rmorris

The noise happens when your thumb is resting / brushing on the screw ? Sounds like that screw is not connected to the guitar's 'Ground'. I'm not familiar with that pickup / design in particular so don't know if it meant to be 'grounded' by design. But it's not uncommon to get scratching / brushing / rustling noises from isolated screws eg scratchplate screws. More typically more noticeable with electric guitars due to higher gain used. Similar can happen with plastic/nylon scratchplates over time where they get 'shiny' from wear and this causes static charges when touched. If you can make some contact from the pickup screws to 'ground' then the problem should go away. Alternatively you can try to reinstate the protection that the film was providing by coating with eg clear nail varnish or similar.

Yes. There's some element of shielding there. But it's mainly an issue of avoiding static noise when it gets "shiny" or you touch the screws. My basses tend not to have them but I often get this problem with Fender style guitars. High gain makes it a big problem. Have it in a nice Harley Benton atm. Need to shield and "ground" it.

No. Simply the client didn't know their technical stuff and didn't realise that they needed to use tape with a conductive adhesive if they weren't soldering the joints / seams.

You do need to check. There is copper tape available where it is adhesive but where the adhesive is not specified to be conductive. I know this from an EMC lab that I've used and friends with the owner/consultant. Some clients turn up thinking they have their kit properly shielded with copper tape. Only to find out they have the non conductive adhesive type.

Don't forget the "Ground" wire 😳

Not necessarily "conductive". You can produce static charge with non-conducting surfaces. Think rubbing a balloon on your jumper to get it "charged" then "sticking" it to a wall. Same thing happens with scratchplates and screws etc. In your case it seems that the grounded neck plate and screws provide a guarding effect that attenuates the noise energy and avoids it causing a problem in the pickup / wiring. Nice work 🙂

Cheaper though. The conductive paints also work. But not so well ime. Talking about rfi general btw and not only guitar / bass related.

Aluminium (cooking) foil is effective and easily available. But needs "special" solder so usually need to make sure it overlaps and had a good mechanical interface to other pieces / metal work. It can be worth getting the thicker "turkey" foil that I'd sold esp around Christmas time.

Yes. The thing with the conductive adhesive is that you should "squeegee" it down ie apply a lot of pressure. And be aware that 'slug tape" is unlikely to have conductive adhesive as it doesn't need it.

Okay. So you can buy a multimeter with continuity test for something aroun £10. Often from Lidl etc or CPC online. Best also check actual resistance with it as continuity may be indicated at anything less than, say 100 Ohms, although in reality that would be fine.

Confession - I'm an electronics design engineer and never read resistor codes - just measure them. And of course SMT resistors have the value marked on them in some form.

Yes, R1 allows C1 to discharge to 0V to minimise pops on plugging in. R3 biases the Gate of Q1 to 0Vdc. The input Z is essentially 2M inn parallel with 2.033M. In round numbers = 1M

Doesn't sound believable or significant tbh: Being scheduled til 5pm yet completing work before noon would seem to be a managent / Time and Motion issue. How does Paul know he will get the extra round ? Unless it is a tiny delivery office with only two postmen at a given time. It would seem to require managerial collusion rather than being an issue of working practices.

There is a general HGV driver issue. But in GB the issue is exacerbated by not being an EU member.

Hi S'manth What tuning / string gauge are you thinking on this. Seems to me that it could be "Floppy City" ?

Not ime at least with a HB electric guitar I have (can't recall model off hand). Noticeably lightweight.

Inductance is the dominant electrical parameter - and you'd need to measure it over the frequency range. But it wouldn't tell you the magnet type - generally ceramic or alnico and there are various classes/grades within that. Nor the wire type or winding / magnet geometry etc.

But if tightening the rod it helps to slacken off the strings so that you aren't fighting them whilst adjusting.

Yes. It's always worth a look at what's available from the electrical trade. Space can be an issue obvs and compatibility with stranded wire depending on the connector. Although you can use ferrules or just "solder it solid" as best suits in those cases. No need to worry about a n IEC compliance inspection 🙂

If you have the space for this then also look at WAGO lever type electrical connectors. Don't even need a screwdriver - just wire cut / strip.

It's probably easier to have pre-set levels to set a consistent level to the compressor / fx chain rather than altering several controls on the compressor itself. eg by using a simple boost or graphic eq or whatever pedal. Or a mini mixer if that suits.

But if it's only buzzing when you are fretting the first fret F then that should take the nut out of the question ? See Velvet...'s comment above.

True. A good electrical installation and correct use of it will avoid having stuff like thyristor light dimming and air con etc on the same ring or radial as audio kit. If it does happen then it's a bit optimistic to tell us on a power conditioner of type described to deal with it effectively. Solutions tend to involve special transformers and/or large ie high inductance filters. Best dealt with at source. And don't let your drummer plug his fan into the audio mains. Plus laptops etc best run from a non audio mains supply and audio output taken via a DI box. I wouldn't worry about frequency response problems though unless you experience it.

Indeed. There's a good reason why "Audiophile" often gets translated to "Audiophool" in Pro-Audio circles...

In many cases they are simply responding to the marketing blurb. It's true that UK mains is often better than other places esp USA simply due to differences in distance from distribution sub-station. But not really in urban areas. Mains filtering is a thing although more often to stop putting rubbish back onto the mains. And PFC is required for IIRC power above 75W. Incoming problems should really be taken care of in existing kit. Basic question is what problems are experienced / conceived ? You can't remove a problem that doesn't exist. fwiw I have a foot (feet ?) in the MI / pro-audio / compliance fields.