And this'll help w/ static electricity? I thought about that. But this guitar didn't make this static-y noise until recently. What do you suppose caused it? Aging plastic?

Gantt

Originally Posted by WilliamTele

This has been covered recently in the Tele Tech section but basically you need to line the inside of the pickguard with aluminum foil and ground it to the control plate. I did that with my Baja Tele, as well as completely shielding the pickup and control cavities, and the thing is as quiet as a mouse now.
Complete instructions here:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

It's a bit of a job, requiring attention to detail but it works wonders.

[Vizcaster]

Static builds up, or at least moves from one place to another, because of a dissimilar attraction for electrons. Some pairings of materials are famous, like a wool carpet and leather shoes, or felt and cat fur. So my guess would be that the plastic might have dried out a little and now it wants to attract, or give up, electrons when you rub your fingers on it. I would have expected that if you were grounded to the string ground then your hands shouldn't be a source of static, but there are stories of people getting a big static charge rubbing against nitro finishes.

[marksound]

If it's a huge problem try rubbing a dryer sheet on the guard. Works for me.

[Mark Davis]

It happens more often in the winter than warmer months.

2 ways to fix it shield it or just put an anti static dryer sheet under the pickguard.

[Caffeine Patrol]

Big 10-4 on the dryer sheet. I shielded & reshielded my Tele and the problem kept coming back. Now I just keep a dryer sheet in a ziploc bag inside my case to have it handy.

[ganttmann]

I'm stunned to hear how common this is! I played Teles for years coming up. My first was a brand new '71 or '72 and then I bought a '51 from Danny Gatton. Also had a '53 for a minute - just long enough to steal the pickups because the ones in my '53 were rewound by Gatton. Also had '61, '63 and a couple of '65 Strats. Never experienced this particular problem until now w/ this guitar.

Weird.

Gantt

[jaydawg]

The static is just a winter months thing. You can shield all you want but a dryer sheet is the only thing that will work. Or you can replace your plastic guard with a real Bakelite guard. They don't pop and crackle like the plastic ones.

[old geezer]

I have the same problem with mine. I live in Minnesota where it is cold and dry in the winter. If I run a humidifier to add humidity, it goes away. I tried all of the shielding tricks already discussed and the static persisted. I think it's all due to humidity in the winter, at least for me.

[Jett]

I tried everything from sheilding to the dryer sheet trick. Nothing worked on my guitar. I went to a leather pickguard, problem solved.

[ganttmann]

I thought of getting a wooden pickguard made. I found this:

http://edenhaus.com/pickguards.htm

But they won't cut a Strat PU sized hole.

Originally Posted by Jett

I tried everything from sheilding to the dryer sheet trick. Nothing worked on my guitar. I went to a leather pickguard, problem solved.