Installed new pickups --> if I don't touch the strings, there's a "hum"...

[Misha]

I switched the pickups between my two Strats: I put the Vintage Noiseless in my CP '60s and put the Custom '69s in the Standard MIM...

 

I checked with a multimeter and everything seems to be grounded correctly, however, if I don't touch the strings or a metal part, the CP '60s hums. The Vintage Noiseless pickups were dead silent in the other Strat...

 

What's wrong???

[hecticone]

Maybe something you did.

[Misha]

Maybe something you did.

Well, thank's for your help! What would I do without you... !!! ???

[tiltsta]

I'd bet money on a grounding issue. The hum without touching is a classic sign. When you touch the strings, your body becomes the ground on the otherwise open circuit. I would recheck the wires and soldering, and make sure the ground wire still goes to the bridge. Also, make sure to check the manufacturer's wire color code and be aware there is not standard scheme, so it might be different than what you had in there before. If everything looks correct, but you still have hum, it could be a {censored}ty/cold solder connection.

 

Also, be aware that non-noisless pickups actually have noise. The touching the strings thing, however, makes me think something is wrong with the ground rather than the normal 60 cycle single coil hum.

[Misha]

I'd bet money on a grounding issue. The hum without touching is a classic sign. When you touch the strings, your body becomes the ground on the otherwise open circuit. I would recheck the wires and soldering, and make sure the ground wire still goes to the bridge. Also, make sure to check the manufacturer's wire color code and be aware there is not standard scheme, so it might be different than what you had in there before. If everything looks correct, but you still have hum, it could be a {censored}ty/cold solder connection. Also, be aware that non-noisless pickups actually have noise. The touching the strings thing, however, makes me think something is wrong with the ground rather than the normal 60 cycle single coil hum.

I think I'm gonna shield my CP with aluminium tape. ( I would prefer Copper tape but I don't have any.) Maybe the ground is not "solid" enough, shielding the guitar would make the ground "more massive"...

I'm thinking maybe I should check the 5-way switch too. The soldering seems indeed sh*tty.

[tiltsta]

I'd start looking at the ground on the trem claw. The claw kind of moves with the springs on the screws a little, so the solder joint there is the most likely to fail. It can be as simple as taking all the strings off, and the springs go slack, and the claw solder job cracks.

 

I don't think the size of the metal ground is a big issue. If it connects to anything metal that is in contact with the bridge/strings, you should be fine. Foil is never a bad idea, as long as you have it open, but it will not compensate for a bad ground.

[Grantus]

Yeah, sounds like a bad ground someplace.

[Misha]

 

Yeah, sounds like a bad ground someplace.

 

 

I agree with you and tiltsta on that, this is what comes to mind first!

 

Maybe there's a wire that is about to break somewhere...

 

I'll check everything one more time!