Guitar wiring question

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Josh380

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I'm planning on going though my guitar and rewiring the pots, pickups, the switch and output jack. I'm also planning on lining the cavity with copper tape (with conductive adhesive).

Since I'm using the tape and rewiring everything (I suspect the ground wires are all connected to a single ground point, causing a ground loop and some annoying hum--it's been a while since I've looked inside), should I eliminate the original grounding wires and make sure all components are making contact with the shielding tape (maybe leaving just the output jack grounded via wire), or leave the original design intact in addition to the shielding?
 

RFI-EMI-GUY

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single point grounding

Since your copper foil is intended to shield the conductors you don't want to have any excess current flow from the pickups (or other ground point) passing through it. Simply clean up the original single point connections and add a corner of your new shielding foil to it.

Single point ground is meant to eliminate ground loop.

You should also photograph and sketch the original connections before you tear into it as the original design may have had details such as ground conductors and twisted pairs optimized for hum pick up.
 

ElroyJetson

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Rather than use copper tape, which is difficult to wrangle in a control cavity, get a can of the conductive shielding paint sold by Stewart-Macdonald. Much easier.

Pro tip: A hair dryer or heat gun set to low can be used to dry the stuff and make it ready for a second
coat in minutes rather than the hours suggested on the can.


I've built quite a few guitars. I'm a semi-pro luthier, not being a professional simply because it's not a business, it's a hobby.
 

KI7HYI

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I'm planning on going though my guitar and rewiring the pots, pickups, the switch and output jack. I'm also planning on lining the cavity with copper tape (with conductive adhesive).

Since I'm using the tape and rewiring everything (I suspect the ground wires are all connected to a single ground point, causing a ground loop and some annoying hum--it's been a while since I've looked inside), should I eliminate the original grounding wires and make sure all components are making contact with the shielding tape (maybe leaving just the output jack grounded via wire), or leave the original design intact in addition to the shielding?


Have you confirmed that none of the pickup coils have picked up a short to it's cover?
 

Josh380

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I actually made a mistake in my original post. There were two ground points instead of one. Cleaned it up, and it definitely reduced hum, but it's still there.
 
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