Powdercoated TOM bridge grounding

[willliam_q]

I am maybe asking this a little early since I haven't started the electronics aspect of my build yet, but I need to know if I should drill more holes before finishing.

I have a cheap powder coated TOM style bridge. I'm using string thru body to hold the strings. Most searches I've done say to run a ground wire from the bridge post to the control cavity. If I do that there are a number of slight obstacles.

The powder coating is everywhere, the adjustable saddles are powder coated, the bridge is powder coated, the posts are powder coated. How on earth (excuse the pun ) am I supposed to ground this thing when the saddles are insulated by the powder coating at the bridge?

Any ideas?

I can't run an earth point from one string ferrule at the back of the body as that would only ground one string. How necessary is bridge grounding?

[curtisa]

How necessary is bridge grounding?

With passive pickups - quite necessary. Buzz abounds if the ground is left off, and you will generally have no choice but to find a way of getting the strings electrically connected to the guitars' ground point.

With active pickups - not so much. I can't remember whether it's EMG or Seymour Duncan, but one of them explicitly tells you to not ground the strings in their installation instructions (granted it's somewhat dubioulsy citing it as a safety hazard rather than a noise reduction method). I've tried it with EMGs and SDs and there was no appreciable difference in noise level when the ground was attached to the strings or left disconnected.

If you exercise each screw thread in the bridge it will generally remove enough powdercoating to make at least some contact for each string. The string breakpoint at the top of each saddle can be gently polished with a needle file to remove some of the coating. Other points of contact (eg underside of Tune-o-matic bridge frame and top of height adjustment screws) may need some sneaky paint removal to maintain conductivity between the metallic parts and your ground wire.

[willliam_q]

Thanks, tbh that's what I expected I just didn't want to hear it. Ah well just another job to add to the to do list.

Mowi have to decide to connect a ground wire directly to bridge or to the posts. I'll prob go to the posts but I originally drilledy post holes slightly deeper than they needed to be so the ground wire will need to be attached or soldered to the post

[curtisa]

Attaching the ground wire to the threaded insert usually just involves a well-placed hole drilled from the control cavity to the the nearest stud hole. The wire is bared off, passed through the hole and the stud insert is pushed into the hole from the top as per normal installation methods. The wire is compressed against the stud insert and the walls of the hole as the insert is pushed in. The stud screw/height adjuster should then give you enough conductivity just by the action of being threaded into the insert.

The next trick is working out how to get conductivity between the stud screw and TOM frame, and then to the strings, but is usually just a case of carefully removing the powdercoating in such a way that is hidden from view - small conical and spherical grinding attachments for Dremels will probably be your best bet.

[Tim37]

You can also ground your tail piece if your using one it may be easier

Curtis i know emg tells you not to ground the bridge im not sure on any other actives

[guitar2005]

You should measure conductivity between the saddles and the posts before you put everything together on the guitar.

[willliam_q]

That's actually a great idea. I would likely have just put it all together and assumed it would work!

[LightninMike]

Since you have a string through, just make a metal string ferrule block. ground that and all your strings will be grounded