Sheilding

[Bmth Builder]

NEW QUESTION! Go to post 5!

Cheers!

A lot of people sheild their control cavities on their builds but I opened up my Ibanez the other day and there was no sheilding, so is it actually worth doing?

Or is it just a novelty that has negligable difference?

Edited April 22, 2008 by Neil Beith

[SwedishLuthier]

Shielding the cavity can make an enormous different. I’m close to 100% sure that your Ibanez is shielded. There is a thing called shielding paint. It means that the cavity will not be copper covered, but covered in a matte black paint. I have even seen guitars that first have been shielded with conductive paint, and then sprayed with the finish pain, covering the shielding. But htat is revealed by a soldering point for the ground or some other connection to that layer of conductive paint.

Having said that I have an early project of mine that has no shielding and is quite as a mouse. Paying attention on grounding, using shielded cables and anly having a single volume pot in there helps of cause. Conclusion: Shielding isn’t completely necessary, but it is a simple way (conductive paint) to get rid of most of the noise and it is mor or less standard on all mid to high price instruments (heck even on the low price instruments nowadays).

[wohzah]

Also with humbucking pickups it is not as necessary. I belive you can use aluminum tape available at your local hardware store. (or at least mine )

[al heeley]

Most good quality guitars will always be shielded, but as Swede says there is some shielding paint that looks like thick dark textured paint applied to the inside of the ctrl cavity and the pickup wells. Do it, it takes 5 minutes. I use sticky copper tape from ebay luthier suppliers.

[Bmth Builder]

How do you sheild the pickup cavities of a guitar that is going to be finished natural? Surely people would see this copper tape, or black paint?

[killemall8]

the same way you would any other one. why would it make a difference if it was natural? you cant see inside the cavities to see it.

[djhollowman]

Perhaps you mean the actual routed holes in which the pickups sit on the front of the guitar?

(Like, for example, on guitars with singlecoil pickups which are NOT mounted in a pickguard?)

Maybe you're not talking about the control cavity, but the pickup cavities?

If so, I would also be curious about that!

DJ

[Dudz]

Shielding is definitely important in my opinion. I have an ibanez as well with no shielding and it has humbuckers but I do get hum that is always there but doesn't quite change with eq changes whereas my single coil guitar with shielding only hums with a good amount of gain set. Shielding is just a way of getting less hum that isn't totally needed but helps. Also, if you fit your pickups into the cavities snuggly enough or use a pickup ring or pickguard then any shielding can be covered.

[ihocky2]

Dumb question, but do add any clear over the shielding paint? I just finished using it for the first time and it if very soft and flakey. Just brushing against it and your finger is grey and there is paint dust all over the body. The few guitars I bought with shielded cavities never were like that.

[ArieBombarie]

And yet another shielding question... In other post I've read that it is important to avoid ground-loops with your wiring. So you should always use one single point to which all your ground wires will connect. But if you use shielding in your cavities, your pots, pick-ups and switches will touch the shielding and in doing so you will create a ground loop between these parts...

Is this a problem? Should I make sure these parts don't touch the shielding or am I just paranoia here ?

Please advise...

Grz Arjan