stumblinman Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey guys, since previous thread got locked due to differing opinions on lifestyle choices, I thought I'd post a quick msg about what I did. I disconnected the bridge ground wire and it went away. All my other wiring checks out alright, so I guess I don't see why I need the bridge ground. Thanks for all your advice and diagrams, as well as the lively conversations. I knew I came here for a reason. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Great news! I do apologize for my rather abrupt post in the last thread. It's easy to get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 No apologies necessary. I feel the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 My Tele has a bridge ground under it, I think to keep the bridgeplate from becoming energized, and/or to keep ME from becoming the ground in case of a short circuit in the guitar or especially the amp............ Congrats on solving the buzz, but for safetys sake you might want to read up on why it was grounded. I may be completely wrong though, i've seen me do it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 After a bit of consideration, I think Bender is correct. The other end of the bridge ground wire must be touching, or be connected to something live. If it is truly grounded there would be no change in the sound if you touch the bridge. Or one of the live wires from a pickup is touching something?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 It's silent for now, and doesn't shock me when I play, so I'm calling it good until I can open my other LP and compare. I'll do a little drunken soldering this weekend I'm sure. It's odd that it's necessary due to the fact that when you think about it, the strings,bridge and tuners are actually not even touching the other electronics. Why does it need a ground? I can see using it as a safety ground if you are playing and put your mouth on a mic that isn't grounded well and getting zapped that way, but just playing I don't see how it could be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I think it's a phenomenon called induction. The pickups are powered, and magnetic. This causes an electrical field to exist around the pickups. The strings are steel, and close enough to the pickups to become electrified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Ok, after looking inside my other LP, I noticed that the bridge ground was soldered to the neck pickup tone knob, and my humming guitar was to the bridge tone.. switched it and voila, working fine and no more shock worries. Woo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think it's a phenomenon called induction.The pickups are powered' date=' and magnetic. This causes an electrical field to exist around the pickups. The strings are steel, and close enough to the pickups to become electrified.[/quote'] You would be correct. I have been learning about this in my Physics class at school. Inductance and capacitance/capacitors were about the only component of the electromagnetic topic that I enjoyed, because of their relevance to guitars. Essentially, the magnet inside the coils of wire inuduces an electrical current. The movement of the strings over the surface of the pickup causes a change in flux, which in the case of a guitar pickup, is the strength of the magnetic field. Of course, the changing magnetic field causes the induced electrical current to change, and it is this current that is the signal that, in simple terms, is transmitted through to your amplifier, and comes out as sound! This is essentially how a pickup works. Just pure Physics! At least I think I have that right anyway, I might be way off! Sure is interesting anyway! Somewhat strangely, on the day we learned all that stuff, I was awake all night thinking about inductance, magnets, coils, and flux, all in relation to guitar pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Ok' date=' after looking inside my other LP, I noticed that the bridge ground was soldered to the neck pickup tone knob, and my humming guitar was to the bridge tone.. switched it and voila, working fine and no more shock worries. Woo![/quote'] How odd... It really shouldn't matter WHICH pot the bridge ground goes to as long as EVERYTHING is interconnected in the "ground loop" - Pup grounds to back of a pot, bridge ground to the back of a pot, all pots with grounds connecting from pot to pot in a "circle", and finally from the above-mentioned ground loop to the plug-in jack. If by re-soldering to a different pot you have corrected the problem, then BRAVO! Perhaps it was a poor solder joint initially? It's good that you've fixed it, hate to think of playing a git where "YOU are the final leg" of the circuit!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 @animalfarm: I kinda wondered about that too, but I had resoldered that point before to try that, and no dice. I'll chalk this one up to "whatever, it works now". Again guys, thanks for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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