Members gergbee Posted August 1, 2013 Members Share Posted August 1, 2013 Hi all, I've been away from my guitars for a while but now that I am on holiday I have been trying to get a guitar back together. I picked up a Yamaha Pacifica w/ hardshell case for $40. It had a strat pick guard on it and it didn't fit right so I figured I'd make some changes. Original: I made an lp into a pickguard and wired it up. My problem is that it buzzes and I can't make it go away. I shielded with copper foil but everytime I touch the strings...bzzzzzz. Any tips for a newbie wiring type like myself? Thanks, Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FrankenSteinberger Posted August 1, 2013 Members Share Posted August 1, 2013 I'm no expert, but I'll give you a bump, while confusing you with non-expert advice.Buzz coming when the strings are touched usually means that somehow the strings are electrically connected to the "Tip" on your guitar-cord. It means that something is not correct in the order of your wiring.If you plug your guitar-cord into your powered-up amp, and then touch the tip ("Hot") of the "1/4" phone-plug, you'll hear an ugly buzzing. But if you touch the sleeve (ground) there be no increase in noise.Your strings are supposed to be directly electrically connected to that sleeve of your 1/4" phone-plug (via the 1/4" jack that the plug goes in to). Some times things get turned-around in the wiring of a guitar and this problem comes-up.I suggest that you go to a diagram of the appropriate circuit for your guitar and go over your guitar's wiring very carefully. Your situation can even be physically harmfully to your since your strings are currently "Hot" and if you were to touch something that was really grounded, while touching your strings, a shock could result (there are several factors involved, so it doesn't always result in a shock).Like I said, I'm not an expert, and someone with more experience may be more helpful. EDIT: I really like your LP pickguard---good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted August 1, 2013 Members Share Posted August 1, 2013 Sounds like a grounding issue. I don't really know about wiring, but I believe a wire has to connect to the bridge (or claw on the underside, like they do on Strats, which may be the same case here). Awesome job on the pickguard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FrankenSteinberger Posted August 1, 2013 Members Share Posted August 1, 2013 gergbee wrote:...My problem is that it buzzes and I can't make it go away. I shielded with copper foil but everytime I touch the strings...bzzzzzz. Any tips for a newbie wiring type like myself? I forgot to ask: Does it buzz AND you can here the signal from the pickups when you play, OR does it just buzz, and there's no signal from the pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted August 1, 2013 Members Share Posted August 1, 2013 FrankenSteibe.. asks the questions I was just going to ask. Generally buzzing like that means signal/ground is crossed somewhere. I accidentally put the 2 wires on the wrong lugs of the jack once and had a similar issue. Great work on the pickguard, btw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted August 4, 2013 Members Share Posted August 4, 2013 kayd_mon wrote:Sounds like a grounding issue. I don't really know about wiring, but I believe a wire has to connect to the bridge (or claw on the underside, like they do on Strats, which may be the same case here). Awesome job on the pickguard! I agree. Probably a grounding problem. I also love the pickguard. Very creative and cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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