I haven't even opened the cable that came with it, but will take your advise and chuck it out! The cable and amp work fine with other guitars so don't think there is any problem there.
I have a multimeter and did test the grounding but am now doubting myself and will check it again.
I think my soldering on the back of the volume pot leaves a lot to be desired so that could well be the issue.
Some pics below. I actually ripped offl all the shielding shown in the pics and did it again much better, so disregard that. i also ran some bare copper wire between the cavities and tested continuity
Last edited by brokenstick; 13-10-2020 at 08:32 AM.