J-Bass Shielding

[LarryPlayfair]

I've been reading the posts about shielding and installing a metal plate under the pickups, and I think it's time for modding to my J-bass.

Two questions- Is it wise to shield and put a metal plate underneath the pickups? Or are the two mutually exclusive?

Also, if I'm going to use sheilding paint in the pickup and control cavities, do I have send a ground wire to the paint in each cavity? Does anyone know of a website that details this?

Finally, is it overkill to also use foil under the pickguard while doing the above or some combination thereof?

Thanks!

[Dennis_UK]

With good shielding of the cavities with paint, and the foil under the p/g, I'd think the under-pickup plates would be fairly superfluous. Belt and two sets of braces!

While on this subject, the one mod I *always* do to my basses (not done the Sting yet...) is to re-wire with coaxial cables. To a large extent, this does away with the need to shield much else. Naturally, this is heresy if you have a vintage instrument, but if you're out there in the RFI and EMI-filled playing world, you've got to get rid of the noise somehow, and this always improved things for me, without affecting tone in any way I could tell.

[LarryPlayfair]

What if I wanted to go the steel plate route?

Would I have to solder a ground wire from the plate on each pickup to the volume pot?

I guess I'm not sure how this whole ground wire process works, and could use some sort of primer.

[Dennis_UK]

should they be steel plates? That would surely interact with the pickup magnets. If that's what the idea is, as well as shielding, fine. But surely any metal would do if *only* for shielding...

Certainly if the pickups are within a shielded cavity, (paint, foil) then I see no need for plates. If no other shielding, fine. I'm not sure what exactly is intended with the plates. If the pickups needed them, as some Teles do, they'd have them. Like I say, while I'm an electronics tech, I'm no expert on J basses and their possible quirks.

[LarryPlayfair]

I was going off of the post a few lines down...

"Ground Plate under Pickup Improves Tone"

I was hoping to go that route, as opposed the paint, etc.

[brock29609]

I'm a big fan of the paint. I've done 5 basses and I still have more than half a can left. Regardless of how you shield your cavities, the shield must be connected to ground, preferrably at one point.

Brass shielding plates need to all be connected to one pot case. With the paint, I prefer to have the shielding paint from each cavity touch each other through the routed tunels. Just let the wet paint drain through the tunnels. The pot cases come in contact with the control cavity shielding, and the control cavity shielding connects to the pickup cavity shielding. One continuous coat of paint.

If your Jazz bass has a chrome plate over the control cavity, just make sure that plate comes in contact with the paint, preferrably around all three screw holes if not the entire perimeter.

[martini]

Tried all that shielding, foil and paint on a '78 Jazzbass a few years ago but it made no real difference. My main squeeze (The wife) for the last 7 years has been a stock '75 Jazz. No earth buzz problems whatsoever. And I've done gigs where our guitarists had earth probs with a Les Paul and I've been fine. Go figure. :?

[Bob Rogers]

The with shielding only helps if you are having trouble with buzz. If you aren't, ideally it should have no effect. A poorly grounded LP will hum as bad as anything. Humbuckers only buck hum when they are wired right.

[martini]

Nothing wrong with the LP Bob, rewired by my good self when we installed Some SD Antiquities. Get this: A '68 Les Paul custom and the previous owner had binned the stock pups coz they "Did'nt sound authentic". AAAGGGHHH.