3 Easy Solutions to Fix Ground Noise | Guitar How-to Ep02

Ground noise is enough to drive any guitarist mad beyond belief. Here are 3 easy things to look out for to help solve this issue. Most of the time it's a simple fix, so grab a multimeter and a soldering iron and let's get after it!

[RisingSunGuitarMods]

Hey guys, to make it all a bit easier to help you out, please include your guitar, pickups, pedals, amp, and any other gear that might be contributing. Each guitar is different depending on pickups and configuration.

[ricksguitars]

Your "Touch" Test is an excellent approach to finding a ground problem. Great Video, Thank You!!!

[TheEndistheBeginingistheEnd]

Thank you very much for this. I just picked up an Ultra Strat and it was noisy af. I suspected it was a grounding issue but have very limited knowledge of how to diagnose or fix such a thing. Your video absolutely helped me discover what the issue was. I did some continuity testing and found the exact same thing that you show here with the bridge not being grounded. Unbelievably, after pulling it apart the ground wire to the bridge had just fallen off the soldered connection! I bought this guitar new a week ago! The old me would have just returned it, but after watching this and digging in I feel super confident and empowered to just repair it myself. Thanks so much!

[jamesjames]

Your testing solution here is the most enlightening and (excellently) simple way of diagnosing the problem. Thank you bro ❤

[JacumbaSound]

This video did the trick. While I was playing, suddenly there was very loud buzzing. I "looked" at the wiring which I had done, and I didn't see a disconnected wire, but I followed your continuity check with the multimeter, and it had to be a ground issue somewhere. Oh-- no continuity to the jack. I checked the jack soldering; it was solid there, but when I followed the wire from the jack to the pot, sure enough-- it had popped off the pot. Soldered back on and am getting those squishy strat tones once moreth :) 😊 THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO !

[gazklatic]

I had a really bad noise problem with my Squier strat. Dunno why but the pickup selector lever was making the entire thing sound. I soldered a cable to it and then just put it into the screw next to it (it looks funny 😂) but it worked!
I had to ground the pickup height screws too and the noise went down A LOT. It's now much better than it was before, I couldn't even play with that noise.
The best option is to really, REALLY try the guitar before buying it. That way you can check if it has any undesirable noise.

[TheGthcapo]

That cold solder might be the problem with my tele. I upgraded the bridge PU and my saddles and then walla!! The guitar got noisy. I will open my guitar again and check. Great video. Very helpful

[monto]

This info may seem basic but it was all new to me (I thought I new my way around a guitar a little? Not as much as I thought I guess). Really dug the simple touch test for grounding. Subscribed

[jamiemcparland]

Thanks for making this. I have some grounding issues that are driving me freaking nuts!

[johnlake]

Totally agree about long series screwdrivers. I use them a lot.

[pbguitar]

This was just an incredibly helpful video. I purchased a budget bass guitar B-stock and the buzzing was awful. Straightaway, using your video, I was able to see that touching the bridge didn't stop the buzzing. Took off the bridge, scraped black paint away and reseated the bridge. Sorted. Thanks so much!

[tunemeister]

Excellent video on ground noise. The taps are the red flags and the multi tester is the revelation.

[glenogilvie]

Not only can Phill build an awesome website he can fix and rebuild guitars. Cannot wait to see his hotrod guitars

[newfreenayshaun]

Anybody else notice the extra noise throughout the video? Quality settings on youtube cant even fix that cheap mic noise bro! Lmao. I know you mean well and i did learn a few things. Rock on!

[Justwantpeacelove]

Man the only video that make sense, & how to properly use a meter without relying on a beep function. thank you man. I bought some fishman pickups and might have to many cold solders. at my 3 time rewiring >< wish me luck!

[JohnShalamskas]

My boutique 57 Strat reproduction used unshielded wire between the pickups and the control cavity, and from the control cavity to the output jack. I shielded all the cavities with copper foil tape, including the output jack cavity, and changed the output jack wiring to coaxial cable. This solved the noise problem. The copper foil tape has conductive adhesive, which might help its performance. Conductive paint also works well if you put on a few coats, but waiting for paint to dry between coats takes a lot more time than applying the foil tape. I also shielded the cavities of my Les Paul to reduce the noise floor when using split humbucker coils. I did not notice any loss of treble on either guitar. I guess that the shielding is far enough from the coils and pole pieces to avoid strong eddy currents.

[bwpdsigns]

This video helped me fix my new guitar that wasn't grounded properly on the bridge.

[zacly]

My les paul now sounds heavenly. Thank you sir.

[stratocastertweak]

I just found out that my ground wire from bridge almost broken in the middle of the tunnel. No idea what happened. Just replaced with new sturdy wire and the noise gone. Thanks so much. Appreciate your guidance. Cheers.

[JohnMarshall-NI]

Thank you. This is really helpful info. I have a very noisy PRS Standard 24-08. Kind of unplayable at the minute because of the noise. Hopefully I can apply this knowledge to sorting it out!