[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference napalm::guitar

Title:GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:KDX200::COOPER
Created:Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3280
Total number of notes:61432

2141.0. "Shielding issues." by BEEZER::FLOWERS (I have a burning ambition...) Thu Mar 14 1991 12:19

    Hello guitar techs,
    
    I know this has been talked about in another topic somewhere but I'll
    be buggered if I can find it....and anywau I don't think it addresses
    my questions.
    
    I bust a string this lunchtime and I thought it would be an ideal 
    opportunity to take my guitar apart and see what makes it tick :-)
    oh...and to give it a good clean.
    
    I have questions regarding shielding. Where should I put it? In the p/u
    bays, in the switch gear bay, in the bay that holds all the springs for
    the whammy? Do I have to use conductive paint? Would aluminium foil
    stuck on be ok? 
    
    At the moment the only shielding is a square inch of conductive paint 
    with a load of leads to it held down with a screw. Is this sufficient?
    
    Will I benefit from doing any of the above? Is there anything else
    that may be worth doing as I have the thing in bits???
    
    J.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
2141.1to shield - or not...BPOV02::DERRICOWhen it pains... it roars!Thu Mar 14 1991 14:3822
       Generally, it's good to shield the walls and bottom of your control
    cavity with decent copper sheilding. You would also shield the
    underside of your pickguard (removing the controls beforehand). You
    would put it in two parts - the walls, and the bottom; they would be 
    soldered at the creases.
       This all depends on what kind of guitar you have. You can also
    shield the walls and bottoms of the pickup cavities too. It's possible
    to use tin foil, but is extremely hard to work with; and doesn't have
    a sticky side to it.
       If you can get your local music store to sell you a couple feet
    of shielding it would be much better. This stuff is sticky on the back
    side so it stays in place when you're moulding it to the the cutouts.
       Spray shielding does only a minimal job at being effective. It can
    be used, but is prone to be disconnected from the pots and switches
    when tightening down on the parts.
       You do not need to shield the spring cut out since this is away from
    your control area.
    
    
    Good luck.
    
    /J
2141.2What he said....SMURF::BENNETTI'd rather be flailingThu Mar 14 1991 16:057
	Also - there are brush on paints. Dan Erlewine suggests that if
	you use the brush on conductive paint that you use small brushes
	and build up several coats. Test the completed paint job with your
	VOM to make sure that it is conductive. Ground your circuit to the
	paint and don't forget the back of the pickguard.

2141.3The dbii mod roooolz!DNEAST::GREVE_STEVEGreee Veee KingThu Mar 14 1991 18:3920
    
    
    
    
    	BUT!!    The original dbii RFI mod is still a great way to go as
    well!!  I have used body foil (ooooooo I like talking this way.. think
    I'll go homw and wet-sand myself) you know the kind they sell in the
    auto parts department at K-Mart, successfully on many a guit now and it
    has worked great every time.. To make sure that there is continuity
    across the entire sheet of foil.. I make little scratches across the
    seam.. I put foil on every damn thing.. pickguard, all body routes,
    etc. Be careful it cuts like a razor...  I've also found that a ground
    strap (across all the pots and connecting to the switch) made of heavy
    braid instead of regular wire makes a better RFI path to ground!  Just
    finished one last night, and some lucky dude is now the owner of the
    quietest squire strat I've ever heard... Hold em' up to a tv or video
    display to record the before and after noise reduction..
    
    
    Gree Vee
2141.4testifyRAVEN1::BLAIRBlairing the BluesSat Mar 23 1991 14:5211
    
    	I'll second Grevee's suggestion.  Real sticky stuff.  I bought it
    	at Auto Zone for $3.00 and there was planty.  I think what I bought 
    	is called muffler mender - but I ain't sure.  In the aviation world,
    	they call it 200 mph tape, cuz it won't fly off!  Make sure you
    	have continuity between the walls and bottom of the cavity if you 
    	use separate strips of tape.  You can turn a small strip of the tape 
    	upside down and tape it in place from the wall to the bottom with a 
    	larger strip to accomplish this.
    
    
2141.5DNEAST::GREVE_STEVEGreee Veee KingMon Mar 25 1991 22:246
    
    
    	or double it over a couple of times at strategic places giving the
    two areas a place to.... ummmmm... how should I say it.... 
    
    MATE!!!!
2141.6You hum it..i'll humm itTRUCKS::LITTENThu May 09 1991 11:1310
Folks,

        A UK guitarist here....we have DIY auto shops, but I don't recall the 
"body foil" term. What is it?? Sticky copper tape ?  It sounds good stuff.

Is my memory deceiving me or did my 'ole '61 strat have a copper plate under 
neith the scratch plate ? Is the demise of this another example of CBS "build 
to a price" ?

Dave_itching to rebuild his '80 strat/wishes he still had the '61_Litten
2141.7DNEAST::BOTTOM_DAVIDvictim of unix...Thu May 09 1991 11:395
    In the shops here you can buy some tape, it's usually aluminum (sp?)
    with a sticky side for sticking it over the holes in the auto body and
    you can then get your car inspected for another year  :-)
    
    dbii
2141.8Fender used aluminumLEDS::BURATIrih-bah...RIH-BAH!Thu May 09 1991 14:297
    Back in the old days, Fender used to put a piece of thin aluminum in the
    same outline as the pickguard under the pickguard. I don't know if they
    ever used copper. Later on they made the shield much smaller and (I
    think) thinner, like foil.

    --ron