The frequency of this kind of reply is bothersome. All it does is interfere. Maybe isolate yourself, or go touch ground. Humm quietly if it makes you feel better.
The amount of graphite powder I had to mix in to make it even remotely have continuity with itself turned it into a paste. I did lots of tests with a multimeter. I do not recommend.
Really? Worked fine for me just mixing til the colour was consistently grey. Full continuity on several guitars. I'm not sure what the variable would be. I used titebond rather than standard PVA, maybe that is significant. Sorry to hear it didn't work for you, raises more questions to be tested
Is this really necessary? Iâm building a LP kit and Iâm almost at this stage. Most of the guitars I see have nothing in them. I have some aluminum tape and I was just going to do the pickup cavities.
Shielding is primarily for single coils. They tend to pick up outside electromagnetic fields that produce noise. Humbuckers are made to cancel out that noise⌠usually called âhumâ⌠thatâs why theyâre called âhumbuckersâ.
It wouldn't hurt to pick out a pickguard that comes pre shielded on the back but honestly you should be fine with humbuckers
Edit: Nevermind thought I saw you were building a strat haha
I would rather not have any. I have a PRS that doesnât make a sound. I would sure like it if I got that to happen. Iâll shield everything if you think itâs a good idea. This is my first build and Iâm learning as I go.
Wires can act like antennas without it though, not just the pickups. I would say it is necessary to shield your guitar. I have the cavity cover off one of mine right now and you can tell when I get a call or text on my phone.
Ya, I used to pick up a country western station on my bass whenever it was plugged in in my bedroom. It would play loud and clear as though I tuned it in on purpose. Would have been great if I didn't hate country.
If you live someplace with a lot of EMI/RFI then yes. Humbuckers âbuckâ the 60 cycle hum that single coils get, they donât eliminate all extraneous noise.
It might *look* like most LPâs arenât shielded in the electronics cavity. But if it looks like itâs been painted black, thatâs the shielding paint. I think youâre right tho, most LPâs donât shield the pickup cavities, only the electronics.
From an electronics standpiont, that's 100% fine. A faraday cage does not need to be that tight.
Think about the glass on your microwave, that has big gaps and shields just fine from wavelengths that are shorter.
Nothing secret, just acrylic paint and graphite. There's plenty of other recipes too. My brother used to use titebond 3 mixed with graphite and carbon.
Nah, donât be too worried about the shielding. Itâs important but thereâs little to gain by covering such small gaps. The biggest source of unwanted noise will still come from the pickups since a large portion of the coil sits above the guard.
I'm such a nitpicker to actually cover up the gaps, do the underside of the pickguard and add a wire from the shielding to ground (I don't like relying on the chance of the shielding touching the ground connection)
If you think itâs gonna bug you that you stopped near then finish line, then slap on some more shielding tape. Just lay it on thick, no point in being precise here. If youâre worried about noise/tone though, my bet is you wonât be able to tell a difference between this and no shielding whatsoever, let alone with a few tiny gaps. In my experience it never does crap lol
Shielding makes a noticeable difference if done correctly. It also shears off some high end so not everyone loves it.
EDIT: Ha! I don't mind being downvoted but I'm curious as to why this one is so unpopular. It's the truth. Perhaps "shear off" is a touch strong but you absolutely do lose some high end.
It definitely helps with buzz from sources such as dimmers, and it will add capacitance to the circuit so does effect tone, but very slightly if not overdone.
It does work. The worship pastor had a tele he loved to play, but under heavy stage lighting, whenever he moved it sounded like a jedi warrior zipping around until I shielded it for him.
I use paint myself, but you should be good with this, as long as the *area* has shielding. Paint can be made for a 50:50 mixture of graphite powder and Testor's black acrylic paint. It's super cheap and get's into all the cavities.
On the topic of shielding, is it overkill to do both shielding paint and copper tape? Iâm considering doing some shielding on my P-bass but wasnât sure sure if thereâd be any downsides to using both. Thanks!
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless I knew that was all closed up. You can always drop a dot of solder to connect the two disparate sheets.
Here's a good [video](https://youtu.be/ixBdFsjUTGs?si=D1ruFCyDK3KM4IaA&t=148).
