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Hi guys, I recently bought this '99 chinese squier strat affinity, and noticed it does some strange noises. not like common static, more like a thin high constant pitch sound. in fact I'm gonna record it. this sound occurs almost exclusively when I have the guitar connected to my sound card, like some sort of interference (it varies if i turn around), but my other guitars don't do it. in fact it also happens on my amp, but i have to turn the volume real high to notice.

the actual problem when it's plugged into the amp is that I have feedback all the time! the guitar keeps screaming, when I have any kind of overdrive, no matter if the gain is really low, nor if I'm holding the strings, I have to turn the volume almost completely down so it will stop. don't need to mention my other guitars don't do it aswell.

I tried to repair, soldering everything again, and better, but it didn't help. still same thing. any ideas what could it be? perhaps a potentiometer? bad pickups? I noticed that some wires leading to the jack are really thin, thinner than any I've seen in other guitars. not sure if it could be related.

here's the sound: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13552865/noise.mp3
first I switched from bridge to neck positions, without touching any metal (reason of the static) then I held the strings, touched the bridge, and switched positions back to bridge. static is gone, but can still hear the interference thing. I noticed that when the switch is positioned between pickups (with 2 of them selected) this sound disappears.
I can't record the feedback, but I believe the cause is the same.

I'm asking here, because I just can't send this guitar to a luthier, can't afford it right now, and I'm using this guitar every week in rehearsals and sometimes playing live. also I have the tools to fix it at home, just need to know what to do.

thanks in advance!

the clip just sounds like digital artifact to me; i hear similar sounds when my mic power supply is off, but still plugged into an input. i'd say its a soundcard/interface thing, and maybe the pickups on the suspect guitar are noisier or higher output, thus you are hearing more [digital]noise through the computer

Could be picking up some type of RF. You could try shielding the control cavities. Single coils are inherently noisier, that's why Gibson invented the PAF.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

thing is, I have a telecaster, with single coils, and it does not do that.

the bigger problem is the screaming when i plug it on my amp. gets everyone mad at the studio, it's horrible!

it does the same thing everywhere.

Sound's like you are missing a ground connection somewhere.
Does the hum go away when you touch the bridge?
The pickup wiring may not be shielded.
To me it sounds like 60Hz line noise.
I'd inspect the wiring.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

That sounds like a grounding/Shielding issue. I also suggest checking your ground wire. Adding more shielding to the electric/pickup are may help. I am not sure how much the squires have. The squealing sounds like loosely wound pickups.

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EddieLee

Have you tried changing your guitar cord?
Might not be the cheap offshore electronics, but you never know until you check.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

You might need to switch the hot and ground leads from your output jack and check that all your connections are good. While you're at it, if it's not a shielded wire, twist hot and ground from the output jack together, it helps tackle some hum.

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It could be one(or more) of the pickups are microphonic. Is it the same at all the switch settings?

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Sounds like cheap crappy microphonic ceramic pickups to me.
Does your Fender Telecaster have the Noiseless Pickups? If so, they're actually humbuckers.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I always find working on cheap guitars like this to be, typically, a waste of time and effort. Other people love doing it though and berate me for suggesting they save a few dollars more to get something worthwhile.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

Bingo, on the spot. No telling what the wiring looks like without tearing it apart.
I had a Chinese guitar that picked up radio stations: the pickup wires had no shielding.
If this is a new guitar, I'd take it back and try another.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah