Method of soldering earths in a bass

[tommorichards]

I've just put some new components into my bass (ricky 4001) and soldered them all in. Now, ive been working on guitars for years, and wiring them up isnt a problem. But i almost always seem to get a popping sound when touching the bridge with my finger. I'm aware that this normally means its not earthed properly, but ive tried a few methods of wiring up the pots, but i don't think i've found the correct method yet.

For this bass, ive wired the earth leads pot to pot, joining them all to one of the tone pots.

Ie, switch-neck vol-neck tone, bridge vol-bridge tone-neck tone. The neck tone then goes to the jack earth.

What method of joining these points up do you use to get rid of the pop. Its haunting me.

[ikay]

I take it you've also got a wire from the bridge to the jack earth?

[tommorichards]

@ikay, yeah, thats going straight to the bridge earth. And @meddle, thats also been suggested to me too. But ive had basses without shielding that have been popping free, so this confounds the matter for me.

[rmorris]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1500413241' post='3337640']
The popping is actually your body being earthed to the bass, rather than the bass itself. As far as I understand it, the human body, being all water and fat, is an effective receiver for AC. The hum when you take your hands off the strings of an unshielded bass is actually the hum of the AC your body is attracting. When you touch the bridge, strings or other grounded part of the bass you're creating an effective pathway for this AC interference. Shielding your Rickenbacker's cavities might be a good start, and if the pop is bad then I would maybe check the electrical sockets you are using as a precaution.
[/quote]
[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1500416708' post='3337675']
@ikay, yeah, thats going straight to the bridge earth. And @meddle, thats also been suggested to me too. But ive had basses without shielding that have been popping free, so this confounds the matter for me.
[/quote]

Not sure about the water/fat thing (any ElectroAnatomists in the room ?) - but yes the mass of your body acts as an antennae for electrical interference and there's mains frequency 'noise' all around. So grounding yourself via the bass gets rid of this. BUT there can be a transient noise ie a pop when you touch the bridge / strings / whatever where the skin/metal contact isn't 100% as you first make contact. Especially as the interference is generally at maximum when you are near the metalwork but not touching it.
If you're already 'grounded'by touching strings or another piece of earthed kit then it shouldn't happpen.
It's likely to be different on different basses depending on Pickup sensitivity and the finish / plating on the metalwork etc.

Edited July 19, 2017 by rmorris

[tommorichards]

Well i wired nother bass up, and i was getting the same popping sound. I've rubbed the pickguard and metal parts with a microfiber cloth, to remove any static, and its had a noticeable effect. The pop is still there, but much much quieter. I may just need to shield the cavities too, but that'll be at a later date now.