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Post by duendeyerbero on Sept 23, 2008 23:06:25 GMT -5
I now this topic is recurrent, sorry! but I´m a newbie and reading the articles and stuff disipates a lot of questions, but creates a couple on the way... I read the article about shielding in the Guitar nuts site and it´s very clear, except for a couple of things (for me): the grounding of the strings is acomplished by screwing the ground wire with a ring terminal to the shielded cavity? If not, how is it done? And: If I don´t want to use the .33uf 400V cap, where do I put all of the grounds? to the volume pot? I was also looking at the wiring diagram for the series-parallel strat from ChrisK ( in the thread below mine) and it made me wonder what the cavity ground and string ground wires meant (Understand that my only background is the guitar nut article, wich changes a lot of the wiring compared to the wiring diagram mentioned here) ... Are they just a wire from the shielded cavity to the pot and the ground wire from the bridge also soldered to the pot? Thanx for the help in advance!
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Post by ashcatlt on Sept 24, 2008 0:40:44 GMT -5
The shielding article is, I think, the main reason most people end up here. There's other great stuff on that site, but...
Yes, just screw the string ground into the cavity and let the shield carry the connection from there.
The easiest way to eliminate the safety cap from QTB is to replace it with a straight wire.
If the shield in all of the cavities are continuous together, and the body of the volume pot touches the shield (like on the pickguard) then you don't need a wire for that. If you've screwed the bridge ground into the shielding (as above) then you don't need a wire for that.
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Post by D2o on Sept 24, 2008 9:21:48 GMT -5
DDB, Also, if you want some really good pics of the QTB mod and shielding, have a look at angelodp's work (the pics toward the bottom of the thread). D2o
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Post by duendeyerbero on Sept 24, 2008 13:15:11 GMT -5
Great pics! And great info, thanx a lot! ;D
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 11:16:50 GMT -5
HELP!!!! I shielded my guitar but............there´s absolutely no sound!!!!!! I don´t know what could it be......help please!!!! Here´s a pic, thanx a lot!! I didn´t use the 400V cap so I just soldered the grounds of the pickups to the volume pot. Also, I removed the grounds that went from the tone pots to the volume pot. And the bridge pickup is a seymour duncan Parallel Axis Stack® PA-STK1n, with four leads. I soldered the red and white ones togheter, red and bare to ground and black as the hot. Is it ok? Any toughts???
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Post by ashcatlt on Oct 2, 2008 11:36:21 GMT -5
That's a big pic. Works fine on my fancy new monitor, but it might freak out those with smaller screens and/or slower connections. I'm not seeing anything that jumps out at me as wrong. I can't tell where that black wire goes from the back of the tone pot, though. Then, I'm confused by this: I soldered the red and white ones togheter, red and bare to ground and black as the hot. Is it ok? Any toughts??? That can't be right, can it? Are there 2 red wires?
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 11:43:45 GMT -5
sorry! My bad. I meant: red and white together, green and bare to ground and black as hot. I´ll fix the pic right away. hey, your right...That wire is going to the plate of the switch...that´s strange.... That´s a ground loop right?
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Post by ashcatlt on Oct 2, 2008 12:14:53 GMT -5
I suppose technically it is. It's not carrying any signal, though, aside from the noise on the shield. Since you've got it open anyway, you could remove it.
Now that I've got my eyes in, the area where the output cable meets the volume pot is slightly suspect. You're sure there's no inadvertant contact there between the hot and ground side?
When you say no sound, you mean nothing at all in any switch and/or pot position? Is there a hum or buzz from the amp, or relative silence?
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Post by D2o on Oct 2, 2008 12:15:23 GMT -5
Hi DDB, I can't tell if you have a hot wire coming off of the middle terminal of the volume pot to the tip of the output jack. If you don't ... certainly you will not get any output. The rest of it will likely work, although I have shown a couple of options ... for whatever they're worth. D2o P.S. Not that it matters, but is this an Aria guitar, by chance?
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 12:39:41 GMT -5
Ok, the hot wire from the middle terminal to the output IS connected, and I think is not making any contact with the ground......I also removed that black wire, but still no sound... and I mean NO sound, nothing, in any possition.... The guitar is a Squier STRAT. One thing...I replaced the output jack, so I went to the electronics shop and asked for a mono jack, 1/4. Is that correct? I´m I missing something there? Thanx!
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Post by D2o on Oct 2, 2008 13:19:17 GMT -5
good
Is this the same when the pickguard is both on and off the guitar?
Do you happen to have a link to any wiring diagram you are using?
Yeah, 1/4 mono is the one.
How about your soldering iron? - Is it in good condition? - Is it clean? - Is the tip clean and tinned? - What wattage is it? - Are you allowing it to heat up well before doing any soldering? - otherwise you could end up with a non-conductive ("cold") solder joint.
D2o
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 13:36:34 GMT -5
Ok I got some interesting info!! When the volume pot is not touching the shielding, the guitar works, but when I screw the pot back int the pickguard and it touches the shielding, it stops working..... To see if there´s any signal or sound I touch the pickups with the magnetized tip of a screw driver.
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Post by D2o on Oct 2, 2008 13:50:03 GMT -5
Ok I got some interesting info!! When the volume pot is not touching the shielding, the guitar works, but when I screw the pot back int the pickguard and it touches the shielding, it stops working..... To see if there´s any signal or sound I touch the pickups with the magnetized tip of a screw driver. That's interesting, and along the lines of why I was asking about when the pickguard is both on and off.You can always take a bit of plastic from a margarine tub lid (or whatever) and cut out a little donut shape collar to fit around the pot shaft - between the pot and the shield, so that the pot no longer contacts the shield. That may eliminate your short-circuit. It may also take away some of the benefit of the shielding ... but at least your guitar would be functional. D2o
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 13:54:18 GMT -5
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Post by D2o on Oct 2, 2008 14:02:48 GMT -5
Yes, but, I tought the pots had to touch the shielding.....so, wich parts have to touch the shielding and wich ones don´t? The screws from the pickups? The pots? the switch? Thanks for the help! You are learning, grasshopper It may also take away some of the benefit of the shielding ... but at least your guitar would be functional. D2o So, yes, when the volume pot is not touching the shielding, it kinda defeats the benefit of shielding, but at least your guitar would be functional so you can assess what you've got. We aren't necessarily done yet. D2o
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 2, 2008 14:09:12 GMT -5
Grasshopper..... ;D jajaja. Thanks a lot D2o, you´re always a great help!
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Post by duendeyerbero on Oct 3, 2008 13:15:18 GMT -5
heyyyy guess what??? problem solved!! The problem was the coaxial wire.... the hot was touching ground.... I rewired it and presto!! Thanks !!!! Now onto my next scary project.....
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Post by D2o on Oct 3, 2008 13:28:31 GMT -5
heyyyy guess what??? problem solved!! The problem was the coaxial wire.... the hot was touching ground.... I rewired it and presto!! Thanks !!!! Now onto my next scary project..... Good stuff, DDB. Go to it, Nut!® (and you know I mean nut in the best possible way). D2o
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