Noise issue 2016 SG Std T

[charriman]

Perhaps a grounding issue? Noisy when my hands are off of the strings. Goes away when i touch the strings/tailpiece/bridge etc.
I checked continuity with my mulitimeter between the tailpiece and the sleeve of the output jack.
That seems to be ok. The other issue is that both of the volume pots are scratchy when turned and the switch is a little noisy as well.
Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[donepearce]

You need to screen the control cavity. What is happening is this. You body is acting as a giant "antenna" for want of a better word. It is coupling the noise into the live wiring of the control cavity just by its proximity. When you touch the strings, you are grounding your body. It is then not an antenna.

To verify if this is the case. Rest the guitar some way from your bady, ojn a table maybe. Do you still hear the noise? Touch the strings. Does it go away? If the noise is only evident when the guitar is close to you, this is the issue.

If not, come back and we can have another go.

Volume pots and switch will probably respond to some electronic cleaning fluid.

 

[Col Mustard]

+1 on that. An excellent suggestion. But I believe all the 2016s have
the PCB board...

If the guitar is new, then it's under warranty and should be examined by an authorized
Gibson warranty-work shop, and repaired there if necessary. (they will pull out the PCB and
install another one that doesn't make noise).

If you bought the guitar used, then it's your problem to solve. Here's how:
First check the cable by replacing that.
Next check the amp by plugging into something else.
Next, follow Don's instructions above...

If your buzz persists and your pots are scratchy, I'd simply remove the whole PCB board
and install a good wiring harness, made the traditional way. Or look to see if someone else
is offering a drop-in replacement PCB. Players mostly hate those, and many of us just
pull them out and replace with good quality parts.

Here's a wiring harness assembled by Sigler Music for fifty bucks:
http://www.siglermusiconline.com/pr...arness-cts-500k-pots-switchcraft-pio-caps-new

I ordered one from here for my Epiphone ES-339, and am very happy with it. You can spend a little less
and do all the labor yourself, but this seems like a pretty good deal to me. You can spend more on harness
from other outfits, and I have done so, but I like what I got from Sigler, so recommend it.

The advantage of the PCB board (as I see it) is the quick connectors for the pickups and
the supposed reliability of the manufactured unit. But I don't own one in any of my guitars.
The disadvantage for players like us is that once you have a problem, you might as well
yank it all out and replace the whole shebang, rather than replacing one scratchy pot.

Every player should read and keep this book: "How to make your Electric Guitar Play Great"
by Dan Erlewine. This tells you most of what you need to know and shows you with great
illustrations. Highly recommended.

Every member of this forum should own this video:
http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/DVD/How_to_Wire_a_Gibson_Guitar_DVD.html
This shows you step by step how Dan goes bout replacing wiring on a Gibson guitar, and
I've used it myself when I was learning. Very informative and clear.

Good luck!

 

[Biddlin]

If it's under warranty, see the Gibson dealer.

 

[charriman]

i was hoping to avoid a warranty call. but one more question? Would scratchiness in both volume pots be caused by a grounding issue as well? i'd kind of doubt they were both dirty as the scratchiness on both is within the first 1/3 of a turn.

 

[donepearce]

No, scratchiness in pots is bad pots.

 

[syscokid]

Welcome to ETSG. Don't beat yourself over this and handle this as a warranty issue. Probably somewhere in the pcb and it's components were damaged during assembly. How's the rest of the guitar?

 

[charriman]

rest of the guitar is fine. i really like it. Just this issue is making me batty. ;-)

 

[Biddlin]

rest of the guitar is fine. i really like it. Just this issue is making me batty. ;-)

If you are in the contiguous 48 states, call their customer service number. They may just send you a new pcb in the post, or refer you to your local shop for repair. It is literally a 10 minute swap, even for an old arthritic klutz.

 

[Col Mustard]

yes, the quick change connectors should help in this situation.

But Don's suggestion of some DeOxit sprayed into the pots might help that situation --and would do
no harm... So it's worth a try, and worth having some around. Pots are
not complicated, they are 19th century technology I believe. You can get the stuff at Radio Shack
or maybe some guitar stores. It does help, I've used it multiple times.

The ground buzz should NOT be there. I own two SGs and they make no noise. One's got stock
wiring (but no PCB) and one's got a replacement harness. You should not have to put up with that.
I'd invoke Gibson's warranty before it expires.

 

[syscokid]

rest of the guitar is fine. i really like it.

How about a nice pic of that fine guitar. This will get the Welcome Wagon out more enthusiastically. Bonus points if you can get Kate Upton to pose with it, too...

 

[charriman]

Here is a pic as requested :-) I'll start with trying to clean the pots and messing with the connectors as the closest "authorized" warranty service center is about an hour away. That's why i'd rather try to remedy it myself before taking that route.

 

[syscokid]

Here is a pic as requested :-) I'll start with trying to clean the pots and messing with the connectors as the closest "authorized" warranty service center is about an hour away. That's why i'd rather try to remedy it myself before taking that route.

That's understandable. Well then... Shoot contact cleaner into the 3-way switch, too. Look for any warpage from the pcb. With the SG plugged into a live amp, with a non-conductive source like a wooden skewer, start applying pressure and tapping all over the pcb and all the components: pots, switch, jack, little-crappy ceramic caps, pup wires, and tailpiece ground wire.

Unplug all the connectors, and shoot the cleaner into the male and female ends... (unleash the jokes, now)

How's your soldering skills?

 

[charriman]

i can solder pretty well. But, if i can solve it without breaking the weller out, i'd prefer that route. i'm going to try the contact cleaner route first.

 

[JohnnyGoo]

Beautiful SG

 

[syscokid]

i can solder pretty well.

Cool... I asked that just in case simple diagnostics and a warranty recourse doesn't work out for you. Exile that modern sh!t back to Gibson, and go Old School...

 

[SGspecial]

I had the exact same problem. To make a long story short, I ended up removing the PCB and replacing everything with quality components. The 2016 SG Std T is a good guitar for the money, but every manufacturer has to use shortcuts when the bean counters tell them it has to sell at a certain price point.

Here's the problem:

EVIL!

The money spent was well worth it to me. This guitar NOW is one of the best guitars I've owned.

 

[donepearce]

Can you get your meter and check that the four pot bodies are connected to ground?

 

[donepearce]

If you feel like screening this, it is easy. All you need is some foil on the back of the cover plate. Just make sure that has a connection to ground by some means - doesn't need to be a soldered wire.

 

[flatrockmobile]

Before you do anything, do the warranty thing. If they have to pay for enough repairs of this sort, then they should alter their processes at the factory level.
A soldering iron would surely void the warranty.
Welcome and keep us posted.