to install a pair of '57 Gibson Humbuckers in my Epi LP Standard.
The question is this:
Will the new PU's cables which run trough the body & touch affect anything? It is the braided ground around a wire.
So in other words, I have a black wire with a conductor & a braided wire around it.
I'm thinking....a ground, is a ground, is a ground, so it doesn't matter. Do I need to isolate it or them?
That should be fine. That's the way they used to do it. The only possible problem from doing so is the potential for ground loops - multiple paths to ground that can cause current loops in your ground wiring. It's probably not a huge issue in a passive guitar circuit though some people do take a lot of trouble to avoid them. If you really want to avoid it then you would need to use modern wired pickups which have separate wires for pickup hot and neutral, and a cable shield ground. In the worst case the ground loops will lead to some hum. If you really want to keep them separate there are two easy choices - shrink tubing or liquid electrical tape.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Make sure there are no "casual" connections between one ground point (e.g., the shield) and another (e.g., grounded plate, another pot). Connections should be solid or isolated. Light "touching" can result in intermittant changes in hum resistance and/or "staticy" sounds or rectification of very nearby AM radio stations that probably also are cooking your head.
Also, if you are making a redundant ground connections between two points, such as pup braid to control cavity and pup "cold" to control cavity, the one way to resist ground loop noise is to keep the two paths intimate -- twisting is the best way. If you are using the pup cold as the signal ground, the braided shield may need connection at only one end -- provides shielding without allowing ground currents to flow.
-=tension & release=-
Thanks for the info....I'll get some clear roll tube at the local hardware store. That should do the trick....
tinsmith,
I'd just do as gnease suggested and lightly twist them together so that the contact between them doesn't make and break but is always connected. This would be as they were done in the past and the shield braid on both is going to be connected to ground anyways.
gnease,
There is no signal neutral wire on those pickups apart from the shield ground. It's a single wire surrounded by the shield braid that is both shield and signal ground. That is already connected on the pickup end and needs to be connected to the ground in the control cavity. These are vintage authentic right down to the old style wiring.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
The task is done tonight.
It's fine on the ears.
I can now also see how good the factory humbuckers were. Actually....they're pretty good.
I'm glad I changed them. Better tonal quality.
