I have nearly wired in my first CBG but just want to make sure it is right.
I have soldered the capacitor to the left hand leg/solder post on the tone pot (as viewed from the back with legs facing upwards) As I see this on a diagram however many videos I watch seem to show the capacitor being wired to the middle leg on the tone pot.
Does it matter which leg the capacitor goes to on the tone pot?
Also I am using a tin box for the top and my mini humbucker is cut into the top of the tin but is touching the tin, will this cause any problems? The pots and Jack are also attached directly to the tin lid so wondered how this might effect the ground or cause ground problems or is this OK?
Any help with these issues would be much appreciated
Replies
thanks for the help I have mounted the humbucker into the plastic case it came with so is now not touching any metal. I have not yet isolated the pots or jack as wanted to see how it would sound and it is all working well including the tone control.
However it does seem to sound like it has a lot of delay or reverb (not sure which as this is all new to me) ie if I strum the open high G it rings out for a good 7 seconds and drowns out any tune i am playing is this normal ? or could this be due to not isolating the pots from the tin?
Actually it does matter what lug your cap is soldered too. The good news is they both work. But they will sound and work slightly different. Try it one way. Then try it the other.
Anonymous gave great advice. Isolate!
Depending on the amount of "metal" in the "tin". you may need to separate the pickup , pots, and jack from any direct contact with the tin . ie: rubber washers , and wood block mounting the pickup. etc . if your pickup touches the tin , it may make the entire top act like a pickup , and sound like a piezo .. then again , you may like that sound , and it may accent the tin reso better .. then again .. maybe not . .In my opinion , it is best to always separate , but if you build it so you can test both ways with out obligation, you can decide your self . ;-)
hope that helps .
The volume knob worked but the tone didn't seem to do anything although I couldn't really tell when tapping it like a drum.
If I was to use washers to isolate the Jack and pots would I also need to make the hole bigger so the shafts doesn't touch when going through the tin? I did read somewhere that tin tops actually help with the wiring as the tin grounds everything for you.
Should I try isolating only the pickup first with a wood/plastic surround?
It's just better to isolate everything everywhere (shafts included) . There is a chance that your "tin" contains more aluminum than metal , so even if you incorporated the lid as a ground , it wouldnt work well in that case , And if it is more "metal" than tin or aluminium , The pickup field would change or be run through the whole top , and you risk weird loop issues etc .. with the pots and jack. etc etc etc .
This is the diagram I have followed..
I totally agree with Pick on the tin top. Washers or blocks... even some electrical tape could do wonders in a situation like this.
As for the question about the tone pot, it doesn't really matter how you wire it as long as the middle lug is used somehow. Some people swear by doing it the way in the diagram above, others put the capacitor between the two pots (like the diagram below). It really doesn't matter as long as the signal goes thru the capacitor/pot then to ground.