Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

[JohnnyGuitar]

I know this link exists:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php



Do you use the same methods? something more complicated? more simple?

I always thought that it's only about isolating the pickup cavities and checking if the connections have proper wiring, guess it's a little more then that...

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding?

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding?

That pretty much covers it. I have since sold this guitar but its a great example of what I do to my strats

http://members.toast.net/dwyss/pics/Assembledguard1.jpg
http://members.toast.net/dwyss/pics/Assembledguard2.jpg
http://members.toast.net/dwyss/pics/assembledstrat.jpg
http://members.toast.net/dwyss/pics/bodyshield1.jpg
http://members.toast.net/dwyss/pics/bodyshield2.jpg

 

[BRHGM]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding?

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding?

It works great on Fender Basses too.

 

[millsart]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

I had a luthier do a similar if not exact same shielding techinques before and they helped a little but really didn't make the huge difference I was expecting. Playing single coils with high gain in a noisy enviorement still was quite loud.

If you can do it yourself cheaply then its probably worthwhile though I certainly wouldn't spend cash on it again. Theres better ways to go such as the noiseless cobalts, rw/rp middle pickups or the obvious solution of humbuckers, which after all were created for such a purpose.

Trying to shield a single coil and its inherint nature to hum is basically like trying to ice skate uphill.

I just embrace it as part of the sound/tone/character of single coils anymore. I don't even have a rw/rp middle pickups going. Neither did Hendrix though and his rig certainly had tone and character to spare lol

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

I had a luthier do a similar if not exact same shielding techinques before and they helped a little but really didn't make the huge difference I was expecting. Playing single coils with high gain in a noisy enviorement still was quite loud.

If you can do it yourself cheaply then its probably worthwhile though I certainly wouldn't spend cash on it again. Theres better ways to go such as the noiseless cobalts, rw/rp middle pickups or the obvious solution of humbuckers, which after all were created for such a purpose.

Trying to shield a single coil and its inherint nature to hum is basically like trying to ice skate uphill.

I just embrace it as part of the sound/tone/character of single coils anymore. I don't even have a rw/rp middle pickups going. Neither did Hendrix though and his rig certainly had tone and character to spare lol

With high gain even humbuckers are noisy. But with moderate to low gain I have to disagree. I don't use my strats for high gain but I do use them for recording. The shielding makes a world of difference in dealing with interference from PC power supplies, video monitors etc

 

[ErikH]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

My all single-coil Strat is shielded with heavy duty aluminum foil in the cavities and foil on the back of the pickguard in addition to what was already there. I immediately noticed a noise level difference without changing a thing on my amp. Not only is the noise less, but it plays cleaner and clearer now as a result of less noise. When done right, shielding makes a big difference.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

It's overengineered. Of course if you want to sell the guitar and/or do it professionally you should do it like this.

However, just slamming in Aluminium foil all around the cavity shields fine. Don't forget to wrap pickup wires that are not shielded all the way to the pickup. Make sure all shielding pieces are connected to ground. You don't have to solder, just contact is enough. Of course it looks horrible which brings you back to point 1)

 

[Natman]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

Ok but has anyone shielded the inside of a cover? I know it's supposed to kill some highs, but you could theoretically put them back in by using 500k pots? I have not yet read any reviews of this method from anyone who has done it.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

You don't have to solder, just contact is enough.

It's worth noting that not all shielding tapes are created equal, and some do not claim to have conductive adhesives. If that's the case, you'll need some contact between sections of tape, and solder is the easiest way to go about it. FWIW, the tape StewMac sells uses a conductive adhesive.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

Ok but has anyone shielded the inside of a cover? I know it's supposed to kill some highs, but you could theoretically put them back in by using 500k pots? I have not yet read any reviews of this method from anyone who has done it.

The inside of a pickup cover?

Yeah the effect should be similar to using a poti with less resistance, that means you should be able to make good for it by using a poti with more resistance.

I expect there'll be a catch to it. Otherwise Leo would have done this. Killing some resonance peak had to be done in a Strat anyway and if you can do it while getting rid of some noise why not use this method instead of a 250Kohm poti? Well, maybe because it would be more expensive and still won't help against the 50/60 Hz hum anyway?

I don't think it'll kill much noise, though, the total surface covered isn't very large.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

Something you can do easily, is to get some thick aluminum foil and some spray adhesive. Spray the backside of your pickguard and let the adhesive get tacky and then lay the pickguard on the aluminum foil and let it dry. Then take a razor blade and trim away the excess. Now you have a shielded pick guard!

Next you can get some ribbon, nearly any type will do. Spray one side of the ribbon with adhesive and let it get tacky. Place the ribbon on a sheet of foil and let it dry. Use a metal edged ruler and a razor blade to cut the ribbon and foil, into strips as wide as the pickup bobbin and long enough to wrap around the pickup once or twice. Use a little bit of steel wool to rough up one end of the foil and use a 50watt soldering iron to solder a ground wire onto the end. Now you can wrap the pickup in the shield you have created cloth side towards the pickup and just spray the ends of the shield to close it. You now have a shielded single coil pickup!

