help. need ground for pickup

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

a few years ago I purchased a Jason Lollar pickup; the Chicago Steel six. Just now getting around to putting it into an old lap steel.
here is a picture. as you can see there is just the one wire coming out of the pup. it has a braided wire shield on the outside covering a plastic shielded bare wire. hmmm. where is the ground wire???

I was told the braided wire is used for the ground. I found it impossible to create a way to use that as a ground; braided wire does not unbraid to form a nice shaped wire. in my attempt to get this pup wired in I removed the wax coating and soldered the braided shield wire to a bridge screw (the original bridge screw too; it has a soldering connection on it) then I ran the pup bare wire to the correct taper pot post.
here is a diagram. the green line is grounding paths.
I didn't show the grounding from the pickup wire (yellow in this diagram).

I plugged the lap steel into my amp and got sound. not very loud. the volume pot doesn't seem to increase or decrease the volume. the tone pot does function. I have an awful loud hum...bad or no ground.

so I could use some advice. now I have wired single coils before. the Seymour Duncan Antiquity's I used before had two wires. it made things a lot easier.

Curtis Alford · From: BastropTexas, USA 78602

Randy,
I would assume the core wire is hot from the p/u and the shield is ground. This just like a lead cord or instrument cord I should say. You have basicly grounded out the p/u signal. Just my take on it.
Curtis

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

thanks for the reply, Curtis. you helped a bit.
I removed the braid shielded lead wire from a ground.
the lead wire from the pup now goes directly to the pot, as shown in yellow. everything else remained untouched.
I now have the volume pot working.

however, I still have a major grounding problem. touching anything metal on the lap steel stops the loud buzzing. I no longer wish to try that again;
I don't want to be the ground when I am plugged into my amp.

so how can I ground the pickup?

(I have worked with single coils before. and I have had great success grounding the backs of the pots (as in the diagram).

so I am puzzled with this one lead wire from the pickup.

??

Brick Spieth · From: San Jose, California, USA

You can carefully unbraid the wire, but I agree it is a pain. Many humbuckers are wired this way. What I usually do is unbraid about half an inch, twist it up and solder a regular short length of stranded wire to it. Then you have the more familiar two wires to solder wherever they need to go. You need something with a sharp point like an ice pick to unravel the braids. I use the awl on a Swiss Army knife.

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

hey Brick. that sounds like a good answer. it verifies what I just heard from another person.
indeed it will be a pain to unravel the braid. not only will I need a fine pick (I have some jeweler's tools)but I will need a couple of good eye balls.
any NOS outthere? Oh Well

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Use your jeweler's pick to carefully open up a hole in the braid an inch or so, or wherever you need it, from the end. Then use the pick again to pull the regular wire out and run the braided shield wherever you want to. Kind of hard to explain, but you'll end up with a Y, with the regular wire on one leg and the braided shield on the other.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I believe Jason no longer uses the braided wire on the Chicago Steel pups. I go one a year ago, and it has two wires, white, and black.
Jim's suggestion is a good one, and is the method I always try to use. But,,, I have encountered braiding that was so fine, and so tight, that I had to use an awl, and pick it apart one row of weaving at a time.

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

with my reading glasses and a fine pointed jewelers file I was able to neatly prise apart the shield braid.
I formed a nice Y and, soldered the ground and then the lead.
I checked all the routes and connections and it looked good.
on a 9v plastic amp I got sound. the tone and volume worked. could not discern a hum.
then it's to my Fender amp. there is a loud hum. the volume and tone pots work. when the volume is increased the hum mushrooms to very loud. the vibrating string sound is buried.
when I touch the metal bridge (where the ground is)
the hum gets louder. when I take my hand off it gets a bit softer.
I am stumped.

sure wish I had a black and white wire on the new Chi pickup. I never had this kind of problem with other single coil two wires.
Crying or Very sad

Curtis Alford · From: BastropTexas, USA 78602

Randy,Run a wire from the brige to the vol. pot and the tone pot and to the jack. A common ground all the way to the jack should have the unit grounded. If hum is still there change the cord an check in another amp. Your amp may have lost it ground.
Curtis

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

thanks for the replies. I'll take my time and 'short' this out. Idea

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

here is the last word.
I methodically traced my connections. pickup to pots were all perfect. then the last on the list was the output jack. and there was the problem. I soldered the lead to the wrong terminal. after unsoldering and cleaning I got the lead and ground corrected; switching them. and now plugging into my amp I hear no hum. all is good.
I will wood shed a bit with this pickup and post back with some sound.

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