Grounding bridge to a pot vs output jack. Which?

[teofilrocks]

Sorry for the rookie question, but I'm upgrading electronics and pickups for the first time. PRS Zach Myers, so 2 HBs, 2 vol, 2 tone, 3-way toggle. The stock wiring uses shielded wire for everything and the bridge ground goes to the neck volume pot case and that's where it ends, only a hot wire goes to the jack. I'm using new cloth wire, new pots and new pickups, and am using a Seymour Duncan diagram to go by. But it shows the bridge ground running to the bridge tone pot and then continuing to the sleeve of the output jack.

I don't know which is the right method, or why a ground isn't currently run to the jack. My gut tells me to trust the SD diagram. Could someone explain why the grounding method is different and if either of the methods is better?

Edit: Here's the SD diagram I'm using: https://docs.google.com/gview?embed...om/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2H_3G_2V_2T.pdf

 

[StratoCraig]

There has to be a ground connection to the jack one way or another, but I don't know what the setup inside those guitars is like. If there is a metal plate that the pots are attached to, and the jack also, then that's your ground connection.

 

[teofilrocks]

There has to be a ground connection to the jack one way or another, but I don't know what the setup inside those guitars is like. If there is a metal plate that the pots are attached to, and the jack also, then that's your ground connection.

That's the weird thing, there was nothing connected to the ground of the jack when I opened it up.

 

[StratoCraig]

But what is holding the jack in place? The ground lug on the jack is connected to the shaft, so if there is a metal plate or wire that the shaft is connected to, that's your ground.

 

[teofilrocks]

But what is holding the jack in place? The ground lug on the jack is connected to the shaft, so if there is a metal plate or wire that the shaft is connected to, that's your ground.

On the outside of the body the jack plate is metal. I guess I thought that there needed to be a physical ground wire running to the output jack, so I was confused why I didn't see one.

 

[StratoCraig]

Yes, there does have to be a physical, conductive connection between the components and the jack shaft. If there isn't one, I don't know how the guitar is able to work at all.

Anyway, I'm sure it's safe to add an extra wire from the back of the nearest pot to the ground lug on the jack.

 

[teofilrocks]

Yes, there does have to be a physical, conductive connection between the components and the jack shaft. If there isn't one, I don't know how the guitar is able to work at all.

Anyway, I'm sure it's safe to add an extra wire from the back of the nearest pot to the ground lug on the jack.

There's one lead wire carrying the hot signal to the ring side of the jack. Nothing to the sleeve (ground) side.

 

[StratoCraig]

The other thing you can do is get out your multimeter and see what the resistance is between the back of any of the pots and the jack sleeve. If it's basically zero, then there is a connection somewhere. If there isn't, add one.

 

[Blix]

Sounds like the jack is grounded through the shielding.

 

[Tone_Terrific]

Redundant grounds do not matter.
They may not help, but ground is ground (earth if you are a Brit), in a guitar.

 

[Mark Robinson]

That drawing is sound, follow it, you'll be fine. If the jack is top mounted on your instrument, they may have used a metal plate to bond the jack ring to the pots. I've never seen shielding paint trusted as ground.

In the heat of battle, it's possible to lose track of a wire, temporarily, you keep nosing around and you'll figure it out.

 

[walterw]

That's the weird thing, there was nothing connected to the ground of the jack when I opened it up.

chances are the wire broke off. look at the wire going to the hot, you should see that it has a braided shield around it; that's what is supposed to be attached to the jack ground.

no ground to the jack=no sound.