I had an issue with EarthLink grounding to a black ABR 1 tune o matic bridge. It was not receiving proper grounding. Practically spent the whole day re assessing, re wiring and soldering, figuring out schematics, replacing pick ups, jack socket, the works and even turning off the main powerline and using a battery operated amp to check for 60 cycle hum, nothing worked. I was ready to order shielding paint and realized the black paint on the bridge and long behold the paint in the bridge prevented it from conducting. I scuffed the areas of the posts, the slots and the string ball holes and it worked. Did anyone else ever came across this issue?
Clinton
Never!
I've used a variety of bridges, and never experienced that problem. If it's any consolation, it would probably have taken me longer to diagnose and resolve too. Something to keep in mind for future builds, so thanks for sharing.
I guess that's a good example of the "check continuity" rule from Mark's session on Weds!
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I guess anything with an applied surface colour or lacquer is going to benefit from being abraded where the grounding wire contacts. If you don't have on then cheap multimeter could be a great Christmas present. An audible continuity signal is very useful or you can can just check for low or out of range (on the low side) resistance.
@darrenking Yes, wish I had a multimeter. My birthday coming up in a few weeks. Hmmm.
I think it’s time I own a multimeter.
I bought one for guitar-assembly use, long before I understood all of its other potential uses. It encouraged me to learn a bit more about electronics!
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Had a similar experience with my first build. The bridge is black so I just assumed whatever it was coated with wouldn't conduct and tested first (thankfully I have multimeter) - had to scrape away the paint to get to copper/brass stuff underneath before bridge earth would conduct properly.
So far, the multimeter has also come in handy for veryifying ohms on pots, that pots are working properly, confirming uF value of tone capicitor, and generally checking my wiring skills.
Well worth the investment.
Guitar making is the art and science of turning expensive wood into sawdust.