PRS CE24 Static Noise - Please help!

[Christian71]

Good morning Forum Members!

I am hoping somebody has the miracle cure for my problem. I am the proud (original) owner of a 2017 CE 24 Reclaimed Limited Edition. I absolutely LOVE the look, feel and playability of this instrument.....it is my favorite guitar to play. Unfortunately this guitar is plagued with a static noise issue that I have not been able to remedy. Here is a video with the noise I am referring to:

The guitar went back to PRS a few years ago and they replaced the pickups and all of the electronics. That did not fix it. I have tried several other remedies to no avail.

I have installed a humidifier that keeps humidity above 40% in the winter months. I have tried different strings - coated and uncoated. I have taken it to a few well regarded techs and they do not have a solution either. I do plan on replacing the bridge with a 2000NOS Mann......but I doubt that will solve my problem either.

If anybody has any ideas as to what might help.....please let me know. I am willing to try almost anything.

Thank you!

 

[shinksma]

Hmm, I will be honest and say I have no good idea what is causing that or how to fix it. 40% humidity is still a little dry for me, because I live in FL where it is at 50% or more most of the year inside, even with AC going. Right now at 56%, for example.

Does it make that sound when anybody else touches your guitar?

It is indeed quite possible you carry a uniquely high static charge of your own. "Listen to me, coppertop. We don't have time for 20 Questions."

Have you tried using a wireless system instead of a direct cable from guitar to amp?

What happens if you touch your guitar, but have also grounded yourself by grasping some plumbing or a touching the wallplate screw on an outlet or similar?

 

[Birdsofprey]

I agree the extra ground wires that are not going to ground should be removed. Why they are there makes no sense the covers are plastic. So I guess if you put the guitar on a stand and put your finger(s) on those two extra grounds to nowhere does the static go away? Don’t have much after that but there is a good brain trust on the forum that I’m sure will have better solutions than me. Good luck and go Bruin’s

 

[Christian71]

I agree the extra ground wires that are not going to ground should be removed. Why they are there makes no sense the covers are plastic. So I guess if you put the guitar on a stand and put your finger(s) on those two extra grounds to nowhere does the static go away? Don’t have much after that but there is a good brain trust on the forum that I’m sure will have better solutions than me. Good luck and go Bruin’s

Thank you! Go B's is right! I will try your suggestion when I am back home later. Appreciate the look and the advice!

 

[Christian71]

Hmm, I will be honest and say I have no good idea what is causing that or how to fix it. 40% humidity is still a little dry for me, because I live in FL where it is at 50% or more most of the year inside, even with AC going. Right now at 56%, for example.

Does it make that sound when anybody else touches your guitar?

It is indeed quite possible you carry a uniquely high static charge of your own. "Listen to me, coppertop. We don't have time for 20 Questions."

Have you tried using a wireless system instead of a direct cable from guitar to amp?

What happens if you touch your guitar, but have also grounded yourself by grasping some plumbing or a touching the wallplate screw on an outlet or similar?

I keep going back to the possibility that is carry I higher charge than most. When the guitar was back at PRS they said the noise was different when different people played it. Apparently, Paul himself played it and experienced the static as well. Thank you for your advice and I will try your suggestions when I am back home later on.

 

[Uncle Bob]

A ground wire connected to the body/control plate cover? I’d love to understand the reason for that one!

Additional to what’s already been said, you could try removing the pups/controls and shielding all the cavities. I know some people like to use copper tape etc. but on my last couple of builds I’ve had really good results with conductive paint. It’s really cheap and simple to use. I bought my last pot from Crimson Guitars (in the UK) for next to nothing.

 

[Proteus]

When the guitar was back at PRS they said the noise was different when different people played it. Apparently, Paul himself played it and experienced the static as well.

If PRS personnel noted the issue, and Paul got static from the guitar...why were you not issued another guitar? At some point it doesn't matter what the reason is. If everyone admits it's a freak of nature, and that other examples of the same model don't have the same issue under the same conditions, I'd think PRS would keep the guitar and do science on it (if it's that interesting) - but should have supplied you with a guitar that works the way the company intended (and the way you expected when you bought a new PRS).

Kinda disappointing. I've heard of (and personally experienced) better customer service than that.

 

[Christian71]

If PRS personnel noted the issue, and Paul got static from the guitar...why were you not issued another guitar? At some point it doesn't matter what the reason is. If everyone admits it's a freak of nature, and that other examples of the same model don't have the same issue under the same conditions, I'd think PRS would keep the guitar and do science on it (if it's that interesting) - but should have supplied you with a guitar that works the way the company intended (and the way you expected when you bought a new PRS).

Kinda disappointing. I've heard of (and personally experienced) better customer service than that.

