Weird electrical noise coming from my Jazzmaster

[orenono]

Hi!
I just got a slightly used Squier Jazzmaster Classic Vibe guitar and there appears to be an issue with the electronics.
Whenever I play notes on the guitar there is a weird, distorted noise in the background. When I stop playing that noise disappears.
I have a bunch of guitars/amps and I've never encountered this issue. I obviously tested the guitar with different amps/cables + checked my other guitars with the same setup to make sure that all the other components are working properly. I have recorded a few of minutes of me playing some notes on the guitar so you can hear the noise I was talking about.
Here is the recording I've made:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wvtaJC ... sp=sharing

If anyone has a suggestion of what might cause this noise issue please let me know as I'm out of ideas.

Thank you so much!

[DeathJag]

Dang that would drive me up the wall! It sounds like it’s a circuit thing, but one time I had a speaker that was just barely blown (slightly torn) and it kind of sounded like that, on certain notes.

[orenono]

Unfortunately it’s definitely not an amp/speaker issue as I have tried connecting the guitar to all of my amps and tested those amps with different guitars/cables.

[andy_tchp]

I've heard similar due to faulty/dodgy 3-way switches being used in the middle position. The terminals don't make a solid enough connection (they're effectively 'unloaded' in the middle position) and vibrate with the rest of the instrument leading to this type of noise.

Does the problem persist if you switch to the neck or bridge pickup on its own?

[orenono]

Andy,
The issue persists in all three pickup positions.

[andy_tchp]

The other time I've encountered similar, the string ground wedged between the body and the vibrato plate had sunk into the finish and wasn't making a solid continuous contact. This created static-ey noise as the strings/body vibrated.

[øøøøøøø]

Play open strings with one hand. With the other hand, press firmly on many different areas of the pickguard, and on each knob, pickup and switch in turn, to see if applying mechanical pressure in any area causes the symptom to change, improve, or worsen.

[orenono]

Play open strings with one hand. With the other hand, press firmly on many different areas of the pickguard, and on each knob, pickup and switch in turn, to see if applying mechanical pressure in any area causes the symptom to change, improve, or worsen.

Thank you! I tried your suggestion and it seems that the problem lies in the rhythm selector. I also removed the pickguard to see if there’s anything visible that may cause the issue but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I think my next step would be to remove the rhythm circuit all together since I will never use it. Hopefully that will solve the noise issue.

[øøøøøøø]

Play open strings with one hand. With the other hand, press firmly on many different areas of the pickguard, and on each knob, pickup and switch in turn, to see if applying mechanical pressure in any area causes the symptom to change, improve, or worsen.

Thank you! I tried your suggestion and it seems that the problem lies in the rhythm selector. I also removed the pickguard to see if there’s anything visible that may cause the issue but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I think my next step would be to remove the rhythm circuit all together since I will never use it. Hopefully that will solve the noise issue.

The solution is probably far, far easier than that!

"I never use it" is useful info here... most likely the switch has oxidized inside since it's never used. You could probably burnish the contacts just by cycling the switch back and forth a whole bunch of times.

If that doesn't work, a squirt of DeOxit, Blue Shower, or some other sort of electronics contact cleaner would probably do the trick. No need to even turn a screw! If you're playing electric guitars it's a decent idea to have a can of that stuff around, anyway.

What WD40 is for home repairs, DeOxit is for electronics troubleshooting.