Simple Solution for Clean and Reusable Pot Grounding

Another Breja ToneWorks DIY video - this time I'll show you a very easy solution for keeping your Volume Pot grounding lugs clean and neat and potentially saving you from ruining your pots.

[garbagefilter]

I hate to be the bringer of doom here but... I serviced a guitar that someone had modded using this technique. What I found was that due to guitar strings being steel. These tidy jumpers had begun to rust. That rust had crept under the solder breaking the ground connection. So be aware of this factor if using this technique. If you want the install to be permanent you may want to substitute the guitar string with a length of solid copper bell wire.

[mrpres]

Finally someone else that uses this technique! It'd be awesome if you posted more of these little tricks that you can do when soldering or wiring a guitar :) thanks for the awesome video

[joeguitargod]

Such a great tip. One of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments for me. Its beauty lies in its simplicity. Thanks for sharing!

[ArtisanSmithy]

I didn't realise you could just use leftover bits of Guitar strings, as an earth wire. Very informative video. Thank you.

[markewing]

Love it! Thank you for this tip. I literally just put a new .047 cap in my strat last night and a treble bleed. The person who wired the guitar before I got it done a horrifying job! I was mortified that someone would be so sloppy. Anyway, what I done was, I took the remainder of one of the leads from the orange drop cap I used (they are very long and I had a large portion left from snipping) and I used that long piece of lead wire from the capacitor to make the connection between ground lug to top of pot just like you did here. This is an even better idea, since I ALWAYS have left over strings. Thank you!!!

[joetorrez]

Never crossed my mind. So simple, it's genius. Thank you! 🤘

[Mruppertrinity]

Great tip - thanks. Put some new Warman pickups into my Strat today and used this technique. It made the job so much easier.

[mongchacha]

i wish i could post a picture here to show what i did! anyway, thanks to this tip, i swapped out a new volume pot on my strat in pretty much the same way here. but instead of a guitar string, i just used a clipped off lead from a diode to make the bridge. it was so much easier and so much cleaner!

[dvmusic]

Great tip, thanks for sharing. I thought that my own idea of stripping back enough wire to pass through the lug onto the back of the pot and soldering both points was fine until now but this will be much tidier. And another use for old strings, cheers!

[aark]

Great quick video. Will try this in my project.

[Yohootie]

Thanks for doing all your videos. You are my go to guy when I want to rewire or mod my guitars. Thanks again.

[williamacuna]

Outstanding idea! Clean and ergonomic!

[derboehsevincent]

Simple and Effective, never thought of this before. Great Share

[davidrobinson]

Great tip and for a clumsy solderer like myself .

[russellozzyking]

How simple is this only I knew this 30yrs ago

[gib]

This is the same method I have been using for years (using buss wire though). Makes for a neater job.

[reanimator]

Thank you for the lessons! Best channel guitar wiring!

[qrptedmac]

A comment prior someone mentioned that if using old guitar strings, because they’re steel, they can rust. Tho true the remedy is to paint on liquid electrical tape on the wire and soldered points. No rust. Thx for the vid by the way.

[Bigsquatch_ky]

Something I've always done to save myself the fear of overheating and ruining a pot is soldering my ground wire to a piece of copper tape and then sticking it on the back of the pot. No hot solder ever touches the pot, and disconnecting is as easy as peeling the tape off.

[DougHinVA]

I find that a small piece of sandpaper will roughen the back of the pot case and makes it easy to solder to.... raw metal with no coating. Just roughen a small place big enough to melt a very small blob of solder to...