DiMarzio Forum

DimarzioForum.Com => The Pickup Place => Topic started by: darkbluemurder on September 30, 2021, 04:17:54 AM

Title: Stratocaster Wiring - Watch Your Grounds!
Post by: darkbluemurder on September 30, 2021, 04:17:54 AM

The latest strat set up made problems. I had a bad intermittent cutting in and out in the tone. The culprit? A loose tone pot. Keep in mind that the foil on the back of the pickguard is the ground connection for all pots (this is why the pots are not connected by a wire as in Les Paul guitars) so they need to be screwed to the pickguard tightly for a good ground connection. When I tightend the nut, the intermittent went away.

Hope this helps with troubleshooting.

Cheers Stephan

Title: Re: Stratocaster Wiring - Watch Your Grounds!
Post by: BluesJam on October 17, 2021, 03:20:07 AM

Yeah… not the best way to wire a guitar.  Years ago they had a shielding plate not foil.  You’re  best bet is to ground it the right way. You can’t trust continuity with cheap thin aluminum tape shield.  Ymmv

Title: Re: Stratocaster Wiring - Watch Your Grounds!
Post by: 5150 on November 01, 2021, 06:01:57 PM

I found that I never used the tone pot in my guitars that had them so I just disconnected them.

Title: Re: Stratocaster Wiring - Watch Your Grounds!
Post by: buddroyce on November 01, 2021, 06:21:36 PM

Thanks for sharing the tip!!