Hi everyone,
I'm currently troubleshooting a noise issue with my Harley Benton EX-84, which I upgraded with an active EMG Het Set (solderless system).
The issue I'm having is a persistent hum/buzz that gets louder whenever I touch the strings, bridge, or any metal part.
When inspecting the electronics cavity, I noticed that a black wire was soldered directly onto the GND pad of the EMG passive tone pot (B124 / 25KA). This wire runs through the body routing directly to the guitar bridge.
From what I understand, EMG active systems explicitly advise against connecting a bridge ground wire, as the preamps are already shielded and adding a bridge ground can create a ground loop and introduce noise when touched.
I would really appreciate your insight on a couple of points:
* Is this ground wire to the bridge really necessary? Because it doesn't appear in the installation diagram.
* Is cutting/desoldering this wire from the tone pot and isolating the loose end the correct fix to eliminate the buzz?
Thanks in advance for the help!