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kyle1167 · July 4th, 2009, 08:20 AM

Callaham has one for fifteen bucks and now Guitar Fetish has one for just under eight.
Are they worth using? I just spray the back of the pick guard with adhesive and put on aluminum foil, seems to work fine.
If you did use one of the shields I'm assuming you would still shield the cavity, correct?

voided3 · July 4th, 2009, 02:47 PM

You already have the same shielding that one of those pre-cut shielding plates would provide by using a completely foil-backed pickguard. The cavities would need to be addressed to make a complete shield if they are not already.

uOpt · July 20th, 2009, 07:09 PM

Shielding is shielding. Any grounded conductor, no matter how thing, will do the job equally well.

These prepared shields are easier to apply and they don't get holes that easily. Not that small holes would matter if you don't have the sides and back shielded at all.

I would be a little careful with heavier shields around the pickups. Eddy Current can change the sound quite a bit. Thick aluminium or copper should not go right up to the pickups.

RussBert · July 26th, 2009, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uOpt

Shielding is shielding. Any grounded conductor, no matter how thing, will do the job equally well.

These prepared shields are easier to apply and they don't get holes that easily. Not that small holes would matter if you don't have the sides and back shielded at all.

I would be a little careful with heavier shields around the pickups. Eddy Current can change the sound quite a bit. Thick aluminium or copper should not go right up to the pickups.

How about Strats with aluminum pickguards? (like mine)

I noticed no tonal difference when I went from plastic to aluminum

rtb1487 · July 27th, 2009, 12:35 AM

I actually just shielded my Strat a couple days ago. I bought the shielding kit from Stew Mac but I did not shield the actual pickups like the instructions say to do. I used heavy duty aluminum foil from the grocery store and glued it to the back of my pickguard and I completely shielded the cavities with copper tape from the Stew mac kit. It helped a lot but I still pick up noise from computer monitors which is kind of annoying.

jefrs · July 27th, 2009, 04:02 PM

Aluminium is tricky because it is naturally coated in aluminium oxide which is an insulator. You can solder aluminium if you abrade it and solder it under oil. Not easy and needs practice but can be done to ground the plate.

July 4th, 2009, 08:20 AM	#1 (permalink)
kyle1167 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Center Point, Iowa Age: 42 Posts: 489	Aluminum pickguard shield questions. Callaham has one for fifteen bucks and now Guitar Fetish has one for just under eight. Are they worth using? I just spray the back of the pick guard with adhesive and put on aluminum foil, seems to work fine. If you did use one of the shields I'm assuming you would still shield the cavity, correct? __________________ My Guitars Guitar Projects

July 27th, 2009, 04:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
jefrs Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Newbury, England Age: 54 Posts: 2,138	Aluminium is tricky because it is naturally coated in aluminium oxide which is an insulator. You can solder aluminium if you abrade it and solder it under oil. Not easy and needs practice but can be done to ground the plate. __________________ There's two kinds of people, those that hear the music and those that don't.

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July 4th, 2009, 02:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
voided3 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,110	You already have the same shielding that one of those pre-cut shielding plates would provide by using a completely foil-backed pickguard. The cavities would need to be addressed to make a complete shield if they are not already.

July 20th, 2009, 07:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
uOpt Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Boston Posts: 139	Shielding is shielding. Any grounded conductor, no matter how thing, will do the job equally well. These prepared shields are easier to apply and they don't get holes that easily. Not that small holes would matter if you don't have the sides and back shielded at all. I would be a little careful with heavier shields around the pickups. Eddy Current can change the sound quite a bit. Thick aluminium or copper should not go right up to the pickups.

July 27th, 2009, 12:35 AM	#5 (permalink)
rtb1487 NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Staunton Posts: 8	I actually just shielded my Strat a couple days ago. I bought the shielding kit from Stew Mac but I did not shield the actual pickups like the instructions say to do. I used heavy duty aluminum foil from the grocery store and glued it to the back of my pickguard and I completely shielded the cavities with copper tape from the Stew mac kit. It helped a lot but I still pick up noise from computer monitors which is kind of annoying.

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