My guitar hums and the bridge has a black finish. How do I ground it?Updated 2 days ago
If your kit has black or coated bridge hardware and you are getting hum, the finish is likely the cause. Paint and coatings do not conduct electricity, so they block the ground path from the bridge through to the strings.
The fix is to expose bare metal at the points that need to make contact.
Steps
- Scrape the paint off the contact points. Where the bridge meets the post, and where the ground path needs to reach bare metal, scrape or lightly sand the coating back to bare metal. A small bare spot at each contact point is enough.
- Clear the string saddle holes. If the string holes in the saddles are coated, run a flat-tipped drill bit gently through each one by hand to remove the paint. This lets the strings make clean metal-to-metal contact.
- Check all three contact points. For a solid ground, the ground wire, the bridge, and the post all need bare metal touching bare metal. If your bridge uses a bushing, make sure it is not coated where it contacts the post either.
- Test with a multimeter. Run a continuity check from your main ground through to the strings. Solid continuity means the ground path is complete, and the hum should be gone.
Still humming?
If hum remains after the bridge is grounded cleanly, contact us with a photo of your control cavity and we will help you trace it.