As one who has worked for three different large multi national corporations over the years I can assure the potential for liability trumps all design logic. This wouldn't surprise me in the least.

 

I have yet to encounter a guitar without a bridge ground. I think that post is not accurate.
I have to occasionally fix one that had come loose but, I couldn’t see Fender purposely not attaching a ground wire.

 

It's accurate.
There are actually several guitars without bridge ground. (besides Fender)

 

As of when?

 

@Amp Mad Scientist ...please respond.

 

My Vinterra II Tele has. I changed the bridge and bridge pup and, sure enough.

 

"Will the decision to not ground the bridge result in a lot of frustrated customers (and guitar techs) having to deal with additional noise/buzzing?"

1. Not if you shield the entire inside of the guitar, as I have told you many times to do.
2. Fender is now shielding the insides of new production guitars. There is an important reason for doing so.

That's right new Fender guitars have no bridge ground.

This is a liability issue.
If the guitar is grounded...
and somebody touches and energized object, they get shocked.

What I'm seeing here is an effort to avoid a lawsuit.

For many years
improperly wired (and not grounded) PA systems would shock guitar players, because the guitar is grounded.

All previous Fender guitars "were" grounded at the bridge.
And so were almost all other electric guitars.

So here is the best tool to avoid being shocked:

Carry this in your guitar case, and use it everywhere you play.
If the electricity reads: "defect," don't use it.

PS
Canada and USA use the same electrical safety codes.
(which I am certified in)

PSS

PSSS
It's a really good idea to shield the inside of the guitar, whether the bridge is grounded, or not.
I don't wire guitars, until the inside is shielded first.

 

A Telecaster (as pictured) doesn't actually require a separate wire to ground the bridge. The bridge pickup base plate is connected to the pickup ground lead and that make electrical contact with the bridge via the pickup adjustment screws which go through the base plate. So the extra wire to the bridge is superfluous unless the guitar happens to be equipped with a bridge pickup that does not have a base plate.

 

Would you get a lot of buzzing / humming from the amp if the bridge (strings) wasn't grounded?

 

Yes, it’s really obvious when there’s no ground wire to the bridge.
You can mitigate this somewhat by really good shielding but it will never completely get rid of that buzz.

 

On a 6-string electric, it's a 6-comb antenna.

 

The original mad amp scientist:

 

I thought the risk of shock goes away if everything uses a 3 prong or polarized 2 prong plug? And if you plug a guitar into a pedal first, is there risk at all?

should I be removing the bridge ground wire on my guitars?

 

I thought the risk of shock goes away if everything uses a 3 prong or polarized 2 prong plug? And if you plug a guitar into a pedal first, is there risk at all?

should I be removing the bridge ground wire on my guitars?

Try it on one guitar.
The noise will kill (or at least deafen and/or lead to insanity) you long before the potential electric shock.

 

If your home is properly wired then, you will measure near zero ohms, when your gear is all connected per diagram.

 

One probe on the bridge and one on the ground at the receptacle should measure zero ohms? For a minute there I thought you were going to have me stick probes in the receptacle AGAIN!

 

What's a 2025 Fender model? These are Jan 6. 2025. I can't find anything newer.

https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10091/SM_0116800794_SUSAN_TEDESCHI_TELE.pdf

"BLACK WIRE TO BRIDGE PLATE"

https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10091/SM_0176812706_JACK_WHITE_TRPLCASTER.pdf

 

Well, I'll tell you why:
All around your body is a magnetic field.
The field surrounding your body comes from electrical wiring and appliances.

Any time your body is near the guitar, the wiring inside picks up noise from your body.
By touching ground with your finger, this noise from your body is shut off.
Your body is grounded, the noise is gone.

Shielding the guitar stops this noise from happening:
regardless of: your body being grounded, or not.

Further: from a safety standpoint, maybe it is better for your body to "not" be grounded.

 

So...This is your response to our many requests for more information about Fender's new/recent guitar ground wire policy!!

