kekker
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Post by kekker on Oct 19, 2013 12:04:51 GMT -5
I don't quite get ground wiring in a guitar. I want to do a mod called Super Seven Switching, on 1728.com, on my two humbucker guitar, but I have no idea how or where I'm supposed to ground a wire. I know it doesn't get grounded to the wood, because that would be stupid, but I honestly have no idea what else would be considered "ground". Help?
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Post by newey on Oct 19, 2013 22:52:28 GMT -5
kekker-
Hello and Welcome to G-Nutz2!
In a guitar, the ultimate ground, to which every thing else marked "Ground" connects, is the "barrel" or "sleeve" connection of the output jack. This is connected, in turn, to the "ground" wire of the guitar cable (when a cable is plugged into the output jack) and from there to ground of the amp circuit.
But, it's tough to solder more than one or perhaps two wires to the output jack barrel lug itself- the lug doesn't really lend itself to sticking a half-dozen different wires on there. So usually, all the grounds are run to a convenient grounding point, and then a single wire runs from the grounding point to the output jack sleeve lug, tying all the grounds together.
Often, the grounding point is the back of one of the potentiometers, but you can use anything that you can solder a bunch of wires onto, such as a ring connector or a washer. Either of these can then be secured to the side of the cavity with a screw, or can float "free" in the cavity if it's insulated with electrical tape against contact with a "hot" wire. I have also used a straightened paper clip, with both ends formed into loops and screwed into the side of the cavity, this makes a nice linear "grounding buss".
Regardless of which of these methods you use, clean the surface to which you will be soldering to remove any oils (I use isopropyl alcohol). You may want to use a bit of abrasive- sandpaper, for example, to "roughen" the back of a pot, if that's what you are using. It's hard to solder to a smooth surface.
And, before I get a correction from someone, let me point out that we use terms such as "ground","negative","hot","positive" as a shorthand. They are an arbitrary way to distinguish between the two signal-carrying wires in a guitar. These terms have a real meaning in a DC circuit, but a guitar pickup is an AC generator, where "hot" and "ground" switch around many times in a second. It's just easier to talk of guitar wiring using such terms, so long as we realize they represent only a momentary reality.
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Post by ux4484 on Oct 20, 2013 9:50:38 GMT -5
It's just easier to talk of guitar wiring using such terms, so long as we realize they represent only a momentary reality. Newey inadvertently also nails the meaning of life.
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Post by ashcatlt on Oct 20, 2013 11:57:23 GMT -5
And, before I get a correction from someone, let me point out that we use terms such as "ground","negative","hot","positive" as a shorthand. They are an arbitrary way to distinguish between the two signal-carrying wires in a guitar. These terms have a real meaning in a DC circuit, but a guitar pickup is an AC generator, where "hot" and "ground" switch around many times in a second. It's just easier to talk of guitar wiring using such terms, so long as we realize they represent only a momentary reality. You've got to be kind of careful there. "Ground" is a reference voltage or point against which all the other voltages in the circuit are measured. For the most part, anything we plug a guitar into will be measuring the input voltage on the tip of the cable with respect to the sleeve. It is true that they switch around as to which is more positive than the other as the strings wiggle, but the designation of ground can't and won't change with it. So "positive" and "negative" (or + and - ) designations are improper in guitar wiring without some qualification. One might say that a given wire will always be positive with respect to another when the strings move toward the pickup, which would give an indication of the absolute polarity of the system, but just saying that it's the + wire is not really correct. Despite the fact that I have in the past been known to say that "ground ain't ground till it's ground", I think that it is fairly safe and accurate to call the jack sleeve as ground, and I guess if "hot" means "not ground" rather than "more positive"...
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kekker
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Post by kekker on Oct 20, 2013 16:08:12 GMT -5
Thank you so much, Newey. That explained even more than I thought it would; some the wires in the back of my guitar are soldered to the back of a pot, and I'd been wondering why. Is it safe to assume that's the grounding point?
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Post by newey on Oct 20, 2013 22:57:13 GMT -5
Yup, that's it. You should see the jack sleeve wired to there as well. If the back of one pot is used as a grounding point, the other pot backs are usually also connected to it, so that all the pot casings are grounded.
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kekker
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Post by kekker on Oct 21, 2013 11:38:44 GMT -5
Ok thanks.
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