shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

[korovamilkdud]

Well it does when I try to anyway. I just spent two days following the directions for "quieting the beast- stratocaster" at guitarnuts.com,and now my guitar is even noisier.

So, how much would it run me to get it shielded by a pro? Because I'm getting pretty sick of BUZZZZZZZ...... :rant:

 

[beandip]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

If you're sheilding a les paul, all you need to do is cover the cavities with some foil or shielding paint, remove the ground loops, and close it up. Why are you shielding a LP anyway, do you have p-90s?

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

No p-90s, but plenty of noise nonetheless. And that annoying issue where there is even more noise when you aren't touching a string or other metal part of the guitar.

 

[Ken]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

Just for what you desribed...


Did you make sure to ground your shielding?

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

Not to sound totally dumb (too late ) but what do you mean by grounding my shielding?

 

[beandip]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

instead of that wire running to the bridge, have it run to the shielding in the guitar.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

So where does the other end of the wire go? One end goes to the shielding....


Man, I'm gettin dumber and and dumber by the minute, I can feel it.

 

[beandip]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

to the volume pot.

 

[rspst14]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

Don't feel bad, I did the exact same thing a while back. If you used copper shielding tape, run a wire from the ground to the shielding. Ideally, you should use a small bit of solder to connect two separate pieces of foil. In other words, if you used several pieces of foil to shield the cavity, you should use some solder to connect them together to form one big shield. That way, you only need to run one ground wire.

Ryan

 

[rspst14]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

By the way, for future reference, shielding paint is a better option. It's true that the foil provides slightly better shielding than the paint, but if you use at least 3 good coats of paint, you should have a very good shield. In my case, I use 5 just to be sure. It takes a while because you have to allow 24 hours between coats, but paint is a lot easier to work with than foil. As far as I know, every manufacturer who shields their guitars at the factory (Hamer and some Fenders) use the paint.

Ryan

 

[Robert S.]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

A couple of things to consider when you have a noisy guitar.

1. Make sure that the output jack is wired properly. The sleeve terminal needs to be grounded and the tip terminal needs to be hot. If the tip is grounded and the sleeve is hot your guitar will be very noisy. You can inspect the output jack to determine which terminal is which, simply follow each terminal to it's contact point through the insulator in the jack body.

2. A bad pot can cause ground hum. Disconnect the output jack from the guitar and wire the bridge pickup and string ground directly to the output jack. If the hum goes away you most likely have a component problem.

3. When sheilding a LP I always use sheilding paint and I replace the 4 conductor wiring harness as well. Gibson has a funny habit of cutting back the sheilding wire (plain) in the harness and then using the green wire as ground for the switch, leaving the sheilding in the harness unconnected. While this is most likely not the cause of your hum, it doesn't hurt to have the sheilding connected to ground, especially if you are using coil splits. You can find 22 guage Belden 4 conductor/sheilded wire at most major electrical/electronics distributors. Try the phone directory because Radio Shack won't carry it.

Those are the big three things to look at with a noisy LP.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

Don't feel bad, I did the exact same thing a while back. If you used copper shielding tape, run a wire from the ground to the shielding. Ideally, you should use a small bit of solder to connect two separate pieces of foil. In other words, if you used several pieces of foil to shield the cavity, you should use some solder to connect them together to form one big shield. That way, you only need to run one ground wire.

Ryan

You really shouldn't have to to run a wire to the shielding if 1) the tape has conductive adhesive and 2) the pots are in contact with the tape when installed. If this is true you should already have the shielding connected to ground. Its more likely you have part of the circuit touching the shield when its covered up.

Also, unless you shield the switch cavity and the trench between the 2 the shielding may not be all that helpful.

Finally thos strings buzzing more when not touched has to do with the fact that stock LP's don't ground the bridge to the circuit. Theoretically safer but a bit noisies.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

It looks like the person who had my guitar before me actually did use shielding paint on it. I'm probably going to go back in today.

The only thing that really has me confused is that big brass wire (string ground?). Right now it's just kinda hanging in space. I need to ground that to the shield? Wait...

One end of that wire goes to the bridge, does the other end need to go to shield, and another part of it to the back of the volume? Do I need to disconnect it from the bridge altoghter (essentially taking it completely out of the guitar) and reconnect it to the volume and shield?

Imagine your explaining it to a three year old. Man, I can mod pedals, I can wire pups in series/split/parallel, phase switching, but when it comes to shielding...:earl:

 

[papersoul]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

Just curious, what made you decide to shield that guitar? I have a stock LP and haven't had the need.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

My Les Paul has been noisy since I (foolishly) got rid of the inside metal plate. I've been looking for another one, but I don't think Stewmac OR Allparts has 'em. I WAS going to try to put in dtdt switches for parallel, changed my mind. :smack:

 

[rspst14]

Re: shielding a Les Paul SUX!!!

You really shouldn't have to to run a wire to the shielding if 1) the tape has conductive adhesive and 2) the pots are in contact with the tape when installed. If this is true you should already have the shielding connected to ground. Its more likely you have part of the circuit touching the shield when its covered up.

Also, unless you shield the switch cavity and the trench between the 2 the shielding may not be all that helpful.

Finally thos strings buzzing more when not touched has to do with the fact that stock LP's don't ground the bridge to the circuit. Theoretically safer but a bit noisies.

True...my Hamer was shielded at the factory, and it relies on metal to paint contact to ground the shield. The only problem is that it can be tricky to get foil into the mounting holes to ensure good contact between the foil and the pot. If you go the paint route, it's much easier to get into tight spots.

Ryan