 

 

You got it...I feel like I have a hook, line and sinker stuck in the corner of my mouth.

"There is no fool like an old fool". I'm living proof of that!

 

Me thinks the term clickbait may apply to this thread in some form or another.
Well.... if shock potential from grounding strings is a possible hazard and must be eliminated, I guess the manufacturer better address the metal jack plate and screws as well .
The screws securing the pickup selector switch, oh yeah and the switch blade too just to be on the safe side.
Heaven forbid if the plastic end cap falls off of the switch blade selector or a knob comes off of a volume or tone pot.
Don't forget to insulate the patch cord barrel.
Sales should be booming and maybe it's time to buy shares in companies that manufacture wireless systems.
Almost forgot...tele bridge pickup with grounded base plate!
Aren't they secured to the bridge by metal screws?
There's that pesky grounded string problem again.
Damn, now they will have to change the pickup design or maybe just cease production altogether.
I believe I will have to call BS on this topic.
Someone should start a poll.
Question:
Do you know someone who has been electrocuted by holding an electric guitar by means of .....
Someone else may want to complete the questionnaire for this (soon to be) popular poll.
I'm off and being busy with my side cutters.

 

You wanted to know, I told you.

 

??

 

It's not a matter of "opinion," popularity, or polls.
It's a simple reality.

And you can test it for yourself.

Concerning "when" Fender stopped grounding the bridge:
we would need to ask Fender.

 

No example or source is doing nothing for your credibility.

 

@Amp Mad Scientist
How about a link to a press release or a service bulletin from Fender.
That would shut me up.
Most of what you spew is common sense and common knowledge while on the other hand some is boarding on lunacy.
Your Quote:
”Any time your body is near the guitar, the wiring inside picks up noise from your body.”

 

I told you what Fender is doing, I'm not responsible for what Fender does.

If you don't understand why, it's hardly Lunacy.
It's merely that: you don't understand what they did or why.

”Any time your body is near the guitar, the wiring inside picks up noise from your body."

That is correct.
You obviously have never tested this.
Stop assuming, and start testing.
Any time your body is near an UN-shielded audio wire, it produces noise.

That "is" why guitar cables are shielded.
That's why manufacturers (like Fender, Suhr, Gibson, Epiphone...) are all shielding guitars at the factory.
If there was no reason, they wouldn't spend the time and money to do it.

Instead of assuming, test it yourself. What I tell you is true.

Now some quote from EMG:
Dec 9, 2021

"Technically, none of our instruments “need” a ground wire from the bridge. They will work perfectly without one. But if the pickups and electronics are poorly or incompletely shielded, then the circuits can pick up noise from ambient electrostatic interference. Rather than doing a full shielding job, the designers decided to take the easy way out, and make the player part of the circuit, so your body gets to do the shielding instead. But if your pickups and wiring harness don’t pick up any noise, then you don’t need a bridge ground.

Active EMGs are famously well shielded and quiet, and therefore EMG recommends not connecting the bridge to ground."

 

If you are unsure, use an ohmmeter to verify.

 

Active EMG pickups have low-impedance outputs with, an internally shielded design. Low-impedance devices are not as sensitive to EMI as regular pickups, I believe that you could operate them within the guitar without any shielding and not have objectionable issues, because of their low-impedance.
Are we referring to regular or active pickups in this discussion?

 

Do passive guitars and basses have to have the strings grounded? No. Many didn't from the factory, especially hollow body electrics.
Does grounding the strings reduce audible 60 hz hum when the strings are not touched on passive instruments? Yes.
The capacitor in passive instrument tone pots can also induce an audible background noise, which is why I prefer using a stereo balance pot circuit for two pickup basses for tone control. My passive two pickup basses have no audible background noise with a clean amplifier. As I often played with everything dimed I found this beneficial to the ensemble's sound. Also beneficial for recording purposes, especially now in the digital recording age.