I felt/feel the same way. I have learned to 'live with it'. Its like that thing you can't stand about the one you love.

 

[Uncle Bob]

If PRS personnel noted the issue, and Paul got static from the guitar...why were you not issued another guitar? At some point it doesn't matter what the reason is. If everyone admits it's a freak of nature, and that other examples of the same model don't have the same issue under the same conditions, I'd think PRS would keep the guitar and do science on it (if it's that interesting) - but should have supplied you with a guitar that works the way the company intended (and the way you expected when you bought a new PRS).

Kinda disappointing. I've heard of (and personally experienced) better customer service than that.

Don’t you know? PRS can do no wrong!

 

[Iceman101]

I know that pickguards and backplates can cause static noise. So a ground wire to the screw that holds the backplate makes some sense. But I don;t know if that is a correct way to solve the problem in a technical way. I have a Tele with a pickguard that generates static noise. I seem to remember reading on some other forum that rubbing the backplate/pickguard with some kind of cloth helps for a couple of weeks.

 

[Christian71]

Don’t you know? PRS can do no wrong!

Lol.....yeah....i thought so as well. Apparently, they can!

 

[Birdsofprey]

Any update?

 

[Christian71]

I know that pickguards and backplates can cause static noise. So a ground wire to the screw that holds the backplate makes some sense. But I don;t know if that is a correct way to solve the problem in a technical way. I have a Tele with a pickguard that generates static noise. I seem to remember reading on some other forum that rubbing the backplate/pickguard with some kind of cloth helps for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the reply Iceman! I replaced the plastic back plates with wood plates a couple years ago. I 'kind of' get why PRS may have soldered those additional wires....but it really doesn't make scientific sense.

 

[Proteus]

I know that pickguards and backplates can cause static noise. So a ground wire to the screw that holds the backplate makes some sense. But I don;t know if that is a correct way to solve the problem in a technical way.

I can imagine that as an attempted fix, though I don't know that a metal wire can drain a static charge from plastic. Now that I think about it, no reason why not. In any case, I'm sure the extra drain wires were a kind of last-ditch, throw-it-against-the-wall attempt at a resolution. I do a lot of tech troubleshooting in my Damnable Day Job, and I've learned that when basic step-by-step logic fails, a resort to what seems like superstition sometimes works. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting superstition and magic work - a fix simply addresses physics I didn't know.)

In this mode, I've done all sorts of weird grounding/shielding tricks which were not intuitively obvious (at least to me). I have a rig with several interconnected pedalboards, and have resolved ground hum and sensitivity to static by running ground wires to and from points I discovered only by process of trial, error, and elimination. When I found two points that killed the noise when they were connected...I permanently connected them. No idea why those particular points in the signal chain wanted to hold hands.

I don't know that its worth a try, but when I see "grounded" pickguards or backplates, they're covered with foil, copper tape, or other shield material, often with a tab to make solid contact with the ground circuit wire.

I have a Tele with a pickguard that generates static noise.

Yes, me too. A G&L Tribute ASAT which was pretty much unusable because of it. I ended up shielding all the control cavities with thin copper and grounding them together - AND sandwiched a piece of copper the same size/shape as the pickguard between the guard and the body, again connected to the common ground. That did the trick.

But I have no idea why that brushing my hand against the guard on that particular guitar generated static when I didn't have trouble with any other guitars.

I've been trying to think how that lesson could be applied in this situation, but the guitar in question doesn't have a plastic pickguard, and I don't know that the finish PRS uses can be conductive. I suppose it could - it's some form of plastic. It could be possible, I guess, that the finish of the guitar itself collects a static charge. On that theory (a wild one, I admit), I guess you'd want to be sure that the finish itself is connected to the common ground - ie, that at some point a screw (or a flat tab around a screw, connected to the ground) makes good contact with the finish itself (and not just the wood under the finish).

I'm assuming we (you, PRS) know the bridge ground wire is good from end to end, makes good contact with the bottom of the bridge, and has a sound solder joint to the harness. Any flakiness along that path could be a suspect.

I seem to remember reading on some other forum that rubbing the backplate/pickguard with some kind of cloth helps for a couple of weeks.

Yes, supposedly a fabric softener/anti-static dryer sheet. I never tried it. But it could be used in testing: just wipe down the whole guitar, anywhere you might touch it, with the sheet and see if the static lays down for awhile.

 

[bluenova]

Good morning Forum Members!

I am hoping somebody has the miracle cure for my problem. I am the proud (original) owner of a 2017 CE 24 Reclaimed Limited Edition. I absolutely LOVE the look, feel and playability of this instrument.....it is my favorite guitar to play. Unfortunately this guitar is plagued with a static noise issue that I have not been able to remedy. Here is a video with the noise I am referring to:

The guitar went back to PRS a few years ago and they replaced the pickups and all of the electronics. That did not fix it. I have tried several other remedies to no avail.

