Earth wires question??

I usually find it somewhat of a pain soldering a bunch of earth wires to the back of a pot. Is there any reason why you couldn't solder them all to the back of a small washer and then just have a single wire to the back of the pot? It would make life a lot easier!
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Comments

  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    No reason not to at all. Ideally you want all the grounds going to one place, but that place doesn't have to be the pot. It's purely convenience (if you have a powerful enough iron!) and convention that they're soldered to the pot.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Many thanks! I'm going with that. 
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  • If you're ever struggling with grounding all wires to one spot on the back of a pot (star grounding) - don't bother. It's not necessary on a guitar.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    Star grounding can still help, but it doesn't have to be to the volume pot. It does generally keep noise to a minimum if it's as close to the ground end connection of the volume pot as possible, but that still doesn't have to be the pot casing.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBM said:
    Star grounding can still help, but it doesn't have to be to the volume pot. It does generally keep noise to a minimum if it's as close to the ground end connection of the volume pot as possible, but that still doesn't have to be the pot casing.
    Generally? 

    Tell me more.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    streethawk said:

    Generally? 

    Tell me more.
    Ideally you want the least resistance possible between the common ground and the source of the signal which the amp sees, which is the volume pot normally.

    It's unusual for it to make a noticeable difference but if you have the option it's worth doing it the best way. It can sometimes make a difference on guitars with miles of complex wiring like a Jaguar. I think that's partly why it's become conventional to use the volume pot casing as the central ground on things like Strats though.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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