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Geddy Jazz Bass - Static Pickguard Noise?

Brian_L

Brian_L

Oct 6, 2010
144
0
The Borough of Schmeng
#1
I have run across what to me is a strange issue with a new 3TS Geddy. When I touch the pickguard and slide my finger across it, I get a static type of sound through the neck pick-up.

Is this anything anyone has heard of? Do I have a problem with the neck pick-up, or perhaps grounding? I will note that I live in a very dry climate, which may aggravate the issue.

Depending on how I am picking, I do not always touch the pickguard, but from time to time I was hearing a bit of static, which was starting to make my crazy. I spent a fair amount of time swapping things around to try to isolate the problem. The fact that it was intermittent did not help. :-)

I thought sure that it must be in my amp, cables, or possibly my VT Bass, but yesterday by chance, I happened to touch the pickguard just below the neck pick-up and there it was. It is 100% repeatable.

I am going to go out on a limb and offer the assumption that sliding a finger across the pickguard does generate a bit of static discharge, and the neck pick-up being right there sends it along to me amp as noise. Being that this is a new bass, and being a Jazz, completely new to me, I have no idea if this is common, or if there is in fact a problem, or even what the remedy may be. One thought was to put a bit of plastic film similar to an iPod screen protector on the pickguard where I will typically touch it, but that seems somewhat crude.

TIA for any suggestions anyone may have.

Brian
 
#2
Brian_L said:
One thought was to put a bit of plastic film similar to an iPod screen protector on the pickguard where I will typically touch it, but that seems somewhat crude.

TIA for any suggestions anyone may have.

Brian
Click to expand...

Does it still have the factory plastic film covering the pickguard? Many new basses have a protective film over the pickguard. It is hard to see unless you are looking for it. That plastic film could be causing a static charge to build up.
 
#3
This happened to me before, except i think it was on one of my old stingrays. Anyway take the pickguard off and rub it down with a dryer cloth (you know those things that you toss in the dryer with your clothes to eliminate static cling) and then just put it back on.
 
#4
I had this exact same problem on a Stingray when I bought it brand new. On a TBer's advice, I rubbed a tiny, tiny amount of antistatic furniture polish spray ("Mr. Sheen" is the brand over here) all over the pickguard. Totally fixed the problem and it's never come back.
 
#6
bassybill said:
I had this exact same problem on a Stingray when I bought it brand new. On a TBer's advice, I rubbed a tiny, tiny amount of antistatic furniture polish spray ("Mr. Sheen" is the brand over here) all over the pickguard. Totally fixed the problem and it's never come back.
Click to expand...

Looks like we were replying at the same time.

I will give that a shot as well if the dryer sheet fails.

Thanks.

As many have said, and many will continue to say, TB rocks!

Brian
 
#7
Well, I took the pick guard off, and as a test used the only drier sheets we had, and rubbed them over the back of the pick guard just to see if it scratched. It did, so I decided to NOT use it on the front.

Plan "B" was to get a dusting spray made for electronics. My local market had some "Pledge" that was labeled as a general purpose cleaner, but it did specifically say that it was good for electronics and was anti-static.

Unfortunately, it did not seem to do the trick.

I checked online and "Endust" does have an anti-static product that is billed as being specifically for electronics, so I will be on the look out for that, in the event it is more effective.

So, in summary, the score after the first round is:

Static Noise - 2, Brian - 0

Brian
 
#8
I tried a different brand of drier sheet, rubbed very gently on the pickguard, and no more static noise. Hurray!

As a side note, I have a Les Paul that I have had since '95 or so. I never really noticed before, but it has the exact same problem. I guess my picking style is such that I do not rest my hand on the pickguard in such a way as to hear it often enough for it to have ever bothered me, but sure enough, if I run my finger over the pickguard, it is as bad if not worse than my Geddy. I did some Googling, and it appears to be a very common problem with Les Pauls, Stats, JB's...

Thanks for all the help getting this solved.

Brian
 
#9
A buddy of mine has an older MIJ strat that does the same thing to him, but the weird thing is, if I or anyone else runs their fingers across the pickguard, nothing.....it only happens when he does it. Maybe individual body chemistry in terms of each person's own conductivity has something to do with it? Where's Mr. Wizard when we need him?
 
#10
i had the same issue with my stingray so here's how you solve this problem.go to the paint store and take a sandpapper #220 and a "waterbased satin clear vernish for cars in a spray".take off the pickguard and rub it with the sandpapper a few times ,wipe it with a clean cloth and spray the upper side (not the back side).leave it for one day and place it the next day..do it outside your house cause it smells a bit .it's easy and it worked for me !
 
#12
This has happened to me with a number of basses. I always assumed it was either lack of humidity in the air, inadequate shielding, or both. My solution was to stick one of those little felt or rubber pads on the pickguard where I rest my thumb. Wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but it works for me.
 
#13
Arise zombie thread!!!

Having the same issue with my brand spankin' new Fender Classic 60's Jazz Bass, rub my finger across the pickguard and it's crackle city :crying:

Guessing some Static Guard on a cloth or paper towel of some kind is the route to go? I'd prefer to not crack it open and bother with any shielding mess. Antistatic sheet sounds like another easy fix, has anyone had better luck with one or the other? The Static Guard spray sounds like there is less likelihood of the pickguard getting scratched as opposed to the dryer sheet.
 
#14
KevInDaBassment said:
Arise zombie thread!!!

Having the same issue with my brand spankin' new Fender Classic 60's Jazz Bass, rub my finger across the pickguard and it's crackle city :crying:

Guessing some Static Guard on a cloth or paper towel of some kind is the route to go? I'd prefer to not crack it open and bother with any shielding mess. Antistatic sheet sounds like another easy fix, has anyone had better luck with one or the other? The Static Guard spray sounds like there is less likelihood of the pickguard getting scratched as opposed to the dryer sheet.
Click to expand...

The proper solution involves shielding. You need to put some foil on the back of the guard and connect it to the cavity shielding. Modern Fenders do have shielding although it is somewhat poor. Yours is a 60s repro, however, so it likely wouldn't have shielding as it isn't period correct. It should have some brass plates under the pickups but those don't do squat for shielding.

You can always rub a dryer sheet on your bass if you prefer but you will need to do it often and your bass will smell like a dryer sheet.

I hope that helps.
 
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#15
DiabolusInMusic said:
The proper solution involves shielding. You need to put some foil on the back of the guard and connect it to the cavity shielding. Modern Fenders do have shielding although it is somewhat poor. Yours is a 60s repro, however, so it likely wouldn't have shielding as it isn't period correct. It should have some brass plates under the pickups but those don't do squat for shielding.

You can always rub a dryer sheet on your bass if you prefer but you will need to do it often and your bass will smell like a dryer sheet.

I hope that helps.
Click to expand...

So copper tape under some or all of the pickguard underside? After that, sprawl out a wire under the pickguard and then solder it to the copper plates for the pickups? I'm tempted to see how well the dryer sheets work, I really don't wanna have to crack her open. I also plan on adding a chrome pickup cover to rest my thumb on, it will probably alleviate the issue unless I wanna do slap, that's when I'm seeing real problems coming in :(
 
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#16
KevInDaBassment said:
So copper tape under some or all of the pickguard underside? After that, sprawl out a wire under the pickguard and then solder it to the copper plates for the pickups? I'm tempted to see how well the dryer plates work, I really don't wanna have to crack her open. I also plan on adding a chrome pickup cover to rest my thumb on, it will probably alleviate the issue unless I wanna do slap, that's when I'm seeing real problems coming in :(
Click to expand...

Copper (or aluminum) tape across any routes. On a jazz I might do the whole guard because they're small but you do not have to. If your bass has shielding, gray paint in the control cavity, then you just need to ensure the tape meets the paint. Use contact to connect the guard to the shielding, do not risk soldering to plastic. If you do have to buy copper tape get some off ebay or Amazon, not Stew Mac. Ensure the tape has conductive adhesive. It will likely be called "two-sided conductive tape".
 
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#17
I had the same problem with a Tele I built. I shielded the PG and made double-damn sure it was grounded, but it still accumulated a static charge and crackled when strumming. It drove me crazy and oddly, it only happened when I played it. A friend of mine who's a fellow builder and guitar tech told me he had seen this phenominon before and said that some people just seem to have more 'capacitance' than others. At any rate, wiping the guard down with a dryer sheet got rid of the problem.
 

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