new control plate?

[funkyhead64]

Tearing my imaginary hair out trying to figure out why my tele knockoff sounds staticky and also low volume even with fender noiseless pickups, shielding, ground wire to bridge and everything else tried even the evil dryer sheet that everyone says to try (i wore gloves). resoldered everything still no avail. now i am looking at replacing the whole internals (switch and 2 pots). the ones i have are 250's. could that be the problem? do i need to go to 500's? any suggestions on a setup to buy? there are many ranging in price from a few bucks to $100!
also with the plate open wiggling the wires does nothing. the static seems to happen from my fingers like it's a kind of theramin...and here in Seattle the weather aint dry

 

[telemnemonics]

Hundreds of guitars and none of mine ever sounded staticky?
Sure it is not your amp crackling?
No idea, sorry.

Who says dryer sheets for guitars???

 

[RodeoTex]

Is the bridge well grounded?

 

[thankyouguitar]

Tearing my imaginary hair out trying to figure out why my tele knockoff sounds staticky and also low volume even with fender noiseless pickups, shielding, ground wire to bridge and everything else tried even the evil dryer sheet that everyone says to try (i wore gloves). resoldered everything still no avail. now i am looking at replacing the whole internals (switch and 2 pots). the ones i have are 250's. could that be the problem? do i need to go to 500's? any suggestions on a setup to buy? there are many ranging in price from a few bucks to $100!
also with the plate open wiggling the wires does nothing. the static seems to happen from my fingers like it's a kind of theramin...and here in Seattle the weather aint dry

Step one is to take a breath. You got this. It is maddening, but can be figured out. Step two is, if you can, to please provide some pics of the guitar innards and we'll take a look.

 

[Peegoo]

Shield the back of the pickguard and make sure that shielding has contact with the cavity shielding. Also ensure the cavity shielding has continuity with the circuit ground.

Changing out the pots and switch will not fix the problem because they are all grounded the exact same way anyway.

 

[funkyhead64]

Hundreds of guitars and none of mine ever sounded staticky?
Sure it is not your amp crackling?
No idea, sorry.

Who says dryer sheets for guitars???

My other 3 guitars sound fine on same amp. A few ppl suggested dryer sheets on my previous post. I am very allergic to those things and they have nasty chemicals

 

[funkyhead64]

Is the bridge well grounded?

Yes I grounded it from the back of the volume pot and continuity checks

 

[funkyhead64]

Shield the back of the pickguard and make sure that shielding has contact with the cavity shielding. Also ensure the cavity shielding has continuity with the circuit ground.

Changing out the pots and switch will not fix the problem because they are all grounded the exact same way anyway.

Ah I will try that thanks

 

[Boreas]

Try a different cable? Try a different amp? Output jack issue?

 

[Wallaby]

Cleaning the contact area on the output jack could be worth trying, and on the cable.

 

[redhouse_ca]

Tearing my imaginary hair out trying to figure out why my tele knockoff sounds staticky and also low volume even with fender noiseless pickups, shielding, ground wire to bridge and everything else tried even the evil dryer sheet that everyone says to try (i wore gloves). resoldered everything still no avail. now i am looking at replacing the whole internals (switch and 2 pots). the ones i have are 250's. could that be the problem? do i need to go to 500's? any suggestions on a setup to buy? there are many ranging in price from a few bucks to $100!
also with the plate open wiggling the wires does nothing. the static seems to happen from my fingers like it's a kind of theramin...and here in Seattle the weather aint dry

This probably sounds like a silly thing to do, and it I am not recommending it for your current issue, but after revisiting a mod maybe 4 or 5 times on a couple of guitars until I got it the way I wanted, I built this and it was helpful for me. I stick a few tone components on a breadboard and mess around with the wiring on that vs soldering and resoldering and opening and closing the guitar. I haven't had any problems crop up in the guitar that I don't have on the breadboard. Although it probably introduces some additional impedance and may not be an exact, perfect model of how it's going to sound in the guitar, I can't hear the difference That is to say, what I wire on the breadboard sounds to me the same as it does when I hard wire it in the guitar.

I also captured all the tones with a very high quality DAC and save them on my computer so I can go back to ones I like (I have them as .wav and the raw binary files). It's kinda cool because I have some FFT software that allows me to take apart the frequency spectrum pretty much any way I want and I got comfortable enough with it that I can kinda "see" what specific electronics/wiring does to various elements of the tone.

Anyhow, admittedly a hack and probably not what a lot of people would consider a useful thing to do but it's been useful for me so I figured I'd share as something to think about in the future. Kinda afraid I'm gonna get flamed for this but whatever, it's my time to burn how I please.