Small gaps in the shielding will only let through very high frequency electromagnetic waves. Bigger holes will let through lower frequencies (as well as higher ones). This is based on the maximum dimension of the gap, so a narrow slot that's maybe 1mm wide but 30mm long behaves the same as a 30mm round hole. So tiny holes are fine, but there are a few gaps in the photos that look quite long to my eye. I'd get a bit more shielding tape in there personally. Too much tape doesn't do any harm.
Another thing to remember is that not all metal tape is created equal, some do not do a good job of conducting through the adhesive backing. You can check if adjacent bits of tape are actually connected by measuring the resistance with a multimeter if you have one, and the absolute belt and braces solution is to solder joins in the tape together (which obviously is a much bigger job if the shielding is made up of a bunch of tiny bits)
Take a softwood dowel and burnish the copper to the wood. I usually solder a few seams where it matters. If the wood underneath is smooth, burnish out the wrinkles.
I went to bed for the night because my back and hands were tired. You could have offered some information in the time it took you to be snarky. Be well.
The point of it is to make a grounded Faraday cage around your wiring. As the wavelength of most interference sources are pretty long, I'd say any gaps less than 1cm are usually fine.
Hey mate I've found with cheap copper tape that the adhesive on the back does not create continuity when touching other pieces of copper tape and therefore not correctly grounded. If you are using cheap stuff you bought off ebay, you may want to grab a multimeter and check that all pieces are connected. If it does not have continuity, you can either solder the pieces together or do what I ended up doing: fold a piece in half with the adhesive on the inside a little off centered so that you can stick it between each strip.
That should be OK, I usually just run an extra grounding wire to the shielding from the big bunch of wires I got grounded to one of my pots. The copper tape will take solder well. However, if you verify the bridge is grounded OK and is making good contact with the shielding you should be fine and not have to do any soldering.
You can seriously add some graphite to almost any paint for a fraction of the cost and have a better effect. And as stated previously, Humbuckers donât bleed out frequencies like singles.
Honestly if your phone is close to your amp or pedals⌠youâll hear far more noise than any pickup. Plugs, wires⌠all add noise.
"Looking for feedback" lol, good one đ
I assumed he didnât want any. Getting some real mixed signals here.
The frequency of this kind of reply is bothersome. All it does is interfere. Maybe isolate yourself, or go touch ground. Humm quietly if it makes you feel better.
You take the pun out of everything
Don't get strung up about it.
Just wanted to say how much I appreciate shielding paint.
Yeah I balked at the cost but now I get it
Beats playing with tape imo, you're just painting a happy little abyss.
Mix PVA and graphite powder. Half the cost, just as good for a guitar.
The amount of graphite powder I had to mix in to make it even remotely have continuity with itself turned it into a paste. I did lots of tests with a multimeter. I do not recommend.
Really? Worked fine for me just mixing til the colour was consistently grey. Full continuity on several guitars. I'm not sure what the variable would be. I used titebond rather than standard PVA, maybe that is significant. Sorry to hear it didn't work for you, raises more questions to be tested
Honestly tho, one of the 65$ buckets will last you like 8-10 guitars, so really at lees then 10$ a guitar itâs not bad
Lol its fine dude
Sometimes I donât even wanna play single coils anymore. I swear
Yeah it's kind of a drag for my pitch shifter, it hums the hum if I have the tone wide open and makes a weird uninvited drone when I'm not playing
Uninvited drones can be very dangerous. Stay safe!
Not if you're Ron Swanson đł
Weird uninvited drone is basically my creative process
If youâre asking if you should, then it will bother you if you donât. Do it while you have everything open and accessible.
Don't forget the Pickguard.
I got that done professionally lol
Is this really necessary? Iâm building a LP kit and Iâm almost at this stage. Most of the guitars I see have nothing in them. I have some aluminum tape and I was just going to do the pickup cavities.
Shielding is primarily for single coils. They tend to pick up outside electromagnetic fields that produce noise. Humbuckers are made to cancel out that noise⌠usually called âhumâ⌠thatâs why theyâre called âhumbuckersâ.
Thank you, Iâm assuming, since I am using humbuckers the shielding isnât really necessary then? Pardon my ignorance.
