Should all grounds be to the same physical point?

[GuitarDoc]

Well someone just want to be right
or someone else to be wrong

:nana:

I didn't mean for you to take offense.

It's not about wanting "someone" to be right or wrong...it's about getting the correct information out and dispelling the urban myths.

And as you referred to in your post #2, that is correct that the chance of a "loop" of wire that is grounding all of the components acting as an antenna is "very small". So small that it is essentially non-existent.

 

[Chistopher]

If you want to further minimize risk of creating an inadvertent antenna, don't touch any of the metal parts on your guitar, because your body will act as a fairly large antenna if you do.

 

[beaubrummels]

Okay, devil's advocate....

For the most part I agree with everything here.. I occasionally ground on a washer, as mentioned, if there's little room.

However I've also understood that multiple ground paths are bad, so you can't just ground anyway that you can imagine .

Way way way back, when I was just learning, somebody renforced that you want to make sure you don't create a ground loop going from pot to pot to pot to pot in a circle.

Obviously this is overkill, but I guess the thinking is that multiple ground paths allow some electrons to follow a longer or shorter route and maybe that messes with phase?

Really I have no idea. I'm just interested in the input from guys who actually understand the electronics behind modifications.

All grounds go to the ground lug at the jack, so there's no way to create multiple paths to ground - there is only one ground path in a guitar. It would take additional circuitry to deliberately alter the phase of hot/negative in a guitar. Also, the ground wires can't make an antenna either because they aren't part of the hot wires that pass audio signal. Anything going to ground is not heard.

Multiple paths to ground could only happen when you plug two devices into different AC circuits, then connect them together with signal wire, like plugging a mic pre into one circuit, a mixing board into another circuit, then running a mic into the pre then into the board. Now your audio signal is getting ground reference from two different AC circuits.

 

[beaubrummels]

If you want to further minimize risk of creating an inadvertent antenna, don't touch any of the metal parts on your guitar, because your body will act as a fairly large antenna if you do.

If your guitar is properly grounded, this shouldn't happen. That's why guitar bridges have a ground wire. So the bridge, strings, tailpiece and tuners (via the strings) are grounded, sending any stray unwanted signal to ground. Likewise if your pots, switch and other elements are also grounded, then that takes care of it.

 

[ehdwuld]

I didn't mean for you to take offense.

It's not about wanting "someone" to be right or wrong...it's about getting the correct information out and dispelling the urban myths.

And as you referred to in your post #2, that is correct that the chance of a "loop" of wire that is grounding all of the components acting as an antenna is "very small". So small that it is essentially non-existent.

My bad

I may have taken it wrong

We do sheild the control cavity
To prevent only that event

Otherwise there would be no need to

Fluorescent lights used to be horrible

TVs and CRT monitors as well

Those are gone now

 

[Chistopher]

If your guitar is properly grounded, this shouldn't happen. That's why guitar bridges have a ground wire. So the bridge, strings, tailpiece and tuners (via the strings) are grounded, sending any stray unwanted signal to ground. Likewise if your pots, switch and other elements are also grounded, then that takes care of it.

If your guitar is properly grounded, touching the strings turns you into an antenna that shields noise from getting to the guitar. The original post was meant as sarcasm

 

[Mincer]

Plenty of places still have fluorescent lights...and neon. Those still make lots of noise on most guitars.