MIM Fender Strat hum

[Jack_TriPpEr]

I have a Year 2017 Made In Mexico Fender Standard Strat that i just rewired to stock/OEM config after having had it setup with a Superswitch and noiseless singlecoils.

I am noticing a *faint* hum that is ever present, even in switch positions 2 and 4. I visually rechecked all the ground solder connections, resoldered a few just to be sure, and checked the connections on the jack itself - which are still original and look good. Still the slight hum remaIns

I then pulled out my multimeter and ran these Continuity and Resistance checks covered in these forum posts, all to a PASS.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?191170-Definitive-way-to-check-for-bad-ground

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?180419-how-to-locate-a-bad-ground-solder-joint

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?91419-Continuity-Testing

Still the slight hum remains.

I am wondering if this is due to poor shielding, and not a bad ground (?)

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Not necessarily.
Even a humbucker can have a slight hum.
It’s pretty easy for the wiring to pick up electrical interference.
I recently wired up 2 guitars.
A Kramer which I gutted and rewired with all new components. And a tele with a little 59 bridge and hot for tele neck.

The Kramer was making some noise and I took it to my local shop to make sure I had wired it correctly. He looked at it and couldn’t find any problems with my work.
And like you, I’m talking a very faint hum.
Now the tele has a true SC neck and as such hums...it is what it is. But when I switch it to the bridge, the 60 cycle hum disappears but it still has that very faint noise.
I think expecting even a humbucker to be 100% silent is expecting too much. If you have no 60 cycle hum then the pickup is doing what it is supposed to.

 

[Mincer]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

One thing to try is plugging it in in another building. Sometimes guitars hum in certain environments, and are silent in others.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Yup, fluorescent lighting and computers wreak havoc on guitars electronics

 

[Old Guy]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Are the cavities shielded at all?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Are the cavities shielded at all?

Yes, the backside of the pickguard has shielding.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Remove all pedals and try again.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Did you take off the bridge at all? if so, did you remember to reattach the Ashtray ground?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Did you take off the bridge at all? if so, did you remember to reattach the Ashtray ground?

No, the bridge had not been removed.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Every guitar with passive electronics that I own has some hum to it in certain places. It's just the nature of the beast.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Remove all pedals and try again.

Thanks! Once I did that, the faint hum went away.
On the one hand I am happy that I don't have to rewire the guitar, on the other hand, i am bummed that i now have to figure out which pedal in my board is adding noise. LOL.

Thanks again!

 

[Chistopher]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Thanks! Once I did that, the faint hum went away.
On the one hand I am happy that I don't have to rewire the guitar, on the other hand, i am bummed that i now have to figure out which pedal in my board is adding noise. LOL.

Thanks again!

It could also be the power supply, especially if you daisy chain your adaptors.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Hell, it could be the building itself.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Hell, it could be the building itself.

I have other guitars, and this hum issue had been occuring only in this one guitar.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

It could also be the power supply, especially if you daisy chain your adaptors.

By "daisy chain", do you mean multiple adaptors plugged into the same power strip?

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

I have other guitars, and this hum issue had been occuring only in this one guitar.

I have various humbucker guitars that also have varying degrees of noise. I’m pretty certain it’s normal unless it’s a huge difference

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

By "daisy chain", do you mean multiple adaptors plugged into the same power strip?

Like one power supply powering multiple pedals. Like this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotComboPk--truetone-1-spot-combo-pack

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Like one power supply powering multiple pedals. Like this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotComboPk--truetone-1-spot-combo-pack

Ok, yes, i do use a One-Spot to power multiple pedals.

i own other guitars and only this one had this hum issue in that pedalboard setup. But granted, all of those other guitars have humbuckers, unlike this Strat. So singlecoil pickups are more susceptible to "power adaptor daisy-chaining noise"?

 

[Jacew]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Yes, the backside of the pickguard has shielding.

You should have the shielding thorough the cavity. It's easy and quick fix.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: MIM Fender Strat hum

Ok, yes, i do use a One-Spot to power multiple pedals.

i own other guitars and only this one had this hum issue in that pedalboard setup. But granted, all of those other guitars have humbuckers, unlike this Strat. So singlecoil pickups are more susceptible to "power adaptor daisy-chaining noise"?

I’m not sure if your noiseless SC would be more susceptible to power adapter noise than a regular humbucker, tbh. I would think that they shouldn’t be but power adapter noise shows up even with humbuckers.