jonesy
GLOBAL WIRING GURU
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I see a lot of posts concerning the different types of grounding used in electric guitars from the wire in the cavity that runs to the tailpiece, or the metal plate that the long shaft pots are mounted to or even the solid ground loop wire used in vintage LP rigs.
There are two types of grounding in your guitar. One type grounds the hardware, strings, switch frame etc. and has nothing to do with the way your volume and Tone controls or input jack works.
The other type is the lugs on your pots that are soldered back to the case, or the "Ground Buss" or "Ground Loop" wire that connects your pots together, or the metal plate that actually acts as a means of grounding the pots together in the factory Long shaft LP harness's, or the ground wire to you input jack.
The two types of grounding do make a connection, but serve different purposes. Here is a post from a recent thread that will explain some of the things I am trying to clear up here.
From this thread: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/98558-grounding-predicament.html
THE TWO TYPES OF GROUNDING...
The outside lug on your volume pots is part of your circuit ground, without them your volume controls will not work right because the signal will not shunt to ground and your volumes will not turn down a ll the way.
The lug soldered back to the case on your Tone pots is part of your circuit and without it your Tone control will not function properly, another shunt to ground
The wire from your switch lug has nothing do do with your signal and only grounds the frame of the switch. Your volume and tone controls will still work without it.
The ground wire from your tailpiece studs grounds your bridge, strings, and stop tailpiece and has nothing to do with the way your volume and Tone controls function and they will work without it.
Your pickups each have a ground wire soldered to the back of the volume pots, without that ground your pickups will not work.
If the ground wire to the tailpiece studs is wired properly you will notice some noise go away when you rest your hand on the strings. This also depends on how much gain you have on your amp at the time.
If you touch the strings or metal hardware on your guitar and the Buzz/Humm get's louder you probably have the + and - reversed on your input jack.
The ground wire that is soldered to the back of your pots is a critical part of your volume and tone circuit and your controls will not work without it unless you have the metal plate installed.
The ground that goes to your input jack must be connected to the back of your pots grounding it into the circuit. It is the neg. - side of your signal and your guitar will not work without it.
Many of you veteran tinkers probably already know most if not all of this, but for some of you new guys I just wanted to try and provide some info about grounding.
As far as "Buzz" & "Humm" Faulty cords and partial, shorts are often the culprit of this as well as bad AC power. But good solder joints, and understanding how things go together properly will help you have a much quieter guitar in the long run.
Keep this in mind whenever you replace pu's or any of the other electrical components in your guitar. Happy Modding and keep the music flowing (without the humm)
There are two types of grounding in your guitar. One type grounds the hardware, strings, switch frame etc. and has nothing to do with the way your volume and Tone controls or input jack works.
The other type is the lugs on your pots that are soldered back to the case, or the "Ground Buss" or "Ground Loop" wire that connects your pots together, or the metal plate that actually acts as a means of grounding the pots together in the factory Long shaft LP harness's, or the ground wire to you input jack.
The two types of grounding do make a connection, but serve different purposes. Here is a post from a recent thread that will explain some of the things I am trying to clear up here.
From this thread: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/98558-grounding-predicament.html
Just wanted to try and clear up a few things about the metal plate and grounding wire that runs to the tailpiece studs.
1.) The metal plate was installed in LP's that used the long-shaft pots to make it easier for the factory to install the electronics, it does not really make your guitar quieter.
2.) The metal plate also grounds all the pots together, without it you will have to run a ground wire to the back of the pots.
3.) If you remove the plate you will also have to rewire the switch and input jack junction that is soldered to the center post of the metal plate.
4.) The ground wire that runs from the tail piece bushings to the pots just grounds the strings and bridge hardware and has nothing to do with whether the metal plate is installed or not.
5.) If you have a bad ground aka "buzzz" and your guitar is noisy it is most likely due to either a poor solder connection, partial short or dirty ac power.
6.) The ground wire from the post to the tailpiece may quiet the buzz slightly when you rest your hand on the strings but it will not eliminate it.
Hope that helps.
THE TWO TYPES OF GROUNDING...
The outside lug on your volume pots is part of your circuit ground, without them your volume controls will not work right because the signal will not shunt to ground and your volumes will not turn down a ll the way.
The lug soldered back to the case on your Tone pots is part of your circuit and without it your Tone control will not function properly, another shunt to ground
The wire from your switch lug has nothing do do with your signal and only grounds the frame of the switch. Your volume and tone controls will still work without it.
The ground wire from your tailpiece studs grounds your bridge, strings, and stop tailpiece and has nothing to do with the way your volume and Tone controls function and they will work without it.
Your pickups each have a ground wire soldered to the back of the volume pots, without that ground your pickups will not work.
If the ground wire to the tailpiece studs is wired properly you will notice some noise go away when you rest your hand on the strings. This also depends on how much gain you have on your amp at the time.
If you touch the strings or metal hardware on your guitar and the Buzz/Humm get's louder you probably have the + and - reversed on your input jack.
The ground wire that is soldered to the back of your pots is a critical part of your volume and tone circuit and your controls will not work without it unless you have the metal plate installed.
The ground that goes to your input jack must be connected to the back of your pots grounding it into the circuit. It is the neg. - side of your signal and your guitar will not work without it.
Many of you veteran tinkers probably already know most if not all of this, but for some of you new guys I just wanted to try and provide some info about grounding.
As far as "Buzz" & "Humm" Faulty cords and partial, shorts are often the culprit of this as well as bad AC power. But good solder joints, and understanding how things go together properly will help you have a much quieter guitar in the long run.
Keep this in mind whenever you replace pu's or any of the other electrical components in your guitar. Happy Modding and keep the music flowing (without the humm)