First Time Building Bass, broken wiring?

[luisc9746]

I'm wiring my bass with two volumes and a tone. It's my first time doing anything like this and it turned out....ok. There's an always present buzz and when I touch the strings it gets louder. I'm attaching a picture of the wiring, does anyone have any advice or directions to follow? I don't know a lot about this stuff and would greatly appreciate some guidance on this.

 

[LoveThatBass]

I do not mean any disrespect but that is horrible looking. I would suggest you get a pre-built circuit. Not only that but you can over heat and damage pots.
However you can make sure you wired the output jack correctly with the grounds going to the sleeve and signal wire to the tip (long arm). Sounds like you may have it backwards. Also, make sure the bridge wire is connected to ground.

 

[luisc9746]

I do not mean any disrespect but that is horrible looking. I would suggest you get a pre-built circuit

Totally understandable, definitely a learning experience, nevertheless I'm extremely broke and looking to get his done myself. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Deleted member 407575]

The cause of the buzz that gets louder is bad grounding. Those pot backs, where the pickups' ground wires are soldered to, are not grounded - they're touching wood which is obviously not conductive! The pots and jack sleeve need to be all grounded together with wires.

Also, I agree your soldering needs practice.

 

[luisc9746]

Ok, I'm almost afraid to ask but what's my next move? Soldering the backs to a chunk of metal?

 

[Deleted member 407575]

Ok, I'm almost afraid to ask but what's my next move? Soldering the backs to a chunk of metal?

Like I said, solder wires to connect the backs together, then solder a wire from a pot to the sleeve lug of the jack (the smaller one usually). If done correctly it should ground everything.

 

[ex-tension]

There's an always present buzz and when I touch the strings it gets louder.

Are you sure your signal and ground wires are connected on the correct terminals of the output jack?

Also, could you post a photo of your soldering iron tip? If it's in a bad shape you can't make proper solder joints.
I suggest do not try to solder at the pot backs for now. Just do proper signal and ground connections on the pot lugs and the output jack, get a good signal. Then you can think about grounding the pot bodies.

 

[luisc9746]

Like I said, solder wires to connect the backs together, then solder a wire from a pot to the sleeve lug of the jack (the smaller one usually). If done correctly it should ground everything.

 

[luisc9746]

Are you sure your signal and ground wires are connected on the correct terminals of the output jack?

Also, could you post a photo of your soldering iron tip? If it's in a bad shape you can't make proper solder joints.
I suggest do not try to solder at the pot backs for now. Just do proper signal and ground connections on the pot lugs and the output jack, get a good signal. Then you can think about grounding the pot bodies.

I actually am replacing the output jack and am not sure lol. I had it wired straight up that way but the volumes weren't working, ur advice is helpful though.

 

[ex-tension]

If I see it correct, your bridge ground wire is connected at the jack tip, instead of the jack sleeve(=ground).
If you connect that wire to a ground point you shouldn't have buzz when you touch the strings.

Now I see on your 1st photo, you mixed ground and signal on your output jack.

 

[LoveThatBass]

Totally understandable, definitely a learning experience, nevertheless I'm extremely broke and looking to get his done myself. Thanks for the feedback

Here is just two of many soldering help videos It is very important to keep the tip of the iron clean and Tinned (with solder). I prefer using a damp sponge to clean the tip after each solder point.
Most of the time I do not find I need to scrape the back of a pot to solder to it but some rare instances you will find one brand of pot that solder will not adhere to unless it is slightly sanded first.
View this one first:

Google Search

Google Search

 

[luisc9746]

If I see it correct, your bridge ground wire is connected at the jack tip, instead of the jack sleeve(=ground).
If you connect that wire to a ground point you shouldn't have buzz when you touch the strings.

Now I see on your 1st photo, you mixed ground and signal on your output jack.

That was totally it! I switched it and now it's working and it's beautiful! Thank u so much, I'd hug you if u were real!