Electric Guitar Electronics Shielding
This is a short video of a recent shielding job I did on my G&L Legacy.
Duration : 0:1:16
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Author:admin
Date: Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
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25 comments
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
that’s exactly what …
…and to think about many and i mean MANY expensive electric guitars don’t have not even a small clue of proper sheilding….
that’s exactly what sheilding prevents from..i think
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
what does shielding …
what does shielding do? my guitar makes alot of buzz and makes a spark sound when i touch the string or any other metal part on the guitar
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
hi .i have been …
hi .i have been building guitar fx..and am not sure about the shielding on the input part….can/do i use guitar type cable and just use the inner core to the input..or do i have to use the outer core to the ground on cirduit board or something…cheers..
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
get a noise gate!!! …
get a noise gate!!!!!
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Having a few gaps …
Having a few gaps is not a problem. Having the pots and switch in contact with the copper foil does not mean they are grounded. You have to confirm with a multimeter whether each earth pin does conduct through the copper foil. If not, you’ll have to solder a short piece of wire from each earth pin directly to the copper foil – also ensure that the earth lead of the output jack is also conducting through the copper.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Thanks for the tip! …
Thanks for the tip! The switch and pots already seem to touch the copper foil because they are mounted in the guitar(no pickguard), is that sufficient contact?
Btw does it matter if the shielding doesn’t fill every square inch of the cavity? I ran out of tape and there are a few tiny spaces without it, it won’t have an adverse effect will it?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Make sure you …
Make sure you mention that earthing of the copper surface is essential otherwise you get the opposite effect. Also as important is to avoid ground loops – any redundant wire connection to earth is a source of persisting noise even when everything seems properly earthed.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Lavabug: Make sure …
Lavabug: Make sure the earth lead (the outer mesh of the output cable) is in good contact with the back of the pot and the pot should be in contact with the copper foil. Any other point that needs grounding (switch, bridge, even pickups) should be soldered straight to the copper foil (shortest path to ground) – make sure there are no redundant wires going to ground otherwise they create the effect known as “ground loop” (parallel paths to ground) and it is also a cause of persisting noise.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Holy crap no wonder …
Holy crap no wonder my guitar is noisier, thanks for that info. What ground should I connect the shielding to? The one on my pots, bridge, switch? I thought my copper tape was already grounded since it’s making contact with my pots and switch, guess that’s not enough?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
ziajek00 – not …
ziajek00 – not necessarily. I think he did a good job. I thought that shielding the coils would be beneficial but because the conductive surface is too close to the coils it brings the antenna effect even if it’s earthed. There has to be some distance between the shielding surface and the pickups in order to reproduce the Tesla cage effect.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Hi vdjn55; yes it …
Hi vdjn55; yes it will work as long as the aluminium is in contact with the ground of your guitar. Aluminium is hard to solder because it doesn’t bind to conventional tin and lead based electronics solder. The best way is to extend the shielding (ground) of the output jack and make contact as good as you can to the aluminium (a bare wire in close contact with the aluminium foil using stick tape maybe a solution).
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
It really works …
It really works provided that the whole metallic surface is grounded (one very important thing that was not mentioned during the video) otherwise the whole thing will have the opposite effect magnifying the noise one wants to get rid off; simply because it will work as an antenna! The idea of grounding the copper foil is to send all unwanted signals to earth before it hits your wires. If it’s not grounded, there is no point in doing this.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
shielding rapes the …
shielding rapes the guitar’s resonance. makes it resonate like a block of lead.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
hi
ive got a strat …
hi
ive got a strat and ive put aluminum foil all over its insides…. theres only one problem: i dunno how to solder XD. would this work?: what if i take a piece of wire and connect the aluminum(from one of the walls) to the claw(in the trem cavity) using electrical tape at both ends…would it work?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
rnich: sounds like …
rnich: sounds like a grounding problem to me- touching the various parts grounds them through you. Proper shielding and regrounding should be beneficial.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
are you being …
are you being serious?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
I think aluminium …
I think aluminium is perfect… my guitar is shielded with this
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
What’s better, …
What’s better, aluminum or copper? I’m going to shield back cavity on my guitar (and I probably will shield pickups later), but I don’t know which material to use.
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
My guitar buzzes/ …
My guitar buzzes/hums. When I touch the strings, bridge, or knobs, the buzz goes away. If I repeatedly tap the strings, bridge, or knobs with my finger, it makes a popping sound. Does anybody know what the problem is?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
youre wrong. search …
youre wrong. search for “audere audio noise and/or hum faq” thats perfect and very good shielding
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
you did this …
you did this shielding quite inpreopper way. i dont belive this gives good results – you wasted much copper tape and didnt shield most important things – coils!!!!!
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
hey man, nice …
hey man, nice shielding, do this improvement can make troubles like electric damages to gear or to the guitar player?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
copper tape mate
copper tape mate
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
Hey man, how did …
Hey man, how did you do that?
I mean, is that aluminium foil or lead?
Monday, 14. September 2009 23:42
i had the same …
i had the same problem and it was nothing to do with the plug because it persisted when i used all wireless equipment
noise reduction effects worked for me – if you have anything noise reduction wise then give it a try – if not then think about getting one