grounding wire pbass- no hole to bridge- alternatives?

You could drill a hole yourself using a feeler bit, or take it to a repair shop and have it done. An alternative is to lay a thin strip of copper tape from the middle of the bridge up into the pickup route, or over to the controls cavity, this method is visible, but the first routing was actually done on some J basses (thought it was a much shorter route and rather innocuous.)

 

Yes, yes it does. When I built my last bass I used copper tape under the bridge and ensured the tape covered the screw holes to provide a mechanical coupling I also soldered the ground wire to that piece of tape, probably overkill, but I didn't want problems.

 

I'm actually thinking about adding the strip to a jazz bass (if I ever get one) because I like the look!

This might be tidier on a P?



Dunno, maybe it's a bit scrappy.

 

Jazz basses originally had a brass strip soldered to the bridge pickup "shield" plate that extended out of the pickup cavity to under the bridge. The bridge/pickup/mutes cover hid all that.

Edit:
Oddly enough, I just found this image in another thread...

 

As @sissy kathy stated, yes, you need to ground it. The best solution is to drill a hole. It's a 5 minute or less job unless of course you don't own a drill.

 

I think the best option is to have someone drill the hole for you. I've never seen a P-Bass body without the hole drilled. Weird! I have a Fender MB-5 that started out passive and had a ground wire from the bridge, but once I put EMG pickups and an EMG preamp in it, the ground was no longer needed. That's another option if all of the circuit boards will fit in your bass body that is.

 

I do a lot of my own maintenance, and I wouldn't do this myself. Best left to a professional. Good choice!

 

With string through body, if you use tape wounds you'll also need to ground the ferrules as well; the tape on the strings will insulate the strings from the bridge and defeat your work.

 

gotta ground to the bridge. if you don't want the ground path to be visible, then a hole needs to be made.

i've seen people strip the tape off at the saddle.