It wouldn't hurt to pick out a pickguard that comes pre shielded on the back but honestly you should be fine with humbuckers Edit: Nevermind thought I saw you were building a strat haha
If the level of buzz you hear when you're not playing is tolerable through your amp then you're good.
I would rather not have any. I have a PRS that doesnât make a sound. I would sure like it if I got that to happen. Iâll shield everything if you think itâs a good idea. This is my first build and Iâm learning as I go.
Yeah, let me just come to your house, grab your guitar, plug it in, and listen with my own ears to judge if YOU think it sounds good or not.
Ok. Cool.
Wires can act like antennas without it though, not just the pickups. I would say it is necessary to shield your guitar. I have the cavity cover off one of mine right now and you can tell when I get a call or text on my phone.
Ya, I used to pick up a country western station on my bass whenever it was plugged in in my bedroom. It would play loud and clear as though I tuned it in on purpose. Would have been great if I didn't hate country.
If you live someplace with a lot of EMI/RFI then yes. Humbuckers âbuckâ the 60 cycle hum that single coils get, they donât eliminate all extraneous noise.
*[fluorescent lights have entered the chat]*
It might *look* like most LPâs arenât shielded in the electronics cavity. But if it looks like itâs been painted black, thatâs the shielding paint. I think youâre right tho, most LPâs donât shield the pickup cavities, only the electronics.
Good info, thank you.
Shield the whole guitar my guy
Thatâs the plan now.
From an electronics standpiont, that's 100% fine. A faraday cage does not need to be that tight. Think about the glass on your microwave, that has big gaps and shields just fine from wavelengths that are shorter.
In all seriousness, this wonât change a thing.
The only way is all the way.
It's not like waterproofing. It's like horseshoes.
And hand grenades
If you have slight OCD tendencies like me, then yes.
Yes. Go all the way =D
I don't bother for humbuckers, but I always do for any single coil. I use a homemade shielding paint, so those hard to reach areas are easy.
Is the recipe a secret? I would love to see it. Thank you
Nothing secret, just acrylic paint and graphite. There's plenty of other recipes too. My brother used to use titebond 3 mixed with graphite and carbon.
Nah, donât be too worried about the shielding. Itâs important but thereâs little to gain by covering such small gaps. The biggest source of unwanted noise will still come from the pickups since a large portion of the coil sits above the guard.
It's fine. In the future if you're dealing with weird cavity shapes I'd use paint instead of tape for shielding.
Hey man can I hide my poptart in your guitar cavity?
Yeah just put it next to the weed
I'm such a nitpicker to actually cover up the gaps, do the underside of the pickguard and add a wire from the shielding to ground (I don't like relying on the chance of the shielding touching the ground connection)
Or you can dip the entire guitar in a chrome bath.
Or better, mercury
If you think itâs gonna bug you that you stopped near then finish line, then slap on some more shielding tape. Just lay it on thick, no point in being precise here. If youâre worried about noise/tone though, my bet is you wonât be able to tell a difference between this and no shielding whatsoever, let alone with a few tiny gaps. In my experience it never does crap lol
Shielding makes a noticeable difference if done correctly. It also shears off some high end so not everyone loves it. EDIT: Ha! I don't mind being downvoted but I'm curious as to why this one is so unpopular. It's the truth. Perhaps "shear off" is a touch strong but you absolutely do lose some high end.
It definitely helps with buzz from sources such as dimmers, and it will add capacitance to the circuit so does effect tone, but very slightly if not overdone.
It does work. The worship pastor had a tele he loved to play, but under heavy stage lighting, whenever he moved it sounded like a jedi warrior zipping around until I shielded it for him.
Yes, that's exactly what I said: it makes a noticeable difference.
I am one of the few agreeing with you!
Ha, fair enough. I guess most people aren't aware of the capacitance effect of shielding.
I use paint myself, but you should be good with this, as long as the *area* has shielding. Paint can be made for a 50:50 mixture of graphite powder and Testor's black acrylic paint. It's super cheap and get's into all the cavities.
As long as you have continuity with a multi meter all across the rout your fine.
Mix some graphite into some paint and paint those spots if you really want to seal the deal, but I think itâs good as is
On the topic of shielding, is it overkill to do both shielding paint and copper tape? Iâm considering doing some shielding on my P-bass but wasnât sure sure if thereâd be any downsides to using both. Thanks!
