I am starting to learn the guitar. I have a Peavey Predator and I just put on new tunning pegs and strings. However, when I plug it in to the amp and I touch any of the strings, it gives off heavy static noise through the amp. If I don't touch the strings, it doesn't make any static noise. Also, if I run the pick over the strings without my skin touching the strings, it plays just fine. The problem is when my skin touches the strings that causes this heavy static noise.
Please help!!
Thanks,
sounds like a ground problem. I believe you have a loose wire inside. check the jack connection. does it wiggle, make crackle noises? next open up the guitar and look at all the wire connections.
Has it always done this? Did it make noise when you touched the strings before you changed them? If so it may not have a string ground - a wire that connects the bridge to the ground (and because the strings touch the bridge ground them too). If it just started happening then as dogbite says you likely have a loose wire. It may have come loose at either end - the bridge end or in the control cavity.
You say that just started playing - did you buy this guitar recently? If it's really recent (~30 days) the store you bought it from should take a look at it. If it's longer than that then Peavey has a 2 year warranty on those guitars so they should fix it since this sounds like a manufacturing quality defect. The wire shouldn't have come disconnected in normal use. If you dropped it and then it became disconnected that's a different story.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Thank you for the replies. I will check the ground wire tonight. Thank you both very much.
Try to move the amp from you and the guitar and also another "noisy" sources like computers, TV, AC adaptors, etc. Try to change also your orientation in the room, turning and leaving the amp in a side or behind you.
I had a similar problem and initially I though on a ground problem but simply it was magnetic noise in the pickups.
Good luck!
