String Ground

[CaliforniaGuitars]

i have to wire a few guitars and wanted to know if it is optional to ground the bridge and strings? is the string ground a safety measure or only needed to decrease hum if present? we are using tone pros wraparound bridges and i believe they may have a coating on them that might not conduct a ground anyway? thanks

 

[Zerberus]

Re: String Ground

With Actives, the ground can be left off, in fact EMG even recommends it.

With a perfect shielding job, it can also be left off with passives.... A shielding job this perfect is near impossible, especially with single coils.... Humbuckers you´ll be more likely to get away without it.

What I do (IIRC I picked it up from Dan Erlewine...): I splice a 220k resistor and a 500V / .001 MicroFarad cap (wired in parallel to each other) into the bridge ground.... Should a shock be coming your way, it´ll only let about 40 volts through, while not impeding the function of the string ground... Metal pots or Jacks can still zap you, though

 

[Robert S.]

Re: String Ground

Guitar manufacturers put the string ground there for a reason. Zerb knows his stuff and in a perfect world with perfect conditions you might get away without one. Too bad I dont live on that planet. Most places I play have either funky grounds, lighting spliced into the stage power or something else that makes for noisey conditions.

My big rule is always CYA.

 

[CaliforniaGuitars]

Re: String Ground

ok, thanks for the info - i'll definitely do the string grounds...