damnt, arent humbuckers supposed to REDUCE hum?

[smavridis]

i just finished wiring my strat. then i plug it in to test it and there is alot of hum. everything is grounded (that i know of) except the ground to the bridge, because i dont have one... anyway, what could it be... and GO!

(diagrams)

 

[Mor Paul]

Those look like some pretty messy soldering. Take your multimeter, and go over the connections. Post a diagram, too

 

[smavridis]

bridge isnt grounded yet

 

[UTSC]

Does the hum go away when you touch the pickups, if so its most likely a grounding issue.

 

[blue313]

You definitely need to check you solder joints, but whats going on with that last pot?  It only has one connection.   :dontknow:

 

[smavridis]

i put the claw on and "grounded" it. tested it out and it still hums. when i touch the bare cable that i soldered to the claw the hum quiets down. its definately the ground. suggestions?

 

[smavridis]

You definitely need to check you solder joints, but whats going on with that last pot?  It only has one connection.   :dontknow:

thats what seymour says!

 

[blue313]

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_1v_1t_3w

 

[smavridis]

im not using caps.

 

[tfarny]

What do you mean, the bridge isn't grounded? You're testing it without putting it in a guitar? It'll just sit there and make noise, sure, but that's pointless. If the bridge isn't grounded it will be very noisy. Put it together, ground the bridge.

As for the diagram - wth? What is the second pot supposed to do? Actually what is the first pot supposed to do? Seems you've got two master volumes, one of which has no ground path. What were you trying for, maybe somebody can advise you. Just about everything that can possibly be done with one switch and two pots has been diagrammed out on the web a thousand times. But that ain't gonna work son.

 

[blue313]

^^^ what he said

What's it for?  Volumes need a grounded lug and tones need a cap.  :dontknow:

 

[smavridis]

top is vol bottom is tone. i thought you didnt need caps? and the link that was posted by blue is what i did.

 

[tfarny]

Short version: you need a cap. Wow there's a lot of bad info out there. Stick with us kid.  :sign13:

 

[smavridis]

lol so do you think if i put on a cap, hum will be cut?

 

[smavridis]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062364

will this do?

 

[tfarny]

1. go to Radio Shack, buy one of the green ones. .047 uf is good. solder it in - one side goes to ground.
2. while you're there get a multimeter. Bout twenty bucks. Check all the connections to make sure you don't have any cold solder joints. Your soldering job is, well, ah, you're learning.  :doh:
3. Get the whole thing in the guitar, ground the bridge, string it up, plug it in.
4. Then you'll know if you've got a quiet guitar or not. don't plug a pickguard into an amp!  :-\
5. If it's still noisy but the pickups do work, go back through and check your wiring, follow the paths to ground.
That's about it, hope it helps.

 

[tfarny]

Just saw the last post. OK, sure it'll work. Gotta go now.

 

[smavridis]

WAIT! what makes a solder joint "cold"?

 

[tfarny]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cold+solder+joint

 

[smavridis]

lol touche!