Pot (etc.) Grounding on Strat

thegummy

I have always ran jump wires between the backs of all the pots, switches etc. and connected that to ground, even though the back of the pickguard is covered in foil. I think I was advised to do that years ago as a failsafe.

But I was reading an article just now that said it's actually better not to attach jumper wires when the pickguard is backed with foil because it's better to only have one path to ground for each component and that would be by touching the foil.

What are the opinions of the forum experts on this?

It would be easier and neater to omit the jumpers but is there any possibility the foil on the pickguard won't be sufficient to ground the pots etc.?

Is it true that having the foil touching the pot as well as a wire soldered to it for ground could create problems?

SteveRobinson

No it isn't true at all. You should keep the wires linking the pots to provide a solid connection.

ICBM

SteveRobinson said:

No it isn't true at all. You should keep the wires linking the pots to provide a solid connection.

+1. The idea that you shouldn't is a misunderstanding of what causes a ground loop.

It *is* true that you should ideally bring all the ground connections to a single place - the back of the volume pot on a master-volume guitar is best - but you won't cause a ground loop by having the tone pots in contact with the shielding as well as connected with a wire.

The stock Fender wiring on Telecasters is to have the jack grounded to the tone pot and the pickups to the volume, with the connection between them purely via the control plate, and that is well-known to cause trouble on old guitars - likewise the jack grounding on Jaguars and Jazz basses where there's no ground wire and it relies on the plate.

sixstringsupplies

I've always added the ground wire as a reinforcement, which got mocked on youtube videos for a while.  That foil is very thin and will wear/lose conductivity quicker than you think. You can of course use a grounding plate/aluminium shielding guard underneath the pickguard, but the problem that @ICBM points out will still be there. Best to just wire the pots together. 

ICBM

One thing that I think often gets missed is that when you use the pots and the shielding as the ground path, it's not just the contact between the threaded bushing and the plate which can come loose or corrode - the pot back is also held to the part with the thread with four folded-over tabs, and these can also work loose.

When you've worked on a lot of old guitars you will be familiar with hum, crackles, loss of volume or complete cutting out (with a very loud hum) caused by contact problems in the ground path when things get old, loose or oxidised - soldering a wire so there is a continuous bonded metal ground connection fixes all of them.

thegummy

Thanks for the feedback.

Shame really, would be so much neater without the jumpers.

For interest's sake here's where I read it:

https://www.fralinpickups.com/2018/11/12/understanding-guitar-grounding/

SteveRobinson

That's mostly tosh.

Especially:
"Creating a loop of ground connections will introduce noise into your signal."

ICBM

A ground loop doesn’t work like that.

thegummy

I was pretty sure I'd actively learned that it's best to use ground jumper wires between components even with a foil scratchplate; I'd never do something like that on my own accord, I would definitely have either learned it or Googled if not sure.

Surprised to see the wrong info on that website though because I've heard Lindy Fralin get a lot of respect on forums.