Silver Sky ground issue?

RallyFanatic

Perpetual musical mid-life crisis
Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
494
Location
New England
Picked up a new Silver Sky yesterday and I think it may have a ground issue? If I’m not touching anything metal that comes in contact with the strings, there’s a lot of hiss in all 5 pickup settings. It’s not 60 cycle hum, I know that very well and don’t even hear it anymore. Soon as I touch the strings (or bridge, tuners, springs in the back) it’s gone.

Tried all 3 of my amps and it’s the same. Tried 5 cables (all Mogami gold). Tried moving to every conceivable area in my house in case it was some interference - same thing. Plug in any other guitar, including my Strat - no hiss. Very noticeable if my amp is clean, even worse with some drive.

Thoughts?
 
Picked up a new Silver Sky yesterday and I think it may have a ground issue? If I’m not touching anything metal that comes in contact with the strings, there’s a lot of hiss in all 5 pickup settings. It’s not 60 cycle hum, I know that very well and don’t even hear it anymore. Soon as I touch the strings (or bridge, tuners, springs in the back) it’s gone.

Tried all 3 of my amps and it’s the same. Tried 5 cables (all Mogami gold). Tried moving to every conceivable area in my house in case it was some interference - same thing. Plug in any other guitar, including my Strat - no hiss. Very noticeable if my amp is clean, even worse with some drive.

Thoughts?

It’s possible the ground wire came loose. Depending on your confidence in your repair skills, that would be a pretty easy fix. But you’re under warranty, so you can take it back to the dealer to have the repair handled.

And congrats on the guitar!
 
Thanks - wanted to make sure I was on the right path before bringing it back to the dealer.

Also noticing with my two tube amps it also crackles and pops a bit, kinda like listening to vinyl. It’s random, not constant. Doesn’t seem to happen much with my Katana though.
 
Thanks - wanted to make sure I was on the right path before bringing it back to the dealer.

Also noticing with my two tube amps it also crackles and pops a bit, kinda like listening to vinyl. It’s random, not constant. Doesn’t seem to happen much with my Katana though.

You're welcome. And there were some issues reported about static. I've never had it (or noticed it) myself, so I'm not sure what all has worked for folks.
 
My new SS that I got last week had some static issues when my hand was on the pickguard. I have had this with many Strats during winter months. Just like with those I rubbed the guard with an unscented dryer sheet and no more static pops.
 
That's the opposite of a ground issue. It is proof that grounding is working correctly. When you touch part of the string path, the noise is routed via ground to your body for cancellation.

What it is, is a shielding issue. As in there is none. Aside from the single coil pickups attracting 60 cycle hum, all the wire and electronic components in a guitar act as antennae for radio frequency interference. All guitars, regardless of pickups, will do this to a degree. You can greatly reduce this interference by fully shielding the electronics cavity and using shielded wire. Otherwise, you can just learn to work with it. It's a tale as old as the electric guitar itself.
 
Picked up a new Silver Sky yesterday and I think it may have a ground issue? If I’m not touching anything metal that comes in contact with the strings, there’s a lot of hiss in all 5 pickup settings. It’s not 60 cycle hum, I know that very well and don’t even hear it anymore. Soon as I touch the strings (or bridge, tuners, springs in the back) it’s gone.

Tried all 3 of my amps and it’s the same. Tried 5 cables (all Mogami gold). Tried moving to every conceivable area in my house in case it was some interference - same thing. Plug in any other guitar, including my Strat - no hiss. Very noticeable if my amp is clean, even worse with some drive.

Thoughts?
I have the same issue. I applied shielding paint to all cavities resulting in a significant reduction in the noise...but it is still there and I hate it.
 
Back
Top