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Post subject: Help with Jazz repair - Grounding Strip?
Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:00 am
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I decided to give my 60's Reissue Jazz a full makeover - new Gotoh bridge, new pickups, truing the neck - the whole nine yards. In the process of removing the old bridge, the copper ground strip "broke" (see the photo for an example - not my real bass).

Image

It broke in such a way that it will no longer make contact with the bridge, so I'll have to replace it.

So, what can I use to replace this? Similar copper wire? Something available from a local hardware store, etc?

And - is there a better way to run this ground from the bridge pickup plate?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Last edited by tracer03 on Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:03 am
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If it's a reissue the grounding strip is purely cosmetic. Fender grounds them internally now and only includes the strip in the case candy for those who want the look. Check with Fender on the year of your bass to be sure but I bet you're okay just not replacing it.


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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:36 am
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When you replaced the bridge was there a wire underneath it that went down into the control cavity to the back of one of the pots??

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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:05 pm
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The copper strip was soldered to the control plate of the bridge pickup, came out of the p/up cavity, ran under the bridge into a small hole drilled under the bridge. It made contact with the bridge, but was not soldered to it.

The wiring diagram - HERE - seems to show it's an active ground wire.


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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:14 pm
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One more thing - I'm replacing the stock p/ups with a Dimarzio UltraJazz set - humbucking (yay) - if that makes any difference.


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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:28 am
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So - based on what I've been able to scare up on the interwebs, it seems that this grounding strip is purely cosmetic. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks in advance.


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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:39 pm
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Plug in the bass w/o the strip. If its cosmetic, it will sound " normal"
If it was the only ground, then your bass will buzz like crazy when you take your hands off of the strings.

You can replace the strip with a piece of wire or copper. If the body is drilled under the bridge, you can hide the ground wire just like Leo did after 1962.

It no big deal to fix this. If you are not wanting to keep the bass original, explore " star point grounding". That method has the best chance of quieting a noisy Jazz bass.

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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:05 pm
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I actually found strip brass at a local model trail store. Cut it to size, bent it and soldered it in, and it looks like new.

The new p/ups are installed, and....no buzz/hum.

Thanks, all!


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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:14 am
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Way to go.
Model train/hobby stores are a great source for guitar/bass repair supplies.

I have a early Japanese made squire Jazz bass that has a very thin brass strip as a ground strip between the bridge and treble pickup just like the '62 reissue Jazz bass.

Its strange that the early Jazz basses had this feature. I guess the thinking was that the bridge cover would hide it along with the string mutes.

Its a cool traditional look to maintain that ground strip on your Jazz, but always remember that a ground strip that large does present a real shock risk to the player if you are in a badly grounded building.

ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK YOUR GROUND ON YOUR AMP AND ON THE PA!

IF it is wrong- don't play until it is fixed!

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