Aluminum shielding

[JB_From_Hell]

I get a lot of electrical noise in my house, so I decided to shield my Warwick today. Took out the pickups and knobs, lined all with aluminum foil, and grounded each cavity. All the noise is 100% gone whether I'm touching the strings or not. This was the cheapest and easiest mod I've ever done, and yielded the most night & day results. Go figure.

 

[ginormous]

Re: Aluminum shielding

Heavy gauge aluminum foil is a go-to if you don't have access to copper foil.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Aluminum shielding

I used cheapo Reynolds wrap.

 

[Artie]

Re: Aluminum shielding

Cool. Good info. And like you said, Reynolds Wrap is cheap.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Aluminum shielding

Yeah, definitely a perfect alternative to copper tape if you ground it reliably. What method did you ground it with?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Aluminum shielding

Warwicks have a pair of large springs under each pickup. I put the end of a ground wire underneath a spring in each pickup cavity, then soldered the other ends to the tone pot. For the control cavity, the pots are in direct contact with the foil.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Aluminum shielding

Does aluminum cause any bleed of higher frequencies due to Eddie currents? (I know it's probably much less of a problem with a bass than an electric guitar.)

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Aluminum shielding

On my bass, it had little to no affect. I usually hear about any high end loss, but it may be affecting frequencies I’m not occupying.