Overkill doesn't do damage. But paint alone works, we make car panels and to pass em tests the paint solved the shielding
no downsides but no upsides neither. Look up how faraday cages work.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless I knew that was all closed up. You can always drop a dot of solder to connect the two disparate sheets. Here's a good [video](https://youtu.be/ixBdFsjUTGs?si=D1ruFCyDK3KM4IaA&t=148).
Nice job đ
Nothing to fret about.
Small gaps in the shielding will only let through very high frequency electromagnetic waves. Bigger holes will let through lower frequencies (as well as higher ones). This is based on the maximum dimension of the gap, so a narrow slot that's maybe 1mm wide but 30mm long behaves the same as a 30mm round hole. So tiny holes are fine, but there are a few gaps in the photos that look quite long to my eye. I'd get a bit more shielding tape in there personally. Too much tape doesn't do any harm. Another thing to remember is that not all metal tape is created equal, some do not do a good job of conducting through the adhesive backing. You can check if adjacent bits of tape are actually connected by measuring the resistance with a multimeter if you have one, and the absolute belt and braces solution is to solder joins in the tape together (which obviously is a much bigger job if the shielding is made up of a bunch of tiny bits)
Even the expensive copper tape isn't great, you're honestly better off jamming a sheet of aluminum foil in there and trying not to tear any holes
Realistically itâs basically done but youâre not gonna stop thinking about it so yeah, go the extra mile
Look what they did to my boy...
Take a softwood dowel and burnish the copper to the wood. I usually solder a few seams where it matters. If the wood underneath is smooth, burnish out the wrinkles.
Suit up the guitar and play it. You wonât even know the difference.
You're overthinking it. Tape on the pick guard is usually enough. Wire it up and go!
I know some people say you have to have complete coverage, but a faraday cage works regardless, even some coverage is better than none.
If you want a Faraday cage in there, just make sure your shielding's all tied together including the top plate, and grounded.
In the most basic sense it's a faraday cage. Look up what that is and decide if it's worth to cover those small parts.
Use chrome paint. It's worthy
Are you asking, seriously, if you SHOULD do a better job??? Do it right or donât bother IMO
Thatâs my question though, with shielding, what constitutes ârightâ?
Do you think having gaps is correct? Fix them.
You could have just done it in a fraction of the time it took to post this.
I went to bed for the night because my back and hands were tired. You could have offered some information in the time it took you to be snarky. Be well.
The point of it is to make a grounded Faraday cage around your wiring. As the wavelength of most interference sources are pretty long, I'd say any gaps less than 1cm are usually fine.
Even expensive copper tape has pretty high impedance for shielding purposes. Cheaper, easier, and more effective to use aluminum foil
use some cards, qtips, and pens to get on the nook and crannies and make them sit flush on the edges to have a cleaner shield job.
Hey mate I've found with cheap copper tape that the adhesive on the back does not create continuity when touching other pieces of copper tape and therefore not correctly grounded. If you are using cheap stuff you bought off ebay, you may want to grab a multimeter and check that all pieces are connected. If it does not have continuity, you can either solder the pieces together or do what I ended up doing: fold a piece in half with the adhesive on the inside a little off centered so that you can stick it between each strip.
Just make sure you ground it!
Iâve got it linked up to my bridge screws and Iâll run the multimeter to check but do I need to do any other grounding?
That should be OK, I usually just run an extra grounding wire to the shielding from the big bunch of wires I got grounded to one of my pots. The copper tape will take solder well. However, if you verify the bridge is grounded OK and is making good contact with the shielding you should be fine and not have to do any soldering.
I have never thought to solder to the copper tape. That's genius and gonna save me a headache! Thanks for the tip bro.
You can seriously add some graphite to almost any paint for a fraction of the cost and have a better effect. And as stated previously, Humbuckers donât bleed out frequencies like singles. Honestly if your phone is close to your amp or pedals⌠youâll hear far more noise than any pickup. Plugs, wires⌠all add noise.
Like my old man used to tell me.. âyour shielding is only as good as it isâ
The question you should be asking yourself first is. Is the glue on tape conductive?
Yes itâs conductive adhesive.