Xanthus Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Yeah, another n00bish question, I know. Searched the forums, but didn't seem to come up with any solid answers on the ways to ground a TOM, but more whether or not grounding was necessary. I'm using the TOM bridge with the screws, not the studs, and stringing the strings through the body. I've taken apart my other TOM guitar, and there's a tiny hole going from the bridge pickup cavity to where the stud is inserted. The wire attached to the post is soldered, I assume. This is the typical way to ground a TOM, correct? Just checking to make sure I'm not missing a better/easier way to go about it, before I start drilling more holes into the project. -Xanthus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Is "with wire" a viable answer here??? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Is "with wire" a viable answer here??? Chris Yes, but not remotely helpful, smartarse In a stringthrough, I'd be tempted to ground one of the string ferrules at the back. Standard practice is to ground the stoptail, which means you have a nice big hole to shoot for when trying to get from the electronics cavity to the stud. With a string thru ferrule you've got a much smaller target, but it should still be easier than trying to hit the tiny hole for a bridge screw. Worst case, you can run a tiny wire from the bridge pickup cavity, but it looks a bit unsightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 drilling from the bridge pickup route to the bridge screw hole would probably be pretty easy....its just finding a way to make contact with the screw! I'd probably go for the ferrule nearest the control cavity. and if you miss and anyone asks why there are lots of little holes on one side of the control cavity say they're tone holes or weight reduction or something. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 (edited) drilling from the bridge pickup route to the bridge screw hole would probably be pretty easy....its just finding a way to make contact with the screw! I'd probably go for the ferrule nearest the control cavity. and if you miss and anyone asks why there are lots of little holes on one side of the control cavity say they're tone holes or weight reduction or something. Robert hahahahahaha, yes indeedy! 1/8" holes drilled width-wise through the center of your guitar body opens up the sound and makes your cheap-ass Squire sound like Jesus' PRS. Ed Roman said so. All joking aside, I'm assuming you mean drill to the high-E ferrule on the BACK, because hell if I want my drill coming up and out the top If I drill and solder a wire to the back ferrule, would it "catch" all the strings, if you follow me? In my incredibly limited electronics experience (Science Fair, third grade), it'd seem more logical to drill to the post on the bridge, because the bridge touches all of the strings, rather than to the ferrule, which touches only one string, and would have to take a longer path to reach the other 5 strings. Or am I just totally making this up? Haha, in either case, thanks for the advice, Rob! -Xanthus Edited August 11, 2006 by Xanthus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 If you ground 1 ferrule, that string will continue the earth connection to the bridge, which will in turn ground all the other strings which touch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 and would have to take a longer path to reach the other 5 strings. Not a problem... unless you're using Graphtech saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Not a problem... unless you're using Graphtech saddles. wow think how fiddly it would be to ground a through body strung TOM guitar with Graphtech saddles...you'd have to ground ALL the ferrules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Doesnt graphite conduct electricity? At least it did last time I checked. Although I don't know how much graphite is in graphtec saddles, if any. Anyone wanna test this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Carbon has two natural crystalline allotropic forms: graphite and diamond. Each has its own distinct crystal structure and properties. Graphite derives its name from the Greek word "graphein", to write. The material is generally greyish-black, opaque and has a lustrous black sheen. It is unique in that it has properties of both a metal and a non-metal. It is flexible but not elastic, has a high thermal and electrical conductivity, and is highly refractory and chemically inert. Graphite has a low adsorption of X-rays and neutrons making it a particularly useful material in nuclear applications. /\ Just a little something I found on Google. Link below for further reading. http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1630 -Xanthus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Although I don't know how much graphite is in graphtec saddles, if any. Anyone wanna test this? From the Graphtech site FAQ: "First, it is not graphite. The technical name is boron polytrinate." "Ghost piezo saddles are made of a non-conductive composite material, meaning that the strings are no longer connected to ground." I'm assuming their Stringsaver and Ghost saddles are made of the same boron polytrinate material. FWIW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 So the Prefix "graph" is a misnomer. Clever marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Not a problem... unless you're using Graphtech saddles. wow think how fiddly it would be to ground a through body strung TOM guitar with Graphtech saddles...you'd have to ground ALL the ferrules I had to do just that on a guitar I just built, but it had a bone saddle. It's really not hard at all. I just used a 1/16" drill bit to drill a hole from the control cavity to the first in the row of ferrules. Then I drilled a hole from each ferrule to its adjacent counterpart. After that, it's just a matter of running a few strands of copper wire through all of the ferrule holes and to the control cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Slick Russ - filed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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