Hey Rick,
I have very bad 60 cycles hum coming from my strat while recording.
There must be something that can be done to eliminate this noisy nuissance.I know you set up your own strats,and i was wondering if
you know any tricks.I'm getting desperate.I use a noise gate in between
my guitar and amps. Scott



(originally posted to old forum at an earlier date)

Well, Scott, my Srats are wired in a stock fashion, without any added shielded cable, or cavity shielding etc. They are nevertheless quieter than modern guitars due to the metal plate that is under the pickguard and that came stock on '60 Strats.

This plate is a thick tin sheet the full size of the pickguard. It makes an excellent shield and cuts the noise by about half, which is far superior to the little strip of tin foil used in Strats today. I suggest you cut your own out of a sheet of tin, or see about finding an original one. The thicker the metal, the better the shielding effect.

I also have a can of shielding paint for the body cavities, but I haven't gotten around to painting them yet. It is also possible to paint the insides of the pickup covers in order to shield them. I don't recommend that you paint the underside of the pickguard instead of making a plate however, as the tin plate is a much better shield.

One of my Strats has a middle pickup that is of reverse magnetic polarity. This creates a hum-bucking effect when using the middle pickup combined with either of the others.

The wire to the jack should be shielded.

Keep all pickup wires as short as possible.



(originally posted to old forum at an earlier date)

Thanks Rick,i'll get to it right away.And Rick, the Twin and the Marshall are sounding devine
as usual.Keep up the good work........




(originally posted to old forum at an earlier date)