Cavity Shielding

[mack10series]

Sorry if this is a reposted question, but if i were to shield the inside of my electronics cavity on my guitar. could i ground all of my wires to it, or would i still have to use the back of a pot, lug, or something else?

[GregP]

You could ground all your wires to it. It's the same continuous "surface" as the back of your pots, if the pots are touching the shielding.

A better way is to use a "star" ground... all of your grounds go to a metal washer (including a wire from the back of one pot, which will ground the entire shielded cavity, if the pot is touching the shielding as it should), and then 1 wire is sent to your output jack's ground lug. Make sure that none of those wires are bare and wrap the washer up in electric tape, too, and you'll have a ground-loop-free zone. Braided wires that only shield pickup cables are an exception, and can be soldered to the cavity's shielding material.

Greg

[mack10series]

You could ground all your wires to it. It's the same continuous "surface" as the back of your pots, if the pots are touching the shielding.

A better way is to use a "star" ground... all of your grounds go to a metal washer (including a wire from the back of one pot, which will ground the entire shielded cavity, if the pot is touching the shielding as it should), and then 1 wire is sent to your output jack's ground lug. Make sure that none of those wires are bare and wrap the washer up in electric tape, too, and you'll have a ground-loop-free zone. Braided wires that only shield pickup cables are an exception, and can be soldered to the cavity's shielding material.

Greg

as far as the washer, what would be the best thing to do; solder it to the shielding, or screw it to the wall of the cavity

[GregP]

My personal opinion? Neither. I'd let it kind of "hang loose" in the cavity. It won't really be hanging much or very loose because of all the wires attached to it, but I wouldn't connect it to any particular solid surface.

All "typical" grounds --> solder to washer

back of ONE pot --> solder to washer (assuming the pot touches the shielding)

washer --> output jack

If you attach the washer to the cavity, there's a risk (although slim) that you could create a ground loop. The idea of star grounding is to isolate the grounds completely and ENSURE that there's only one place for them to go-- to the output jack's ground. So, once the washer's all soldered up, wrap it in electric (insulating) tape or whatnot. Just let it hang out in the cavity.

Greg

[mack10series]

Thanks man!