Edit: yes, cardboard.stiff enough.

 

[redhouse_ca]

Step one is to take a breath. You got this. It is maddening, but can be figured out. Step two is, if you can, to please provide some pics of the guitar innards and we'll take a look.

This is really great advice I wish I would have gotten a while ago. To OP, this will get figured out. I know how you feel and it sucks but this comment is where it's at.

 

[funkyhead64]

This is really great advice I wish I would have gotten a while ago. To OP, this will get figured out. I know how you feel and it sucks but this comment is where it's at.

I appreciate that. Yes I will figure it our somehow. the thing is i love the way this guitar plays and sounds (other than the static and low output), even more than the expensive Fenders at the shop. it was the only one i could find that i could afford with medium frets, i just got tired of either playing sharp or fret filing. i was inspired by players like Frisell, Wilson, Bro and Lage and almost always play just the single coil on the neck. there are some issues with the pickup fit and pickguard too but im not really concerned about cosmetics

 

[Boreas]

I couldn't gather from the thread, but what happens in each switch position? Is the static equal/unchanged? What about volume - equal? Louder or quieter in mid-position? This should sort out if it is a pickup problem or more likely, a wiring problem.

But don't underestimate the problems a bad cable or amp input jack can cause as I mentioned above. Don't bury yourself too deep by spinning in the mud without quickly ruling out these simple problems that are not even related to the guitar. I had one tele that gave me fits until I realized the cable I was using wasn't fully engaging in the output jack. One must be careful with 90 degree connectors.

 

[funkyhead64]

I couldn't gather from the thread, but what happens in each switch position? Is the static equal/unchanged? What about volume - equal? Louder or quieter in mid-position? This should sort out if it is a pickup problem or more likely, a wiring problem.

But don't underestimate the problems a bad cable or amp input jack can cause as I mentioned above. Don't bury yourself too deep by spinning in the mud without quickly ruling out these simple problems that are not even related to the guitar. I had one tele that gave me fits until I realized the cable I was using wasn't fully engaging in the output jack. One must be careful with 90 degree connectors.

all 3 switch positions cause the same issue. cable and amp confirmed by running my other guitars through same without issue. continuity to output seems fine using ohmmeter, but i will try a closer inspection with physical output jack. one thing i am wondering is that maybe my crappy solder job dripped solder somewhere in the switch.

 

[Boreas]

all 3 switch positions cause the same issue. cable and amp confirmed by running my other guitars through same without issue. continuity to output seems fine using ohmmeter, but i will try a closer inspection with physical output jack. one thing i am wondering is that maybe my crappy solder job dripped solder somewhere in the switch.

Keep an eye peeled for a strand of wire, a trail/puddle of rosin, cat fur, Snickers crumbs, or gremlin feces that could be dirty enough to cause some stray conductance - especially on the selector switch and pots.

If none of the above are found, inspect the selector switch under magnification and make sure the contacts are spotless and making good connections, and the arm is not loose/sloppy. Some gremlin feces may have gotten into and spread over the switch contacts. Inspect any shunt wires and other connections carefully.

 

[redhouse_ca]

I appreciate that. Yes I will figure it our somehow. the thing is i love the way this guitar plays and sounds (other than the static and low output), even more than the expensive Fenders at the shop. it was the only one i could find that i could afford with medium frets, i just got tired of either playing sharp or fret filing. i was inspired by players like Frisell, Wilson, Bro and Lage and almost always play just the single coil on the neck. there are some issues with the pickup fit and pickguard too but im not really concerned about cosmetics

Great to hear! This forum helped me a TON when I did my first mods.

 

[funkyhead64]

still fighting. i replaced the output jack because the sleeve wasnt making good contact but no help. The thing puts out about 25% of what my strat and Godin put out, have to play with eth amp all the way up. looking for gremlin poop and there is some that may be bridging the body of the selector switch with the hot on the bridge pickup. i am still considering totally replacing the pots and switch. any thoughts on whether i should get 500's pots instead of the 250's?

 

[pipthepilot]

still fighting. i replaced the output jack because the sleeve wasnt making good contact but no help. The thing puts out about 25% of what my strat and Godin put out, have to play with eth amp all the way up. looking for gremlin poop and there is some that may be bridging the body of the selector switch with the hot on the bridge pickup. i am still considering totally replacing the pots and switch. any thoughts on whether i should get 500's pots instead of the 250's?

If you have low output, increasing the resistance of the pots to 500k isn't going to help.

1st question, do you have a multimeter. If not then your first step before buying any replacement components is to go and buy a multimeter. I'm not US based so I won't recommend a specific one but even the cheapest ones will do basic testing of resistance, capacitance and most importantly continuity.

