ASK-HBS: Crosstalk

Question

Hi Humbu,

Have you come across something called crosstalk with 3-way selector switches in a Les Paul-style guitar?

With all my volume and tone controls turned to 0 and my guitar connected to my amp, I can still hear a very small sound output when I strum.

I have rewired this guitar myself, but there still seems to be some form of leakage between ground and the hot output somewhere.

Do think that this could come from a poor 3-way switch, as all the other wiring to the pots and pickups look sound and correct? Would shielding the cavities be a solution?

Thanks for your help. Hope to hear from you soon.

John

Answer

Hello John, thank you for the great question. Many guitars with two humbuckers and a three-way switch are a challenge because of the circuit’s design.

I recommend checking all of your wirings to make sure nothing is coming loose and that no wires are touching. Check the volume pots to make sure the third tab on each has a ground wire to the back of the pot. Most guitars have the tab bent back and soldered directly to the pot. If these tabs aren’t grounded, or the wiring is getting old, it could be the source of your problem.

Usually, the volume pots wear out before the switch, and if one of the controls is bad, it could be allowing some signal to slip through, so I would check them first. I’ve included a diagram that you can use to check your wiring to make sure all of the ground wires are in place. I wasn’t sure what pickups you are using, so the colors might be wrong, but the hot wire goes to the lug of the volume control, and the ground goes to the back of the pot.

Example 1

Hopefully, this helps you out and solves your problem. Let us know how it turns out and if you have any more problems.

Thanks for reading Humbucker Soup!

Ed Malaker