Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian Revels on December 16, 2015 at 8:00am

... and I am guessing that the holes need to be big enough that the threads of the jack and/or pot don't touch the plate as well...?

Permalink Reply by Keith on December 16, 2015 at 8:24am

sounds to me like the signal side of the circuit is hitting the plate not the ground.  I would closely examine your wires and pieces.  Somewhere the signal side of the circuit is grounding to the plate.  It could be a flaw in the pot or the jack.  is it possible that your piezo is making metal to metal contact with the plate?  there should be no reason to isolate the pot or jack from the plate.

Permalink Reply by Brian Revels on December 16, 2015 at 10:16am

I potted the piezos inside bottle caps,and filled the caps with hot glue. 

Lining the hole for the pot with a thin coating of hot glue, and making it bigger, DID work... just this whole thing seemed so odd (compared to what little I do know about wiring pickups, pots, and jacks).

Thanks for the replies.

Permalink Reply by Keith on December 16, 2015 at 10:27am

sounds like there is a problem with the pot.  that is strange.  only guess I have is a defective pot or too much heat soldering the leads.  Good troubleshooting though.

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on December 17, 2015 at 9:48pm

It's okay if the shaft of the pot grounds to the plate. If the hole for the pot shaft is too big, the pot will bottom out on the plate causing the leads/pins of the pot to touch the plate causing a short. So if it worked after removing the pot from the plate, it has to be a positive/hot wire/lead/pin shorting to the plate when the pot is installed.