Hum/buzz question on Tele

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famous beagle

famous beagle

Well-known member
Hey y'all,

I bought my first Tele a few weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it, but I'm getting a slight buzzing noise that's annoying. I know this isn't typical single-coil hum, because it goes away whenever I touch the control plate or knobs.

After I got it (and noticed the noise), I went through and shielded it and rewired it completely in hopes that it would take care of the noise, but it hasn't. I followed this wiring diagram precisely, with one exception. I didn't have a solder lug to attach to the switch (and the guitar didn't have one when I bought it and rewired it), as shown in the top right, so I just grounded the neck pickup wire to the copper tape shielding.

Would this be causing the problem? If not, any other ideas?

Thanks for any help!
 

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Any of those new fandangled Fluorescent bulbs around? That will do it fo sho.
 
First, I would not ground the the neck pickup to the foil, I would solder it to the back of the volume pot, which is where I would also ground the bridge pickup. I would ground the foil with a wire to the back of the volume pot, and solder a wire from the back of the tone pot to it also ; all grounds connected to the same place. I've never noticed a ground lug on any of my 3 or 5 way Fender type switches... is that common?

One thing that I would recommend checking / re-doing, especially if it is a few years old. I had a similar problem with an older LP. The bridges on teles are grounded with a bare wire under the bridge, that is smashed between the bridge and the wood. Pressing a piece of wire against something will only make a perfect electrical connection until the wire (or the thing it is pressed against) begins to oxidize. Oxidation inhibits the flow of electrons; it acts like a resistor - that can cause a ground loop, noise. I would take the bridge off, re-strip the wire to expose some clean copper, make sure it is in a place where the bridge will clamp it tightly against the wood, clean the bottom of the bridge (rubbing alcohol is good for that) and tighten the bridge back down.

I would also clean the output jack thoroughly - a dirty ground connection there could possibly that problem. If you clean them fairly often, you might be surprised at how much green / black gunk can be built up in there. If you didn't re-solder the wires to the jack, you should check those also, if someone messed with it before you, it may have a bad / cold solder connection.
 
Thanks for the replies y'all. I'll consider them all and see if anything helps.
 
I remember taking my trusty tele to a winter jam and noticed a similar buzz, when the strings were touched the buzz diminishes. Two things should be grounded, the metal bridge and the metal plate that the pot and switches rest on. Use a high e string under both mentioned parts should clear that issue, is what I done in a pinch.
 
You could glue aluminum foil to the inside surfaces of the cavities where the pickups and pots are housed. (There's a paint available that provides the same shielding effect.)
 
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