Silversky noisy - ground problem likely

[Craigo]

Hi
Just received a brand new silversky in the past today. Sounds great but theres quite a lot of static noise that goes away when you touch some of the grounded metal parts of the guitar.
I plugged my American fender strat in to compare and its definitely a lot less noisy.
It reminds me of some old electrics I've had with the earth wire to the bridge missing.

I can see the earth wire on the claw, that looks ok if not a little bit excessive on the solder side of things.
Possibly could be poor electrical connection between springs and the anodized looking block that goes through to the tremolo plate and saddles - is that painted or anodized?

Any thoughts / fixes? I don't really want to send it back. And I dont really want to open it up, its brand new!!!

 

[garrett]

If the buzz goes away when touching the string path, it is working fine. This is how all unshielded guitars behave. If your Fender is a modern one, it will have some shielding, which is why it's quieter.

 

[Craigo]

It doesnt entirely go away when I touch the strings, theres still a buzz. It goes away if I touch the springs or the claw in the back. This is right next to the earth wire connection which is why I think theres not a good earth path through the tremolo block from the springs. There needs to be a really good earth going to the strings to make it quiet in my experience.
Any idea what the finish is on the tremolo block? It's made from steel according to the spec but its black so it must be painted or anodized.
Theres a tiny bit of shielding in the prs where the pots are on the scratch plate

 

[Craigo]

I rewired my 2015 gibson ES335 studio to remove the circuit board and add the extra two pots. This did exactly the same as the prs is doing now because I got the earth wire in the wrong place, when I got the path right it was silent. Same amp same leads same house. It has to be the guitar

 

[Craigo]

Theres a link to it back to back with my strat

 

[Fro]

The output jack may be wired backwards.

 

[Dean Lunn]

Hi there

It sounds to me like your amp. I have experience with PRS guitars as I have a shop in Keighley and it's not something these would do.

Also amps react differently to pick ups whether Alnico or Ceramic.

I've just had a customer in with a PRS Custom 24 same complaint.
It was the amp. The PRS are high output pick ups and show the amp problem more.

Obviously the customer is abit red faced lol.
You will find the earthing on the amp is not grounded.

But good on you for asking the question alot dont get the facts first.

Hope this helps buddy

 

[Craigo]

Hi

Hi there

It sounds to me like your amp. I have experience with PRS guitars as I have a shop in Keighley and it's not something these would do.

Also amps react differently to pick ups whether Alnico or Ceramic.

I've just had a customer in with a PRS Custom 24 same complaint.
It was the amp. The PRS are high output pick ups and show the amp problem more.

Obviously the customer is abit red faced lol.
You will find the earthing on the amp is not grounded.

But good on you for asking the question alot dont get the facts first.

Hope this helps buddy

Thanks for your response.

I appreciate that my amp is not the best in the world and can pick up a bit of noise.

This PRS is not high output though, quite the opposite, the silver sky is 6.4k ohm on the pickups vs 8k ohm on my strat and my ES335 is double that.

I think the reverse polarity thing is a better explanation.... but surely not on a new guitar??

 

[sixstringoverdrive]

Are the stock strings on it or did you change them to Elixir's by chance?

 

[Craigo]

I had the shop fit 10-52 as I prefer heavier gauge lower strings (against his advice!!) . I think they're addario

My old 80s fender amp is beginning to look like the culprit as the guitar didnt make much noise on my little digital practice amp. Has anyone had earth faults in tube amps before??

 

[sixstringoverdrive]

This happened to me with an awful static noise..turned out to be humidity and the coating on the strings. My guess is you are hearing a non-shielded guitar.

 

[Craigo]

Do you know what, I think your last statement has pretty much nailed it. It's based on an old strat and I've read that mayer didnt want the shielding. My strat has it as I changed the pickguard and fitted shielding then

 

[hait]

I have similar static noise issues, did you find a solution?

 

[Craigo]

Hi

Yes its sorted. My amp needed a far few bits replacing - i think a lot of bad earth connections on jacks and pots, and a few other things replaced too. Sounds dreamy now

Its just a feature of the silversky that it highlights weaknesses in set up i guess. My strat and es335 hummed a lot less but thats not the fault of the PRS. I thought it meant that the guitar was broken!

I would try plugging yours into a digital amp to see if the noise is still there.

 

[hait]

Thanks for the info, glad you have it sorted. I think my issues are more of the “common” static buildup type.

 

[Craigo]

In my opinion that static build up concept is unfounded.

Do you use yours with a tube amp?

 

[hait]

Yes all tube (multiple newer amps) no SS.

When I said common static, what I meant is the complaints that people have reported on the main Silver Sky thread. I get static noise as I brush my fingers on the pickguard and when my hand moves up and down the neck. The amp is quiet if the Silver Sky is untouched. The noise mostly goes away when I touch the output jack, trem block, or bridge with my free hand. I don’t have these issues with my other guitars and my house is relatively climate controlled.

 

[Craigo]

Mine was doing the same when i touched the strings, bridge and metal casing of the output jack it went quiet. They are connected to earth. I had an earth problem with my amp and now it doesnt do it.
Its well worth trying your guitar on another amp - good excuse to go to a guitar playing friends house with the guitar! Most people will gladly let you in with a silversky!!!!

 

[zzab]

I need to check mine tonight

 

[Xenophon Kirby]

I have the same issue. The problem is the guitar...not the amps. I've tried it in multiple amps and compared it to my other single coiled strats. The Silver Sky feels heavenly and sounds wonderful until you release the strings...just trying to live with the hiss.