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I built a Les Paul clone and I am having problems with a nasty buzz in the electronics. The problem is when I let go of the strings. When I have my hands on the strings (any of them), the buzz stops.

I know there is supposed to be some sheilding on it somewhere to eliminate this (or I suspect this is the problem) but I have no idea what to shield and how or where.

anybody got any ideas?

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Reguards,

Ken H

Did you put a string ground under one of the stop tailpiece studs? If not are the strings grounded in any way?
Hope this helps,
Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

I did put a ground loop around the post of the tail block stud. I suppose it is possible that the wire was cut when the stud was inserted though?  Is that the problem?

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Hey Hodges

It sounds like the wires are reversed on your output jack. Try reversing
them and see what happens.   

hey,
def sounds like the gnd has come off, i think if the jacks wired backwards you get lots of hum when you touch the strings and it'll be quiet when youre not touching it.

is everything shielded? its worth bleeping it all out with a dvm if you have any doubts - tiny solder shorts hidden behind pots etc can be a pain!

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www.theguitarrepairworkshop.com

Sounds to me like more of a grounding problem than shielding problem.  When you touch the strings you complete the ground.  Don't grab the mike at the same time.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Definitively a ground problem.  Use a continuity tester between
the bridge and the back of a pot...  I suspect that you will not
have continuity.  A new ground wire will have to be installed, I
fear!

I would double check all your connections in the harness. It sounds to me like a faulty ground connection rather than a shielding issue.

Give each wire a little tug at the solder points and make sure everything is solid. Also, a good clean solder joint should have a shinny silver look to it. If the wire moves before the solder cools completely and the joint turns a flat grey color you have a cold solder joint, which is bound to fail sooner rather than later.

I've been pulling my hair out the last three nights trying to quiet down some pickups from a 1950's Carvin 8 string steel guitar. In the end it turned out to be a faulty ground connection in the harness that looked good but came loose with just a little tug of the wire. I resoldered that connection and everything is quiet now.

Louis

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- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

A couple of critical places to check are grounds on the backs of pots.  Very hard to get a good solder joint without ruining the pot.  I always seemed to get the best results with a very hot iron making a quick joint rather than trying to heat up too much of the pot.  The other is that bridge connection.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks for all of the advice on this. I havent had a chance to work on this guitar in the last couple of days due to polishing on #11 and then my nephew spent the day with me today and we are building a dining room table together. I'll try to jump back on this tomorrow and see what I find.

The first thing I'll do is do a check with the multimeter to see if the ground is connecting.

Thanks again,

Ken

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H