Shielded Wire In Addition To Cavity Shielding?

[IronFlippy]

I'm going to be wiring up my P bass copy in the next couple months (whenever I get my pickups and pickguard ). I think I should be fine using regular 22AWG stranded copper wire, with some cavity shielding (aluminim sticker paper should work, right?). I was wondering if shielded wire would make a lot of difference. The pickups I'm getting are DiMarzio Split Ps, each pickup is its own humbucker.

[GregP]

I'm having a sort of conversation about this with someone at the moment, and we both tend to agree that you really only need one or the other; however, IMO you have to take the entire signal path into account:

- if your Cavity is shielded (thoroughly), then the wiring inside the cavity is already by extension shielded. No need to use shielded wire here.

- OUTSIDE of the cavity, though, in the path from the pickups to the cavity, is there also shielding that's continuous with the cavity shield? If not, then a shielded wire will reject a lot of noise, while an unshielded one obviously will not. And if the wire is picking up interference "on the way" to the electronics cavity, having a shielded cavity isn't going to do diddly.

- Does the pickup use shielded wire? That's where the real decision lies. Shielding your pickup and electronics cavities is a no-brainer, though beware that using aluminum products that I've seen will be more difficult to ensure continuous conductivity. But then who wants to hack off an unshielded pickup wire and replace it with a shielded one? Nobody that I know of. Which would mean either shielding the entire path (on all sides) from the shielded pickup cavity to the shielded electronics cavity (this is the way things are typically done), or devising your own shielding. Heck, I don't see any reason you couldn't cannibalize the braided shield from a larger wire, send your pickup wires through it, and make sure it's continous with the rest of the shield. That's what I'd be tempted to do.

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Now, all that written, I'm reminding myself that you indicated it was a P-Bass type. Since you can access all the cavities and the "path" from pickups to electronics, the tape method is probably the best and easiest one after all; however, and particularly with aluminum, make sure you test with a multimeter to ensure continuous conductivity.

Greg

[IronFlippy]

Thanks GregP, exactly what I wanted to know. Are there any other products, aside from aluminum, that would be more consistent? I think there's a type of paint you can get that does the job, but painting in there looks to be somewhat of a pain in the butt. Thanks again!

[JoeAArthur]

Thanks GregP, exactly what I wanted to know. Are there any other products, aside from aluminum, that would be more consistent? I think there's a type of paint you can get that does the job, but painting in there looks to be somewhat of a pain in the butt. Thanks again!

Copper foil works better than aluminum as the glue used is conductive. I used copper conductive paint once but it didn't work as well - not really that conductive even after 3 coats..

[GregP]

I've done both, and it's well worth the price to get copper "shielding tape" for the reason mentioned above: the adhesive is also conductive.

It's entirely possible to use aluminum, especially with some careful planning, but I'd rather just throw in that copper stuff.

Greg

[IronFlippy]

Ok, thank you. I can find copper shielding tape at Home Depot or Ace Hardware, right?

[GregP]

Probably not, but most retail guitar stores will either have it in stock or can order it in. Shielding has become very popular, so even the stores in Ottawa (which are usually USELESS for getting specialty stuff) stock it.

I ordered mine from StewMac when I did an order.

Greg

[has-sound]

Shielded cable is not a bad idea even if the cavity is shielded. Nothing works 100% so if you have the resources, you should shield as much as you can. Copper shielding tape works best for cavities and pickguard backs. Paint is messy and tends to not be as effective.

-Stan