Alarung Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 (edited) I've got a Mighty Mite hardtail for my current project, and I'm wondering what the things made of. I was drilling the hole for the bridge grounding wire yesterday, and a new thought popped into my head. "Isn't this made of brass"? I've been searching the web, and I can't find any info. I'm suspicious that it's either brass, which won't need to be grounded, or aluminum, which will. The solder's not sticking to it, even after I scraped away a spot of finish. Anyone have any information on these parts? It's this one, at the top, btw Mighty Mite Bridges. Edited July 30, 2006 by Alarung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Erm, why, pray tell, would you not be able to ground an aluminum bridge? Aluminum does conduct electricity, y'know, it's just non-ferromagnetic. Either way, is it hefty at all? Because then it ain't aluminum, which is very light stuff. And honestly, given the aluminum hardware hype going, if it was aluminum, it would be marketed as such and twice the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I'm suspicious that it's either brass, which won't need to be grounded, or aluminum, which will. Where'd that idea come from? No matter whether it's brass or aluminum, you still need to ground it, unless you have another method of grounding the strings. Unless you enjoy the hum you'd get with no string ground. If I recall, you can solder to aluminum, it's just a little fussier... try roughing it up a little with a file or sandpaper, applying a bit of flux, then heating it with the soldering iron until you can flow a spot of solder onto the bridge. Then your ground wire should solder on without a problem. It shouldn't be much more trouble than soldering onto the shell of a potentiometer. BTW - I'm pretty sure that MM bridge is brass... same soldering technique applies. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazzyone Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 yes you need the ground no matter what unless you have a fully sheilded cavity. and i doubt its brass. i have a M.M floyd knockoff and its not brass. not even sure its aluminum more like a cheap pot metal as for the ground you dont need to solder it just sand/file a clean spot near a mounting screw and "Pin" the wire under the bridge as you tighten the screws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Um, if you've ground the finish away to try to solder, then you should easily be able to tell whether its brass or aluminum, or at the very least be able to rule out one of them. Aluminum is silver while brass is a goldish color. Aluminum is very tricky to solder, which is why its never soldered to. The problem with aluminum is that it oxidizes to readily, especially when heat is applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I've been searching the web, and I can't find any info. I'm suspicious that it's either brass, which won't need to be grounded, or aluminum, which will. The solder's not sticking to it, even after I scraped away a spot of finish. Just to restate what the others said: you're not grounding the bridge, you're grounding the strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 "i have a M.M floyd knockoff and its not brass. not even sure its aluminum" - thanks christ for that, neither would be a very suitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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