Static noise and grounding on GFI-II pickup

Henry Schuellerman · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

Hi all- I am experiencing some issues with a static crackling noise coming through my amp when I touch any of the metal pedals or levers. It is the same issue Harvey mentions in this thread -

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=403371

I've ruled out bad cables, noisy volume pedal pot, tested with different amps, and using several different outlets in my apartment. The legs seem to be making contact with the body (like Harvey mentioned in his thread). Still having the problem. I called GFI (awesome customer support) and the guy said he's not sure what could be causing the static crackling- he said the GFI pickups are grounded, but it could have gone bad, which would be odd since it is not very old.

This issue only became noticeable the past two weeks (cold & dry in Ohio). Would a room humidifier in my music room help you guys think? Could the pick-up grounding point have come loose and need reconnected? Does anyone have insight on how the GFI pickups are grounded / where on the metal frame?

Going to have my electronically-minded buddies take a look at it, but any advice would be much appreciated.
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Scott Swartz · From: St. Louis, MO

You need a multimeter and and alligator clip leads as discussed in the other thread to determine what needs to be grounded.

Does your model of GFI have the powder coated endplates, per that thread Harvey's steel did and just screwing in the legs was not enough to make electrical contact. A multimeter will prove or not if you have electrical continuity.
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Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
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Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

With the plugin going through the metal frame on a GFI. You may want to reach under the guitar hold the plug end and put a wrench on plug in nut, Loosen it, And retighten it. Just to make sure the plug in has good contact with the metal frame. About every thing is grounded to the frame through the pull rods and changer.

With low humidity, Some shoe soles, Synthetic cloth clothes and certain plastics can cause static electric problems. When the humidity gets low things just gets worse.
In winter I have to run a humidifier to keep static electric down.

Henry Schuellerman · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

I think the static has been solved! I thought I'd share all this incase someone deals with the same noise issue down the line...

The endplates where the legs screw in aren't fully powder coated, so they should be making proper contact. I've tried a few things out the past week or so. I tested the outlet for proper grounding, which it was. I've been running a humidifier for a few days too.

Then, I had my friend/veteran steeler/electronic wiz check out my GFI. We tested the GFI-II pickup with a multimeter, and it was good. He noticed that the pick up was loose. There's a strip of foam stuck to the bottom of the GFI pickup where it makes contact with the body- likely to reduce vibrations and clanking sounds being transmitted through the pickup. It seems over the years, the foam has compressed/collapsed with age and time... resulting in the pickup being quite low, insecure, and probably picking up extra noise. We carefully removed the old foam and replaced it with this white synthetic-cotton springy pad material he had for this purpose (he's always working on old steels). Like the stuff they put in jewelry boxes. Should be a better alternative to foam since it won't deteriorate. We put the strings back on, set the pick-up height, and no more static noise!

I've only been able to test it for about an hour in music room (humidifier running and new volume pedal too), but so far so good.

Henry
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Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Well that's good news and important information. Thanks for the feedback.

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