I have installed a humidifier that keeps humidity above 40% in the winter months. I have tried different strings - coated and uncoated. I have taken it to a few well regarded techs and they do not have a solution either. I do plan on replacing the bridge with a 2000NOS Mann......but I doubt that will solve my problem either.

If anybody has any ideas as to what might help.....please let me know. I am willing to try almost anything.

Thank you!

If you shield the cavities with foil tape it will be nearly if not completely silent. I had the same issue with a wood library guitar with unshielded cavities and when I used copper foil shielding it totally quieted that guitar right down. A lot of PRS cavities are unshielded like this.

 

[Christian71]

Any update?

Still no luck. I have uploaded a new video just now to show you what happens when I touch those extra "ground" wires. Hoping somebody has the miracle fix (or somebody from PRS Tech Center sees the post and has the answer). Thank for following up and checking it out BirdsofPrey!

 

[Christian71]

If you shield the cavities with foil tape it will be nearly if not completely silent. I had the same issue with a wood library guitar with unshielded cavities and when I used copper foil shielding it totally quieted that guitar right down. A lot of PRS cavities are unshielded like this.

Did you shield pickup cavities as well? I am reluctant to do that due to a few things I have heard/read about it changing pickup tone/output.

 

[bluenova]

Did you shield pickup cavities as well? I am reluctant to do that due to a few things I have heard/read about it changing pickup tone/output.

It was on a stoptail and I did the control cavity and 3 way switch cavity. I didn’t put anything around the pickup routes.

 

[Christian71]

I can imagine that as an attempted fix, though I don't know that a metal wire can drain a static charge from plastic. Now that I think about it, no reason why not. In any case, I'm sure the extra drain wires were a kind of last-ditch, throw-it-against-the-wall attempt at a resolution. I do a lot of tech troubleshooting in my Damnable Day Job, and I've learned that when basic step-by-step logic fails, a resort to what seems like superstition sometimes works. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting superstition and magic work - a fix simply addresses physics I didn't know.)

In this mode, I've done all sorts of weird grounding/shielding tricks which were not intuitively obvious (at least to me). I have a rig with several interconnected pedalboards, and have resolved ground hum and sensitivity to static by running ground wires to and from points I discovered only by process of trial, error, and elimination. When I found two points that killed the noise when they were connected...I permanently connected them. No idea why those particular points in the signal chain wanted to hold hands.

I don't know that its worth a try, but when I see "grounded" pickguards or backplates, they're covered with foil, copper tape, or other shield material, often with a tab to make solid contact with the ground circuit wire.



Yes, me too. A G&L Tribute ASAT which was pretty much unusable because of it. I ended up shielding all the control cavities with thin copper and grounding them together - AND sandwiched a piece of copper the same size/shape as the pickguard between the guard and the body, again connected to the common ground. That did the trick.

But I have no idea why that brushing my hand against the guard on that particular guitar generated static when I didn't have trouble with any other guitars.

I've been trying to think how that lesson could be applied in this situation, but the guitar in question doesn't have a plastic pickguard, and I don't know that the finish PRS uses can be conductive. I suppose it could - it's some form of plastic. It could be possible, I guess, that the finish of the guitar itself collects a static charge. On that theory (a wild one, I admit), I guess you'd want to be sure that the finish itself is connected to the common ground - ie, that at some point a screw (or a flat tab around a screw, connected to the ground) makes good contact with the finish itself (and not just the wood under the finish).

I'm assuming we (you, PRS) know the bridge ground wire is good from end to end, makes good contact with the bottom of the bridge, and has a sound solder joint to the harness. Any flakiness along that path could be a suspect.



Yes, supposedly a fabric softener/anti-static dryer sheet. I never tried it. But it could be used in testing: just wipe down the whole guitar, anywhere you might touch it, with the sheet and see if the static lays down for awhile.

Thank you for the thorough reply and suggestions Proteus! Before I sent it back to PRS a few years ago, I did use the fabric softener approach with some success. Very minor improvement and short-lived.

The finish is a satin nitro. I have read that some newer Gibsons with nitro finish have a similar issue. However, I have not heard or read about one single PRS owner having this problem with a nitro finish. If you see the most recent video I posted, you will see/hear that the noise increases considerably when I simply touch the body of the guitar. Here is the latest video:

 

[Christian71]

It was on a stoptail and I did the control cavity and 3 way switch cavity. I didn’t put anything around the pickup routes.

Thanks BlueNova! I may give it a shot. Appreciate the advice!