Ground wire screwed into wood ?

jimmybusk · July 23rd, 2008, 09:33 PM

Hi , I was wondering why a ground wire is screwed into the body on the later model Tele's ????

JohnS · July 23rd, 2008, 10:25 PM

It is actually making contact (hopefully) with the shielding paint in the cavities.

gionnio · July 23rd, 2008, 11:42 PM

I had a similar ground lug on a bass I acquired recently. There was no foil in the cavity, but someone told me that the lug is there so you can add foil as an upgrade.

This brings to mind another question: If Fender thinks it might be a good idea to add foil, why don't they use shielded cable for their pickups and the rest of the wiring harness? I realize that we're talking about single coil pups, but it seems to me that you'd want to try shielded cable before adding foil to the cavity if the goal is too eliminate induced noise. Why not just do it right at the factory?

bug music · July 23rd, 2008, 11:45 PM

My american Tele had a wood screw under the bridge pickup, it was a connection point for 2 wires IIRC. I don't remember seeing any shielding paint, just a wood screw with 2 ground wires connected. Is that the one you mean, in the bridge pickup route ?

- Jay

jimmybusk · July 24th, 2008, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bug music

My american Tele had a wood screw under the bridge pickup, it was a connection point for 2 wires IIRC. I don't remember seeing any shielding paint, just a wood screw with 2 ground wires connected. Is that the one you mean, in the bridge pickup route ?

- Jay

..........Yep ,Thats the one I mean...and its the same paint thats on the rest of the body. in there. So,maybe there's a conductive shielding paint under that paint ?????? Also ,I'm not an electrical genius,but isn't the bridge plate an electrical shield ?

JohnS · July 24th, 2008, 09:29 AM

As I understand it, the American Series Teles had sheilding paint in the cavities (my 2000 sure does.)

bug music · July 24th, 2008, 11:30 AM

Looks like the same thing here on my 1990 American Tele, regular paint not shielded. All I can figure is it must speed up production, having a common lug to solder the grounds to rather than running a wire straight through from the bridge to the control cavity. Just my guess though.

- Jay

photoweborama · July 24th, 2008, 12:10 PM

Shielding paint is applied before the finish coats.
The screw is supposed to make contact with the shields.
A trick Fender told me is to break the finish paint out under the screw so you can make better contact with the shielding paint.
The contact the screw is supposed to make into the paint is a very thin layer, and it does not work at times.

jimmybusk · July 24th, 2008, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoweborama

Shielding paint is applied before the finish coats.
The screw is supposed to make contact with the shields.
A trick Fender told me is to break the finish paint out under the screw so you can make better contact with the shielding paint.
The contact the screw is supposed to make into the paint is a very thin layer, and it does not work at times.

That kinda' makes sense,and they do have that "star" washer with the teeth that bite through the paint on the screw. Is this shielding paint metallic??

photoweborama · July 24th, 2008, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmybusk

That kinda' makes sense,and they do have that "star" washer with the teeth that bite through the paint on the screw. Is this shielding paint metallic??

I found because the screw is into wood, that usually the star washer can't be tightened enough to break through the thick finish coats to the shielding.

The shielding paint is just regular dark gray color.

Here is an example:

http://reviews.photoweborama.com/all...our/index.html

July 23rd, 2008, 09:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
jimmybusk Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kew Gardens N.Y. Posts: 414	Ground wire screwed into wood ? Hi , I was wondering why a ground wire is screwed into the body on the later model Tele's ???? __________________ Click on my name to see a couple more carved guitar threads .:

July 23rd, 2008, 11:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
bug music Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Taxachusetts Posts: 745 3 Photos	My american Tele had a wood screw under the bridge pickup, it was a connection point for 2 wires IIRC. I don't remember seeing any shielding paint, just a wood screw with 2 ground wires connected. Is that the one you mean, in the bridge pickup route ? - Jay __________________ "When I die they're gonna say He couldn't play sh*t, but he sure made it sound good" - Hound Dog Taylor

July 24th, 2008, 11:30 AM	#7 (permalink)
bug music Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Taxachusetts Posts: 745 3 Photos	Looks like the same thing here on my 1990 American Tele, regular paint not shielded. All I can figure is it must speed up production, having a common lug to solder the grounds to rather than running a wire straight through from the bridge to the control cavity. Just my guess though. - Jay __________________ "When I die they're gonna say He couldn't play sh*t, but he sure made it sound good" - Hound Dog Taylor

July 24th, 2008, 12:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
photoweborama Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Age: 50 Posts: 1,510 15 Photos	Shielding paint is applied before the finish coats. The screw is supposed to make contact with the shields. A trick Fender told me is to break the finish paint out under the screw so you can make better contact with the shielding paint. The contact the screw is supposed to make into the paint is a very thin layer, and it does not work at times. __________________ Best guitar photos on the net! photoweborama.com!

July 23rd, 2008, 10:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
JohnS Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Age: 59 Posts: 308 12 Photos	It is actually making contact (hopefully) with the shielding paint in the cavities.

July 23rd, 2008, 11:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
gionnio TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Baja Rockridge Posts: 54	I had a similar ground lug on a bass I acquired recently. There was no foil in the cavity, but someone told me that the lug is there so you can add foil as an upgrade. This brings to mind another question: If Fender thinks it might be a good idea to add foil, why don't they use shielded cable for their pickups and the rest of the wiring harness? I realize that we're talking about single coil pups, but it seems to me that you'd want to try shielded cable before adding foil to the cavity if the goal is too eliminate induced noise. Why not just do it right at the factory?

July 24th, 2008, 09:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
JohnS Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Age: 59 Posts: 308 12 Photos	As I understand it, the American Series Teles had sheilding paint in the cavities (my 2000 sure does.)