Has anyone ever blown up an amp with a bad pickup?

[flamike]

What guitar is it?

If it is an LP style guitar you can drill inside the cavity to the bridge post (remove the post first), take a wire (I've used left over G strings before), stick it in the hole, reinsert the post, and solder to the back of a pot (or your common ground point).

If you don't want to drill you could probably use a grounding lug.

It's a Schecter Hellraiser

[ericmeyer4]

It's a Schecter Hellraiser

Try this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxf9ywgcGvg

and

http://alexplorer.net/guitar/basics/grounding.html

[PonyKiller]

EMG manuals state that the ground wire from the bridge should be removed and taped off as it's not needed for them to operate.

Passives DO require that wire to be set to ground. For a temporary solution you can try wrapping a wire on a bridge post or stud on the outside of the guitar and send it thru the bridge pickup cavity, below the pickguard or the mounting ring, and solder it to a pot.

Worst thing it could happen without that wire is having excessive noise problems. I don't see it blowing amps.

[flamike]

What guitar is it?

If it is an LP style guitar you can drill inside the cavity to the bridge post (remove the post first), take a wire (I've used left over G strings before), stick it in the hole, reinsert the post, and solder to the back of a pot (or your common ground point).

If you don't want to drill you could probably use a grounding lug.

What is a grounding lug?

[ericmeyer4]

What is a grounding lug?

Google my friend...

http://www.stratcat.biz/268-529-7312.shtml

Another method is the use of a solder lug screwed into the cavity's side wall. Make the solder lug out of a scrap of brass and use a small wood screw to affix it. Just solder a wire from the volume pot's casing to this lug for a good ground.

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Elec.../i-4000_9.html

[flamike]

Google my friend...

http://www.stratcat.biz/268-529-7312.shtml

Sounds to me like what I did, I ran a wire from the tone pot to a brass ring that I put on one of the control cavity screws so that it is in contact with the foil on the control cavity cover and the shielding paint that is in the cavity.

[ericmeyer4]

Sounds to me like what I did, I ran a wire from the tone pot to a brass ring that I put on one of the control cavity screws so that it is in contact with the foil on the control cavity cover and the shielding paint that is in the cavity.

Got any pictures

[PonyKiller]

That doesn't ground the strings/bridge. For passive pickups the strings need to be grounded. Otherwise they'll work like an antennae and will pick up noise and hum.

You have a tune-o-matic bridge, right? Wrap a wire or unbraided string to one of the posts outside the guitar and run it to the control cavity thru the bridge pickup cavity. Take off the bridge pickup ring and run it below it. Solder or wrap it to any pot. That's a temporary fix and it's not very reliable. I recommend drilling a hole to the bridge post like it was shown in the video on post #42.

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/noisebucket.php

Also, an interesting post I found on a TDPRI forum thread:

It is also a safety feature. Certain regulations do require any exposed metal to be earthed. This is to provide a low resistance path to earth, less than 0.1ohm, via the amp chassis which must also be earthed. The guitar is technically an exposed extension of the amp chassis. Without going into long and boring detail - this is for your safety, safety of other persons and safety of property, it is not just for shielding.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-tech...ed-ground.html

[flamike]

Got any pictures

[jumble jumble]

I have been an audio engineer for over 30 years

What is a grounding lug?

Something doesn't seem to add up.

Also, why is anyone bothering? By the end of the first page we can see the OP has already made his mind up that it's the pickup. We're not going to change that.

[misterwhizzy]

I did have this happen, but only with a C4. When I swapped out to Alnico 8, my pickup and my amp were both fine. I happen to love the Custom 8 now.

[flamike]

Something doesn't seem to add up.

Also, why is anyone bothering? By the end of the first page we can see the OP has already made his mind up that it's the pickup. We're not going to change that.

What's the mater you don't know how to add? If you even had a clue you would know that being an audio engineer (sound man) and being a guitar repair man are to completely different things.

Because some people unlike you obviously, do like to help people when they are having a problem, I thought that was what this site was for.

[PonyKiller]

I see string-thru holes. Try wrapping a wire to the ball end of a string and solder/wrap it to a pot or to that brass ring you added. That should ground the strings/bridge. Again, a temporary fix but it should get rid of the noise and would be an easy way to see if that's what is causing the problem.

[flamike]

Something doesn't seem to add up.

Also, why is anyone bothering? By the end of the first page we can see the OP has already made his mind up that it's the pickup. We're not going to change that.

Why did you bother to write anything if you weren't going to be helpful? Are you board?

[flamike]

I did have this happen, but only with a C4. When I swapped out to Alnico 8, my pickup and my amp were both fine. I happen to love the Custom 8 now.

What happen? Problems with your amp, or the grounding issues? How did you fix?

[flamike]

I see string-thru holes. Try wrapping a wire to the ball end of a string and solder/wrap it to a pot or to that brass ring you added. That should ground the strings/bridge. Again, a temporary fix but it should get rid of the noise and would be an easy way to see if that's what is causing the problem.

This gets rid of almost all the buzz but it still has some buzz going on even when the brass ring is touching the strings.

[Stratman]

The conditions and photograph illustrated in these posts are why individuals who don't know much about guitar electronics should never work on their own guitars.

See a tech and get it fixed!

[PonyKiller]

This gets rid of almost all the buzz but it still has some buzz going on even when the brass ring is touching the strings.

Try touching the strings or the bridge with your hands. Most of the hum should be gone while you're touching the grounded strings.

Passive humbucker pickups have a bit of hum going on but should be really low and barely noticeable when you're touching the strings.

[flamike]

The conditions and photograph illustrated in these posts are why individuals who don't know much about guitar electronics should never work on their own guitars.

See a tech and get it fixed!

People like you are the reason I think this forum sucks. I thought this forum was here to help people who are having problems, not to go to when you are board and want someone to put down, so you can feel superior. If you don't have anything constructive or helpful to say and you don't want to pay for the tech, then keep you comments to yourself!!!!!!!! Especially when all the tech's I have talked to already have no idea what the problem is.

[flamike]

Try touching the strings or the bridge with your hands. Most of the hum should be gone while you're touching the grounded strings.

Passive humbucker pickups have a bit of hum going on but should be really low and barely noticeable when you're touching the strings.

It is barely noticeable when I am actually holding the brass ring but when I touch it to the string ball and touch the strings it doesn't seem to do much.