tele crackle

[Richard Monroe]

I recently aquired a tele which I like very much. Problem- I get audible crackle when I touch the strings, especially with the pick. This is much more pronounced when the neck pickup is engaged. None of my guitars with humbuckers do this. The cable is a Monster heavy duty keyboard cable, and I doubt it is the problem. What's the most likely cause, and what is the logical troubleshooting procedure?-Richie

 

[grinder]

I would check the guitar wiring, making sure all the solder joints looked good and that the grounds were good and spray the pots with tuner cleaner, just for the hell of it. Also, check for wires that might be frayed or have internal breaks. Other than that, I don't know. Good Luck, Grinder

 

[Phyl]

Use an ohmeter to make sure the bridge is grounded. That woudn't explain why it's worse with the neck pickup though...

Could it be that the pickup is old and needs replacement? I've heard of old pickups becoming "microphonic', but don't really understand what that means.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Most teles have single coil pickups, which are much more likely to generate noise. Internal shielding can also contribute to this issue.

Sure sounds like a wiring issue to me. I would be surprised to see both pickups be bad. My tele is 37 years old, and still going stong.

Ed

 

[Light]

Most likely you have dirty pots. Get some TV cleaner, and try to clean them. If not the clean the switch. While you are in there, inspect the wiring, but that usually would lead to the guitar cutting out, so I don't think that is likely. If none of that works, it is time to start replacing the pots and the switch.


Light

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