Does The Bridge Have To Be Grounded?

[PunkRockerLuke]

Does the bridge have to be grounded on my electric guitar?? I'm using a hardtail bridge.

[unclej]

yes it does..if not you'll get hum.

[PunkRockerLuke]

I'm using a humbucker.

[GregP]

Doesn't matter. Humbuckers do their best to reduce hum, but they never completely eliminate it. With my humbucker-equipped guitars, there's a significant noise cut just by touching the strings or bridge.

Greg

[Southpa]

There is no relationship between using hum or single coil and grounding your bridge anyway.

[George Brown]

if you can ground your bridge then yes by all means do so, hum (rf intferecne) can get into your guitar by other means than just the pick-ups guitar nuts has a very interesting article on sheilding here

but there was another actilce i couldnt find the jist of it was the strings ground you not the other way round. when you are not grounding your body attractes rf interfernce but when you are grounded it does the opposite, i think thats how it went but dont take my word as the all knowing truth it may still be on the site have a look for it.

[Jaam]

What about if the bridge is made of bone?

[George Brown]

if the bridge is made of bone it cannot be grounded as bone does not conduct electrisity. ill guess that your talking about an acoustic guitar which has a pezio pickup, to my knowledge at least these are not subseptible to rf interference as they operate on presure and virbrations rather than electromagnetic feilds

[Jaam]

Actually I meant the Myka style bridge

[George Brown]

nice guitar, but of course its still bone so it cant be string grounded

[rhoads56]

probably has a metal insert in the tail piece, which is grounded. But, arent those bartolini pickups active?? A quick search could tell me either way.

[mammoth guitars]

Ultimately its the strings that need to be grounded as the hum or buzz occurs when you are not touching a grounded point. That being said when using a non-conductive bridge on a guitar with magnetic pickups the strings need to be grounded in some manner. I am not sure how this is accomplished on the Myka guitar, perhaps through the tailpiece.

[George Brown]

although string grounding is benifitial it is not a nesesaty, the strings on a les paul are not grounded are they?

[rhoads56]

yes it IS necessary (except in some rare occasions, determined by the pickup manufacturers specifications, eg: EMG). Les Pauls are all grounded.

[Mattia]

What Perry Said. Most TOM guitars I've seen have grounded bridge or tailpiece studs.

[George Brown]

i stand correted on the les paul front, but for arguments sake i took of the back plate of my chepo encore and diconnected the string ground and it still works

[mammoth guitars]

i stand correted on the les paul front, but for arguments sake i took of the back plate of my chepo encore and diconnected the string ground and it still works

Disconnecting the bridge ground wire will not affect whether the pickups are working. If the strings are not grounded you will hear hum on higher gain settings.

[rhoads56]

i stand correted on the les paul front, but for arguments sake i took of the back plate of my chepo encore and diconnected the string ground and it still works

i bet your car will still work if you take the tyres off the rims too!!

Just ground the bridge, ok? There is a reason EVERY single manufacturer/luthier/whatever grounds them.

[George Brown]

i completly agree that string grounding should be done however i was just trying to make a point

"yes it IS necessary (except in some rare occasions, determined by the pickup manufacturers specifications, eg: EMG). Les Pauls are all grounded."

you should ground your srings but it is not necessary

[GregP]

Well... that's just pedantic.

You really SHOULD play in tune, but it's not strictly necessary. You probably SHOULD try to use tuners that don't "slip", but it's not necessary. You COULD use tin foil wrapped around toothpicks as makeshift frets, but I won't guarantee how long they're going to last.

Greg

[JIFRibeiro]

Yes, to eliminate the "humms".

[Fanatic1]

Mm its a good cuestion, i have a LTd 7 strings with 2 humbuckers and makes an awful bzz, i replaced one pickup, i replaced the volume, i replaced the 3 way selector, i shielding and still make the horrible bzzzz, its crazy, i think its about the bridge, its not from metal, maybe its not grounded well because the bridge its like alloy or something different.

[Guitarfrenzy]

yes it IS necessary (except in some rare occasions, determined by the pickup manufacturers specifications, eg: EMG). Les Pauls are all grounded.

What Perry Said. Most TOM guitars I've seen have grounded bridge or tailpiece studs.

Totally agree 100.5% .. lol...

Mm its a good cuestion, i have a LTd 7 strings with 2 humbuckers and makes an awful bzz, i replaced one pickup, i replaced the volume, i replaced the 3 way selector, i shielding and still make the horrible bzzzz, its crazy, i think its about the bridge, its not from metal, maybe its not grounded well because the bridge its like alloy or something different.

Your bridge might not be grounded. When you touch the bridge does the buzz go away? If so, it's grounded. If it doesn't go away, it's not grounded. Simple as that. Grounding the bridge won't take away the buzz your getting, it will only get rid of it when your fingers are making contact with the bridge or anything connected to it, like your strings.. Shielding isn't good unless it's grounded itself. Actually it could make the interference your picking up more audible, because it can act like an antenna. Also, all grounds must go to the same point and all connect one way or the other.

[rhoads56]

Reminder to self: Add "George Brown" to list of people i dont respond to, or give out advice to, because its not worth getting into an argument with someone, just for the sake of arguing. I must remember to only give out advice to those who appreciate that professionals and experienced members of this forum come here in their own time to help newbs, and arent interested in pointless arguments.

[stageleft]

Well said