Ground issue in my master volume Guild: bad wiring?

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

I have rewired my '66 Guild Starfire V (two-hb, master volume, Bigsby bridge), following the wiring diagram provided by the Guild website: http://www.guildguitars.com/resource...tarfire_VI.pdf .

When I turn the volume off, I get a ground buzz that goes away only if I touch any metal part. This happens in any of the pickup selections (N, B, N+B). The buzz isn't there when the volume is set anywhere between 2 and 10.
Each pot casing, the pup selector and the Bigsby bridge are grounded together.
Could it be a defect in a pickup?

Carlo

[ken]

Check your jack soldering...

Ken

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

Ken,

the jack is apparently okay.
To be more precise, the buzz appears only when I turn either volume pot off, but NOT when I turn the master volume off. Actually the guitar is dead quiet when I turn the master off.

Further, I must correct my previous post: the buzz does NOT go away when I touch a metal part on the guitar.

[ken]

It can't be just one pickup, if it was then the guitar would buzz only when that pickup was selected.

Ken

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

This thread is five months old... the buzz is still there...
Is there any further advice on how to troubleshoot this?

[Sweetfinger]

There's nothing wrong

The buzz you hear is common with this type of wiring where the pickup hot lead is connected to the wiper of the volume pot rather than the outside lug. The master vol IS wired with the hot lead to the lug, so there is no hum when the MV is down. What's happening is that when you wire a pot this way and turn the pot down, you are just moving the pickup signal toward ground, but not the amplifier input.

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

(edited for bad description of problem).
Do you mean that I have to live with it?
Just to clarify things, I repeat that I get the buzz when I roll either volume down even a little bit. Rolling off either tone pot does not cause any buzz to happen.

Might new pots fix the problem, or at least reduce it a bit?

[Sweetfinger]

New pots aren't going to help. Rewire each pickup's volume control by connecting the wires from the switch to the center lug, and connecting the pickup lead and tone cap to the outer lug. Basically, wire it like a modern Les Paul.

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

hmmm... if I can't kill the buzz I'll end with only one master volume and two tones. This is what I've done with my other guitars: I don't like dealing with two separate volume knobs.

Thanks a lot.