What's going on with my guitar?

[MagicNelson]

I've got a telecaster and when I'm using overdrive or distortion, all of the metal pieces on the guitar become amplified. For example, I'll adjust the volume knob and it will make a clanky noise through the amp from touching it. I found that if I touch anything metal on the guitar, the noise comes through the amp including the tone knob, control plate and even the bridge. I've never experienced this before and I can't figure out what the problem could be. Any ideas?

[levelfrets]

It could be a micro-phonic pickup. Does it squeal at high volumes? My first guess would be a loose baseplate on the bridge pup.

[alberob]

If it is a microphonic pickup you could always pot them with wax.It stopped my Tele from being microphonic.Yell into the p/u at close range ,if you hear yourself coming out of the amp you have located the problem.:hiP

[avalonpb]

Sounds like a microphonic pickup. The other thing I'd check is the height adjustment springs. If they are actually springs replace them with surgical tubing, that will eliminate metal to metal ringing from the pickup mounting. Most Fenders Teles now come stock with surgical tubing rather than springs.

[Stadler Guitars]

It could be a faulty string ground. There is a buzz and hum while touching metal parts? First contact with those parts make a pop?

The string ground uses your body as a shield for stray electromagnetic radiation and a dumping place for noisy electrons. If it is not hooked up all of that radiation and noise will be injected into the audio signal.

Check by touching the 1/4" phono plug's outer metal shield. If the noise is reduced, the string ground is probably not working. A multi-meter set to read ohms should show negligible resistance between the metal parts of the guitar and the jack ground.

[alberob]

If you want to try potting it yourself,melt the wax in a small double boiler or any small pot over a very low heat. If its the front p/u carefully rmove the cover .Dip in the wax for about 30 seconds.I usually let it cool a few minutes and repeat the process.This has always worked for me.:hiP

[Billy Penn]

The baseplate on teh bottom of the pickup is probably loose. Take the pickup out and check to see if this is the case. You can use some silicone sealer in a tube (the kind for sealing aquariums) to fix this. Lift the baseplate and use a q-tip or something to smear some silicone onto the back of the pickup and baseplate. Then reinstall the pickup on the bridgeplate but instead of using the springs use some small surgical tubing. Next you can use a little rubber cement to coat the back of the bridgeplate before you mount it to the body. All these tricks can help calm the microphonics of a Tele at high gain settings. If the bridgeplate is ferrous metal then swapping it for a non-ferrous metal (brass, stainless) will also help. Post back your results.

[Rosewood]

Tele base plates sometimes touch on one side of the rout and the rout or base plate will have to be trimmed. This along with the info above will cure most bridge pu problems. Remember, the pu base cannot touch the body inside the rout.

[Billy Penn]

Tele base plates sometimes touch on one side of the rout and the rout or base plate will have to be trimmed. This along with the info above will cure most bridge pu problems. Remember, the pu base cannot touch the body inside the rout.

That's a really good point.

[MagicNelson]

Hey guys just wanted to report back after I got all the problems figured out. Hopefully this will help someone who had the same problem I did.

The plate on the bottom of the bridge pickup was loose so I used silicone to attatch it back on. I'm not a fan of hot wax and I figured I would burn myself so I went with the silicone route. It worked! I lined the plate with silicone and let it dry for 24 hours. I installed the pickup back into the guitar and it reduced the squealing significantly. However, there was still some squealing at high gain.

I linked the other squealing back to the bridge assembly. The stock bridge from Fender must have been bent a little to make the squealing so I decided to take the opportunity to upgrade to a Stainless Steel Callaham bridge assembly with brass saddles.

What a difference!!! The guitar sounds and plays like a million bucks after these upgrades/mods. I think the Callaham bridge and saddles helped a TON. The sustain is great now and it resonates much better than before. As for the pickup, I can play with high gain fuzz and have no problems at all. Thanks for all the help, guys!

[bluesjunior]

Here's a good link on wax potting.
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/a-lindyfralin.html