Joined:
May 2010
Posts: 2
Location: Texas | Hi folks. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice.
I have a Korean CC57 (shallow bowl) that I bought new longer ago than I care to remember, although given the model it was almost certainly in the mid-eighties. It is no thing of beauty--the finish on the body is cracked, and one of the "wings" on the headstock got knocked off a while back. However, the action is great, the frets are good, it sounds good unplugged, and I'm very fond of it for sentimental reasons. I have mainly played it acoustically, but I'm doing more electric these days and I recently tried plugging it in for the first time in a long time. It has terrible ground noise, which I don't remember from before.
The guitar is entirely passive, which as best as I can tell is unusual (other CC57's I see on Craigslist, etc. all have on-board preamps). It has an undersaddle piezo that connects directly to undersized 500k volume and tone pots contained in a pot metal case, then to the output (similar to the way a 1 pickup electric like a Les Paul Jr is wired).
The ground moan is loud but gets much louder (think banshee) if I touch the pot or the metal case the pots are in, which makes me think I may have a ground loop, but I'm not sure where it could have come from. Could I have a failing component (pot, cap)? Would it do any good to rewire w/ new pots? Is it simply the absence of a pre-amp? Did I just not notice before (hard to believe, but given that the no-preamp design seems to have gone away almost immediately, it probably isn't the best circuit in the first place)? I have moved around and used different amps plugged in in different parts of the house, and it doesn't happen with other guitars, so if it is a ground loop it's in the guitar and not in the overall system--or at least that's my belief. Could the flaw be in the piezo itself?
A lot of questions, I realize. Thanks in advance for any advice. |
Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Welcome!
I owned one of those CC57's.
Great slim body, never needs batteries... mine played correctly.
In a buy/sell frenzy I bought it for $111 and sold it for $112.
That is another one that I shoulda kept.
I know absolutely nothing about electronics, but more electrically-savvy people will be along shortly. |
CC57 electronics question
