Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

[scpa105]

What are your thoughts on copper shielding the body cavity of a strat and its effect on tone? I'm considering doing it on my ssl-1/ssl-1/ssl-5 strat. I heard that shielding may cut treble a little, but given how trebly and bright my ssl-1's are, that doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing.

Thank you for your feedback!

 

[Stef]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

do you have any noise problems with SSL-1's?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

Shielding won't affect tone. Just get rid of hum from lack of grounding and possibly RF.

 

[scpa105]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

I don't have a super-huge hum issue with ssl-1 hum, but reducing it a bit would be fine with me.

I have a boss NS-2 that also works to kill the hum, but I can hear a slight change in tone (cleans up the signal a little and adds a slight amount of highs) when the pedal is in use, so I'd rather not use it.

I guess I'm most interested in the slight reduction in highs/treble that I've read shielding can/will do. I didn't know if shielding would warm the SSL-1's up a little more because of the slight reduction in highs and/or if shielding actually does this to a pickup (reduces treble).

 

[cakire82]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

I don't have a super-huge hum issue with ssl-1 hum, but reducing it a bit would be fine with me.

I have a boss NS-2 that also works to kill the hum, but I can hear a slight change in tone (cleans up the signal a little and adds a slight amount of highs) when the pedal is in use, so I'd rather not use it.

I guess I'm most interested in the slight reduction in highs/treble that I've read shielding can/will do. I didn't know if shielding would warm the SSL-1's up a little more because of the slight reduction in highs and/or if shielding actually does this to a pickup (reduces treble).

I prefer using NS when I use high gain tones. Noise Suppressors and Hum canceling via RF filtering are not the same concepts. You should try shielding the cavities and not using the NS.

 

[Natman]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

Your tone knob(s) turn the treble down too. But seriously, I think every guitar should be shielded. All you are doing is making a 'sink' for the ground connection, allowing RF to pass away when it would normally affect the functional part of the guitar circuit. As for the effect you read about, I think I may know where that came from. There IS evidence to suggest that a shield placed under a single coil can have such an effect, and the metal used (aluminum or copper) and its thickness changes the sound. Bill Lawrence wrote something about that if I'm not mistaken, but it refers specifically to the kind of thick body cavity shields Fender used to use (and you'll notice nobody uses those anymore).

Use the adhesive copper shielding tape and maybe add the bridge pickup to your tone pot. You'll be happy!

 

[scpa105]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

Next question, when I run a ground wire, should I run the wire from the copper cavity shielding to the tone or volume pot, OR should I install a screw inside the body cavity and ground the wire to that? Does it make any difference? Thank you!

 

[LReese]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

I've had it change tone to varying degrees (just my perception in my instruments, could be wrong)... But I have other shielded guitars that work as if there's no shielding (Suhr). I think there's a method to the madness that does not get out to the general internet.

What's weird about the Suhr is that it hums loudly when the pickguard screws are partially removed - only thing I see out of the ordinary is that the shield is cut out around the volume control. Tighten it down - quiet as a church mouse.

There's also a thread on The Gear Page that refers to another on Harmony Central that advised to run ground through the shield - as in all grounds terminate to the shield, but not at the same point. Its something I want to try.

Here's the thread on HC:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=735426

I'm not a tech, though.

 

[Stef]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

I don't have a super-huge hum issue with ssl-1 hum, but reducing it a bit would be fine with me.

I have a boss NS-2 that also works to kill the hum, but I can hear a slight change in tone (cleans up the signal a little and adds a slight amount of highs) when the pedal is in use, so I'd rather not use it.

I guess I'm most interested in the slight reduction in highs/treble that I've read shielding can/will do. I didn't know if shielding would warm the SSL-1's up a little more because of the slight reduction in highs and/or if shielding actually does this to a pickup (reduces treble).

you won't get rid of the hum - it comes from the "true SC" design
I've found SSL-1 warm sounding (in the middle and neck position) and have disconnected both tone pots to compensate
Your problem is a too hot bridge pup IMO, that's why I like to have the same pup in the bridge and neck so I can make both positions work the way I want with the same amp and pedal settings...

 

[Stef]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

I guess I'm most interested in the slight reduction in highs/treble that I've read shielding can/will do. I didn't know if shielding would warm the SSL-1's up a little more because of the slight reduction in highs and/or if shielding actually does this to a pickup (reduces treble).

there are two tone pots (for the middle and neck positions) you could use for the reduction of highs

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

Next question, when I run a ground wire, should I run the wire from the copper cavity shielding to the tone or volume pot, OR should I install a screw inside the body cavity and ground the wire to that? Does it make any difference? Thank you!

Generally there is a thin shielding on the inside of the pickguard. When this pickguard is screwed down it makes connection with the body cavity shielding. The pots are screwed down to the pickguard completing the ground circuit between the pots, switch, and cavity. If the pickguard screws are loosened or one of the pots loosened, the circuit is broken and can introduce AC hum.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Shielding body cavity effecting tone?

What are your thoughts on copper shielding the body cavity of a strat and its effect on tone? I'm considering doing it on my ssl-1/ssl-1/ssl-5 strat. I heard that shielding may cut treble a little, but given how trebly and bright my ssl-1's are, that doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing.

Thank you for your feedback!

Shielding right around the pickups will definitely change sound a bit via Eddie Currents. The same way that humbucker covers change sound. The new conductor doesn't have to be between strings and polepieces. Anywhere in the magnetic field will do.

Outside the magnetic field it is more tricky. The capacitance between your hot wires and the shielding is definitely too small to matter. But you have some form of glue there, it could mechanically dampen.

It is also possible that the hum itself enriches the sound to a certain degree. In combination with any, even light, overdriven sound you get additional overtones when playing.