Grounding a hardtail strat

[superpete]

I just got a XGP hardtail strat body from guitarfetish. It's pretty much exactly what I expected for $79, except there is no hole drilled from the cavity to the bridge to run a ground wire. I'm not opposed to drilling the hole myself if need be, but if there is another way to get the guitar wired and grounded with the body as is, that would be preferred. i've never done a build 100% myself before, i usually leave this stuff to the pros, so if there is an obvious answer go easy on me!

[ErikH]

Get the drill out. Go at an angle to the bridge pickup cavity or control cavity. Doesn't matter where you do it as long as the wire contacts the bridge.

[Ace Flibble]

There's no special secret way to doing it; you gotta get a wire from the bridge to [wherever you're sticking your ground wires, usually the back of a pot]. There's no replacement for a bridge ground wire, no other part you can run a wire to. There has to be a wire under the bridge, no other way.
You can either do it the quick and very messy way of dragging a wire up through the bridge pickup cavity and just running it along the top of the body to the bridge, which usually causes the pickguard to not sit flat and generally looks terrible, or you do it the proper way and drill a hole through to the control cavity.

What I do on my (hardtail) bodies is I use a slightly larger dill bit, usually around 6mm or so, to drill out just a vertical hole right under the bridge, about 5mm deep, then use a smaller bit like 3mm to drill a diagonal (as horizontal as I can get it) hole from that first larger hole through to the control cavity. That way I know there's a good few millimetres of wood above the wire and I'm not at risk of drilling through the top, plus it means there's a little extra room under the bridge to accommodate my sloppy big blobs of solder.
With a Strat, specifically, you can also drill from just inside the front edge of the bridge into the pickup cavity, which is usually a shorter distance to drill than going from the middle of the bridge to the control cavity. Plus if you screw it up there's usually very little of the guitar showing on that part of a Strat, so between the bridge and the pickguard any accidental scratches or haphazard drilling will be hidden.

[superpete]

thanks for the advice! that's what i figured. ironically this is gonna be a jake e lee inspired build, so i briefly considered doing his "over the top/outside the cavity" grounding, but i don't see that being effective long term!

[ErikH]

Honestly, that would certainly work. Especially if you had round tabs on each end. There’s still contact from bridge to ground. But if you want a clean look then go through the body.

[formula73]

Another option: I’m not a big fan of them, but EMGs require no bridge ground.

[ICTGoober]

Fender used to run a brass strip from the bridge pickup on Jazz basses to the bridge. If you choose to drill, a standard 6 inch jobber length drill won't go far enough. I have a collection of 12 inch drills for running control wires. For a ground wire, 1/8 inch diameter is fine. Be very careful about your angle.... I've seen guys drill through the back of the guitar and come out the wrong place.

[ArtieToo]

Another option: I’m not a big fan of them, but EMGs require no bridge ground.

ALL active pups require no bridge ground. Doesn't matter who makes them.

[superpete]

Fender used to run a brass strip from the bridge pickup on Jazz basses to the bridge.

something like this?

[formula73]

ALL active pups require no bridge ground. Doesn't matter who makes them.

I’m aware but in my mind, Active = EMG just like some southerners call any kind of soft drink a Coke lol

[ArtieToo]

I’m aware but in my mind, Active = EMG just like some southerners call any kind of soft drink a Coke lol

I thought they called it a "Dew."

[Ace Flibble]

ALL active pups require no bridge ground. Doesn't matter who makes them.

Not true. Some older Shadow pickups, Dragonfires and Irongear Volts require a bridge ground.

[ItsaBass]

Wire from under bridge, under guard, into bridge pickup cavity. Notch the underside of the guard to accept the wire, or just do what Fender used to do on Jazz Basses, which is to use a thin piece of metal.

[ItsaBass]

1957 hardtail Strat original innards. Ground wire goes through a drilled hole into the control cavity, then to the jack. There are other ways to do it, but this appears to be the original Fender way. Hardtail Strats were first made available as a "delete option" in 1955.

[superpete]

very cool! i'm thinking of just going for it with the drill, gotta learn to do it right at some point!