Weird (electrostatic?) noise when touching pickguard

[Sascha Franck]

Ok guys, pretty much all of a sudden I'm getting this:



I remember having it before but it went away after I fixed something with the electronics. But now it's back and IMO it's happening at a weird place. From all I can tell, there's no cables running under that position and when I touch the pickguard where the switch and pots are, everything is fine, it's really just below the strings. Which unfortunately happens to be the very location that I sometimes touch. And it's defenitely got something to do with capacitance as it's instantly gone when I touch the area with a cloth between my finger and the pickguard.
So: How does this happen and, even more important, how do I get rid of it once and forever?

 

[Blix]

Last time I experienced that I made a mild solution of water and fabric softener and went over the guitar guitar with it. It removed the static electricity.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Last time I experienced that I made a mild solution of water and fabric softener and went over the guitar guitar with it. It removed the static electricity.

Oh WOW! Imagine your feet kissed virtually! That absolutely and instantly did the trick!

Now, is there anything to adress this permanently, so I won't have to remember repeating the process?

 

[Blix]

Oh WOW! Imagine your feet kissed virtually! That absolutely and instantly did the trick!

Now, is there anything to adress this permanently, so I won't have to remember repeating the process?

Awesome! I don't think it's possible to get rid of it permanently, but on the guitar I had it was like once during the winter per year. :)

 

[Sascha Franck]

Awesome! I don't think it's possible to get rid of it permanently, but on the guitar I had it was like once during the winter per year. :)

Yeah, I'll see how long it lasts. Very likely it's got something to do with all the dry air during winter.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Wow. I've never seen anything like that before. That's nuts.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Wow. I've never seen anything like that before. That's nuts.

Must be my wizard fingers.

No seriously, I had that before, and apparently Blix was running into it as well. The weirdest thing for me being that it's really limited to that very location.
But then, that fabric softener trick seems to work great, so I may just look for the tiniest plastic bottle around and keep it in my always-with-me-utility-bag.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Must be my wizard fingers.

No seriously, I had that before, and apparently Blix was running into it as well. The weirdest thing for me being that it's really limited to that very location.
But then, that fabric softener trick seems to work great, so I may just look for the tiniest plastic bottle around and keep it in my always-with-me-utility-bag.

I've read about people getting static like that in scratch plates before but just have never actually seen it. The fix I heard for it was to rub one of those sheets you can put in a tumble dryer on the scratch plate and that removed the static.

It was interesting to hear what it sounds like though on your video.

 

[HomespunEffects]

This is mine:

It only happens on my Les Paul.

 

[Sascha Franck]

This is mine:

It only happens on my Les Paul.

So, by now you should know how to fix it in one minute.

 

[HomespunEffects]

So, by now you should know how to fix it in one minute.

I took the pickguard off.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

Weird! If it wasn’t you I would have suspected a troll post

Reminds me of us fooling a soundguy with a sample of a ground hum from the keyboard player..and him releasing it when I touched a drum cymbal

 

[la szum]

Low humidity. Had that happen when playing a Les Paul and the back cavity plastic
cover rubbing on my pants. Drive me nuts until I figured it out. And the dryer sheet
trick works. You may have to reapply it from time to time until winter passes.

 

[Sascha Franck]

And the dryer sheet trick works.

The fabric softener trick seems to work pretty well, too. Have been playing quite a bit after applying it and it's still noisefree.
Maybe the dryer sheet contains some bits of the same stuff as well.
Already filled an empty small polish bottle that will from now on stay in my utility bag.