My ranger crackles ... read on .. :-)

[juan_10]

First the customary tip of the hat to all the experts on the forum , hi all .. Where is this mysterious crackling coming from ,what's up with my Mosrite Ranger ?

Yep , when I rub my finger tip on the scratch plate about an inch or so below where the pickup selector switch is ... the guitar makes a crackling noise..a bit like static.
I haven't delved under the scratchplate yet but just wonder what i might expect the problem to be ... is the plastic of the scratch plate a natural static electricity generator?
Or is it some electrical component that's too close to the underside of the scratchplate ..? I guess my honeymoon period is over here at mosrite rangerville ... now begins the tinkering

Not that I habitually rub fingertips on scratchplates whilst playing ..but it's really quite loud when you turn it up . First guitar I've met that does this .. otherwise there's nothing to suggest an earth problem.

What do you reckon ? get a Hallmark ? (just kidding )

[juan_10]

I used Search , and found this thread viewtopic.php?f=20&t=235
Looks like the area producing the crackles is just over where the earth cable runs from the toggle switch over to the first of the two pots.
Maybe the cable is touching the underside of the scratchplate just there ? Anyway the thread I found will for sure help me when I get it open

[arpsum]

First of all, please let me see the pix of the hookup of your Ranger. Maybe I can help you with my experience.

[juan_10]

Thanks for the offer my friend ..I'll get the scratchplate off and take a couple of pictures when my pal with the mobile phone/camera comes calling..
it won't be too long a wait.. for sure by sunday ..
I'm glad to have some help on this .. I hope you've all been rubbing your scratchplates seeing if your guitar crackles as well

thanks juan

[juan_10]

Here's the pictures of the wiring under the scratchplate .. I noticed the two wires (arrowed) from the volume to the tone control were touching the shielding tape , so I bent them up and away from the tape .
However it didn't cure the crackling noise I get .. it does seem to be static charge , it just needs a few rubs on the scratchplate to build up enough to start the thing crackling .. no hums or clicks otherwise though .. it's still a mystery to me .. hope the photo's help!

cheers Juan

[dubtrub]

Here's a post I made last year about this same problem. It still occurs on all my hot pickup clones including the bass and doubleneck. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=122

[juan_10]

Thanks Danny , sorry I didn't find it using search ... ( I did look though).. I thought maybe if I got some of that shielding tape and put it under the toggle switch to match that under the tone and volume controls .. trouble is it would maybe then cause an earth loop because the switch is earthed itself ...
Glad I'm not the only one though , there is some comfort in company

Cheers juan

[dubtrub]

When I made that post I had Hallmark pup's in those guitars. I have since changed them out to Ed Elliott's pup's and they have the same static popping sound. I own a '64 and a '66 Ventures model and they too make the crackle sound. Apparently I'm picking up static electricity from my carpet. When I play at other locations outside my home I don't get the static sound.

[oipunkguy]

maybe it could be just a simple thing like a dusty pot. I would try picking up some electronics cleaner and spray the underside of the pot, and roll it around to lube it. if this fixes the problem then great, if it doesn't, then no harm done.

I've had to do repairs in the past where I had to just plain change out a pot because the crackling noise kept coming back, but after I made the switch the problem was solved. just to give you ideas what might fix the problem. sometimes this stuff is hard to figure out unless you have the guitar in hand. keep us posted what happens

Awesome guitar by the way

[arpsum]

Hi Juan, I'm sorry to have been late. I have some advice to you.

First, please check whether the soldering was well done on the housing of volume pot and shield wire from selector switch. As far as my experiences, the long wire from selector switch to volume pot tends to an antenna for noise.

Second, you had better replace the wire around the outpust jack from single lead wire to shield wire. Please remember, the ground terminal of output jack should be main ground point. However you made efforts to remove the noise at another place, noise would remain with no shield wire around the output jack.

And the last, it may be the most effective modification, you had better put the alminium sheet tapes on each cavity and bonding them with the terminal of output jack. I posted my own modification here last year, please make your reference.