OT : problem with a crackle from my fender strat

[doezer]

hi

i know there are more appropriate forums for this, but i know there are quite a few knowldgable folks here and im pretty sure someone has the knowhow on this one too  

i play my fender strat thru an fx box (vox tonelab) straight into the desk. and i get the raw guitar sound,  which still sounds fine,  but its accompanied with a crackle in the background.  i know its not teh mixer or the speakers,  so its either the tonelab or the guitar. and im pretty sure its the guitar..

 

i tried moving the volume and tone pots,  but that doesnt generate any crackle at all,. and it doesnt make the crackle go away either... so i dont think its them.

 

ive never seen this before.  anyone got any ideas please?!   im supposed to use this guitar at the weekend so i need to sort it out pretty fast!

 

thanks

D

[pogo97]

try a different cord

[doezer]

hi. yes i tried that. still happening..  

bummer!

[Shaster]

It could be a lot of things. You said you're going into your desk/mixer, but then where are you going -  computer, live PA.....? I'm also assuming you mean crackle and not hum - single coils are gonna hum.

It could be a number of things. Bad or intermittent shielding in your body cavity - no jokes please, faulty pick-ups, level, or impedance mismatch, digital distortion (but I think you would notice), your fx box itself, fluorescent lighting interference and on and on. And of course the items already mentioned, like pots, selector switch, and cable. Speaking of which, don't assume two cables can't be bad. Still, if it's constant it might not be a cable.

I was just helping with a friend's album, and was going from my guitar to my FX and then to the board. There was a slight fuzzy distortion way in the background. We thought we had it narrowed down to my FX, but it seemed to appear again all on it's own. A few weeks later, same guitar, same effects, but a different studio and no problems whatsoever.

Try eliminating things in your signal chain and try a control situation. Try your guitar through an amp, and try another guitar through your problem area.

[Notes_Norton]

I agree with checking the signal chain first. It's the most likely and the eaisest (and cheapest) to fix.

You replaced the cable, and that's good, but what about the output and input jacks. I live in Florida where corrosion is king.

I use either Caig DeOxit on the end of a QTip to clean the corrosion off the jacks. Then I use Caig ProGold (Deoxit Gold) to coat the connections to retard reoxidation and it also improves the connection.

I've also seen where the connector in the jack that touches the tip of the plug gets worn and a little gentle bending in the direction of the plug works wonders. You have to disassemble the gear for that so I always try cleaning first.

Notes