Grounding question

[rkubik]

Looking to start my wiring on a modified Strat and I had a question on some ground wiring. I will be following the Tiger diagram which I seem to understand by my question is can I take the ground wire from the input jack and use a ring terminal and attach to the body of the guitar rather than the volume pot, and then just solder the pot terminal directly to the pot rather than running a wire from the post to the back of the pot.

My Les Paul has the terminal bent back and soldered right to the back of the pot and I haven't had any problems. It would save me a little time and keep the inside a little cleaner without the extra wires. It is my first build and I want to try and keep it as simple as possible. Any input (experiences) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all

[Mandoborg]

I always solder the ground lug of the pot to the back of the pot itself, then run a wire from there over to the output jack. Having anything in between is just another spot for a bad solder joint i would think.I also run the bridge ground directly to the jack and not any of the pots. I think Waldos schematic shows a piece of copper wire run in the cavity that all the grounds can be soldered to, but i'venever tried that as it would seem to be kind of messy....I'm not sure i understand the question. More info ??

Jim

[TI4-1009]

I thought the grounding "bus wire" in Tiger was an interesting idea. I don't think it's what you find in a typical production guitar. In most guitars the grounding wires connect pot to pot, or bridge to pot, or pickup to pot, or "where ever you can find a ground" and then to the plug ground. So you have almost a ground "web". It looks like Tiger's bus wire is just what the word implies. I replaced the old electric service box in our barn last year and the new one has a ground bus rod. The ground wire from each circuit Romex cable connects to a pole on the ground bus, and the ground bus also has a connection for the main ground that connects to the rod you drive in the ground. It looks like the bare "bus wire" that runs through the cavity in Tiger does the same thing- all the grounds from the pots, pickups, bridge, switches, etc. run directly to the "bus rod (wire)" and the bus wire goes to the ground on the plug jack. It's like doing the grounding in a linear fashion. Do I have that right?

[al.hurst]

Im not entirely sure but I think they used the concept of star gounding. They were trying to avoid ground loops... I have been know to be wrong tho...

[JonnyBoy]

From what I understand, there are two grounds in a guitar, the shield that encapsulates the pots and switches and gathers stray energy to force to ground. Then you have the signal ground conning off the insides of the pots and off the switches. You want to keep those separate, otherwise you are combining the sheild and signal grounding before they reach its final destination at the output jack lug. The backs of the pots would be considered "shielding grounds" rather than signal grounds, thus the bus system to ground the sections of the guitar that processes signals directly. I know waldo has a good grip on it. I am pretty sure that was what was going on considering bus grounding.