2nd question, you mention that you have other guitars so I assume you've ruled out the amp, pedals, cable etc as the route of the problem and you're 100% sure its the Tele?

3rd question, can you post a picture or drawing that shows how you guitar is wired?

Based on the information you've provided above there are a couple of things to note. Static noise, especially when its made worse by touching the bridge etc does suggest an issue with grounding. The low output you've mentioned could be a few things.

My recommendations...

First remove the wire from the Volume pot to the Tone pot and test (lug to lug wire not GND wire if there is one!). I don't think this will fix your issue but it removes the tone pot as the route cause so we can move to next stage of trouble shooting.

Whilst you have the soldering iron out, check all the solder connection to make sure they making good contact, any that look suspicious, reflow the solder.

Next check that the 1st lug of the Volume pot is grounded. Set your multimeter to test "Continuity" and attached one probe to the ring of the Jack socket and the other probe to the 1st lug of the pot. When looking at the back of the pot with the lugs facing down, the 1st lug is the one on the Right. A weak connection here could be the cause of your issue.

Whilst you have the Multimeter probe connected to the Jack ring, go around all the other component and hardware touching them with the other probe to confirm ground continuity. Make sure you test the back of both pots, the switch chassis, the bridge, the jack plate, any shielding you have inside the control cavities, the neck pickup cover and the control plate. All of these should be continuous with the ring on the jack and if any of these fail, you need to work out why they're not connecting to ground.

Next desolder the Volume pot entirely and check its resistance between lug 3 and 2. When the pot is turned all the way down the resistance should be near Zero and somewhere near 250K when up. If its above zero when turned down, this would explain the low output you have describe and you need to buy a new pot. For single coil pickups, a 250K is what you need.

Next, check the resistance of each pickup. To do this, desolder their ground wires and their hot wires from from the switch. Set the Multimeter to resistance test and then put a probe to the ground wire and the other to the hot wire. I believe the Fender Noiseless Tele pickups are quite hot so they should give a reading somewhere around 12kΩ.

Hope this helps.

 

[funkyhead64]

If you have low output, increasing the resistance of the pots to 500k isn't going to help.

1st question, do you have a multimeter. If not then your first step before buying any replacement components is to go and buy a multimeter. I'm not US based so I won't recommend a specific one but even the cheapest ones will do basic testing of resistance, capacitance and most importantly continuity.

2nd question, you mention that you have other guitars so I assume you've ruled out the amp, pedals, cable etc as the route of the problem and you're 100% sure its the Tele?

3rd question, can you post a picture or drawing that shows how you guitar is wired?

Based on the information you've provided above there are a couple of things to note. Static noise, especially when its made worse by touching the bridge etc does suggest an issue with grounding. The low output you've mentioned could be a few things.

My recommendations...

First remove the wire from the Volume pot to the Tone pot and test (lug to lug wire not GND wire if there is one!). I don't think this will fix your issue but it removes the tone pot as the route cause so we can move to next stage of trouble shooting.

Whilst you have the soldering iron out, check all the solder connection to make sure they making good contact, any that look suspicious, reflow the solder.

Next check that the 1st lug of the Volume pot is grounded. Set your multimeter to test "Continuity" and attached one probe to the ring of the Jack socket and the other probe to the 1st lug of the pot. When looking at the back of the pot with the lugs facing down, the 1st lug is the one on the Right. A weak connection here could be the cause of your issue.

Whilst you have the Multimeter probe connected to the Jack ring, go around all the other component and hardware touching them with the other probe to confirm ground continuity. Make sure you test the back of both pots, the switch chassis, the bridge, the jack plate, any shielding you have inside the control cavities, the neck pickup cover and the control plate. All of these should be continuous with the ring on the jack and if any of these fail, you need to work out why they're not connecting to ground.

Next desolder the Volume pot entirely and check its resistance between lug 3 and 2. When the pot is turned all the way down the resistance should be near Zero and somewhere near 250K when up. If its above zero when turned down, this would explain the low output you have describe and you need to buy a new pot. For single coil pickups, a 250K is what you need.

Next, check the resistance of each pickup. To do this, desolder their ground wires and their hot wires from from the switch. Set the Multimeter to resistance test and then put a probe to the ground wire and the other to the hot wire. I believe the Fender Noiseless Tele pickups are quite hot so they should give a reading somewhere around 12kΩ.

Hope this helps.

i think lug 1 is actually the one on the left but ya i think my vol pot is bad. finally said screw all this fussing and bought a cheap control plate for $17. what a headache. all this time i thought it was my bad soldering