Quick responses! I love this forum...
Well, it's interesting. The first grounding job was the p-bass. When I got it, the electronics were f*cked, so I replaced the pickups. It had this nasty, loud, irritating hum (unhealthy hum), so I replaced every other electonic component with quality stuff, double-checked my wiring. Still had that crazy hum. So I decided to shield it. I used tinfoil stuck down with rubber cement (sounds ghetto, but I followed a good guide at guitarnuts.com that purportedly got good results using this method). I star-grounded it and put down electrical tape to prevent ground loops. I used the little o rings a la :BASSIST: (in fact, it looks like we did a very similar setup). I even used star quad shielded wire from the jack to the pots! With all together, it now sounds controlled, but still the loudest buzz I've ever heard on a bass. Something about the setup seems to channel all the grounding into the bridge and the strings - with my hands on the strings, it's whisper-quiet, which is what makes it bearable to play. But as soon as I lift fingers off it (sometimes forgetfully during a song, for instance), that nasty hum is back. I'm stumped. There's something I've missed. I eventually gave up on fiddling with it since it was usable, but it's always nagged me ever since. I tried to take pictures, but 1). the lighting is bad in my apartment, and 2). it's a late 80's Squier II with no pickguard and the smallest, most crowded control cavity I've ever seen in an instrument. None of the photos I tried conveyed anything. Are there some common mistakes folks make that I should look for?
The second job was my old MIM strat. I went with copper tape this time (can't remember the brand), and shielded the entire cavity, star grounded, etc. I was using Lace Sensor pickups, which are known for being quiet anyway, but the shielding didn't seem to do a damn thing. It actually sounded terrible when I first plugged it in, but then I realized one of the pot arms was touching the shielded wall of the cavity. I moved it away, and the problem ceased. Sold that one about 6 months ago, so no pictures again.
BTW, Gassie, how was that fretless neck you removed from your SX? Reason I ask is I ordered an SJB-75 3/4 fretless from Rondo a few days ago and ended up not being that happy with the fretboard. It's maple with inlays, and the surface is a bit uneven in many places down the neck. I'm almost certainly returning it, and was thinking of getting the same model as yours. Is it nice and smooth?
Seems like it would really offset neckdive, though. New necks are cheap on Rondo...