I use the Stewmac shielding paint. It is graphite based so it is very messy! I have had very poor luck with using copper tape. You need about four coats to do any good, but it is easy to use and non toxic. I just use a grounding eyelet and a screw to ground into the body.

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

Is that pickup much quieter than is was orignally?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

This pickup is a variant of the Dimarzio SDS-1. This particular pickup came out of a custom made guitar from the early 80's. Dimarzio built it for a company as an OEM with Gibson style mounting ears and a spacing that is narrower than Fender. I have written to them and they won't tell me the name of the company!? Although Dimarzio has confirmed it is identical to a SDS-1, except that its spacing and mounting legs are different.

The Dimarzio SDS-1's are very noisy, but after I put the shield around it, it was much quieter. I was using it for a while on my Bronco bass so I changed the pole pieces to get better string coverage. After putting the shield on it I could stand within 6ft of the television and play without much hum. Of course you need to be careful when your adding the shield so it doesn't short anything out, but if you have a spare OEM single coil you might as well try it and judge for yourself!

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

I am planning to. Thanks!

Wheres did you get the conductive paint froM?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

I am planning to. Thanks!

Wheres did you get the conductive paint froM?

Stewart McDonald. www.stewmac.com
make sure you protect your finish carefully.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

I think honestly it depends on the guitar and the rig, not just how you mod it. My Lite Ash Strat is bone stock, and I've never touched the pick guard (nor will I unless I have a **** good reason). It is going to hum in single coil mode regardless. However, it's ironic that on my '72 Twin Reverb, at home, directly plugged into my Lite Ash, I get no hum in single coil modes, or if I do, it's not noticeable. At church, with my multieffects, stage lighting, monitors, music stand lights, etc, I get some, but I use noise suppression so it's not very noticeable.

Some cheaper guitars may require mods.

Still, for what it's worth, you can't really call the ground on an AC circuit with two output wires a "ground". If you're really that paranoid, maybe you should consider playing in a Faraday Cage . Just kidding. But still, if you're that paranoid, here are some ideas. First, remove all electronics you don't need, and all that you are wearing (i.e. don't carry cell phone, and don't play near LCD or CRT devices like computer monitors or television sets). Second, check your home or stage wiring and make sure it's not dirty. Some old houses have horrible hum problems, for example. Third, use three prong plugs (i.e. grounded) for everything you can. Fourth, connect the chassis of all your stuff together (i.e. a wire running from your effects pedal(s) to the chassis ground on your amp) to equalize ground potential / capacitance. Or play barefoot on a metal floor with all your pedals on the metal as well .

I'm no expert on this, but I've had USAF training on electrical circuits, and I can tell you that aircraft computer boxes all ground through the chassis and all those chassis electrically are connected so that they "ground" to each other. Works great even when the aircraft is flying and isn't really "grounded".

But anyways, like I said, I'm no expert, so the above is just my opinion.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

Grounding everything is basic. I'm not that paranoid about it but I get too much hum from the Nighthawk when the pups are split and Strats I play also tend to hum too much sometimes.
I used to play clean for many years so it wasn't really a problem. Now I'm trying to get used to a new situation...

 

[ErikH]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

TR, it's not so much the grounding aspect of it but rather using the ground path to disperse of the external noise that comes in to the circuit via lighting, other electronic devices and such. Shielding the cavities and then connecting that shield to ground acts as a path for those external noises to go to which then decreases the amount of noise that you hear.

One thing I usually hear is that some (not all) who do the shielding don't hear a difference and the first thing I ask is if they adjusted the gain on the amp. They answer, it was turned up. More gain = more noise, even with humbuckers. But, good shielding to send the noises to ground will minimize it and in some cases even eliminate it.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

TR, it's not so much the grounding aspect of it but rather using the ground path to disperse of the external noise that comes in to the circuit via lighting, other electronic devices and such. Shielding the cavities and then connecting that shield to ground acts as a path for those external noises to go to which then decreases the amount of noise that you hear.

One thing I usually hear is that some (not all) who do the shielding don't hear a difference and the first thing I ask is if they adjusted the gain on the amp. They answer, it was turned up. More gain = more noise, even with humbuckers. But, good shielding to send the noises to ground will minimize it and in some cases even eliminate it.

Actually, what's happening is that you're reducing and/or eliminating susceptibility to RF interference. You acn't use it to disperse or channel away the extra noise: guitars are an AC circuit with no dedicated ground (unless you plan on going 3-wire with your cables and jacks and wiring). You're also cleaning up (electrically) the signal paths by making sure no two paths back into the amp have differing electronic potential, i.e. resistance and/or capacitance.

You're only cleaning up the signal path in a two-wire AC circuit. If it had a dedicated shielding ground, sure, then we could talk about more advanced methods. It's just my opinion, but I see it only as a "clean electrical connection" thing, not as a true ground.

 

[doveman]

Re: Let's talk about single coil equipped guitars shielding

from a recent post this morning ... this explains it very well. Thanks the MARVAR ... excellent link.

http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/Video.aspx?file=AudioGrounding_High.wmx