Does a tele need shielding?

superhand · November 19th, 2009, 10:41 PM

Hey all you modders, builders, luthiers etc. does your tele have shielding?

what are the pros and cons?

Peter Rabbit · November 20th, 2009, 12:16 AM

Hey superhand!

PRO: I used adhesive-backed copper shielding on the cavities AND each pup - this reduced the hum by about 75%.

CON: Costs a few bucks

Well worth it!

Southern Ill Electrics · November 20th, 2009, 12:49 AM

Ground the bridge plate....thats it here.

Each his own and whatever works.

LocustPlague · November 20th, 2009, 11:56 AM

It depends for me. I shielded my strat completely because it hummed like crazy. This was before I swapped the pups, but I didn't rip out the shielding to check if the current ones will be as bad.

My tele, with pups that I wound myself, has very negligible hum without any shielding.

My thoughts on it are: if the guitar hums, shield it. If not, don't go through the effort.

jkingma · November 20th, 2009, 12:13 PM

Some do. Some don't.

If it needs it, I do it.

If it doesn't need it, I don't.

woodman · November 20th, 2009, 12:37 PM

i did the full shielding monty once (Faraday cage) ... found it didn't help much, and also seemed like it dampened the tone a little.

superhand · November 20th, 2009, 09:12 PM

So far its 50 50. I kind of figured it would come out like that, the poll that is.

All I know is I want to get my new Keystones all wired up this weekend and I don't want to wait for the copper tape that I already ordered. I guess I can always do it later if I want to.

My SX had some hum with the original pickups and it has no shielding whatsoever. It wasn't that bad though, sounds like a single coil guitar to me! Every single coil guitar that I ever had buzzed at least a little bit, whether it had shielding or not. I think it has a lot to do with the pickups. I'm hoping that the Keystones are quieter than the stock pickups.

DavidP · November 20th, 2009, 09:56 PM

What Peter Rabbit said--I always shield the pup and control cavity with copper foil (get it in 1 ft squares) from a stained glass store.

View Poll Results: when building or modding a tele, do you use shielding?
No. my tele does not have or need shielding	8	36.36%
Yes. my tele has shielding	14	63.64%
Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll

November 19th, 2009, 10:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 419	Does a tele need shielding? Hey all you modders, builders, luthiers etc. does your tele have shielding? what are the pros and cons?

November 20th, 2009, 12:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
Southern Ill Electrics VENDOR Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hamilton County Age: 39 Posts: 1,386	Ground the bridge plate....thats it here. Each his own and whatever works. __________________ Jeffro' at Southern Ill Electrics 618-643-2406/618-308-0223 God Bless Les and Leo.

November 20th, 2009, 12:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
jkingma Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: N43° 11.943 ~ W079° 35.285 Posts: 3,727 18 Photos	Some do. Some don't. If it needs it, I do it. If it doesn't need it, I don't. __________________ Creator of Fine Sawdust and Expensive Kindling.

November 20th, 2009, 12:37 PM	#6 (permalink)
woodman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mint Hill, NC Age: 64 Posts: 9,149	i did the full shielding monty once (Faraday cage) ... found it didn't help much, and also seemed like it dampened the tone a little. __________________ Truth is stranger than fact ... www.myspace.com/stragglerswing (Woody & the Stragglers - Western Swing/Roots-rock)

November 20th, 2009, 12:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
Peter Rabbit TDPRI Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada Age: 59 Posts: 57	Hey superhand! PRO: I used adhesive-backed copper shielding on the cavities AND each pup - this reduced the hum by about 75%. CON: Costs a few bucks Well worth it!

November 20th, 2009, 11:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
LocustPlague Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 500	It depends for me. I shielded my strat completely because it hummed like crazy. This was before I swapped the pups, but I didn't rip out the shielding to check if the current ones will be as bad. My tele, with pups that I wound myself, has very negligible hum without any shielding. My thoughts on it are: if the guitar hums, shield it. If not, don't go through the effort.

November 20th, 2009, 09:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 419	So far its 50 50. I kind of figured it would come out like that, the poll that is. All I know is I want to get my new Keystones all wired up this weekend and I don't want to wait for the copper tape that I already ordered. I guess I can always do it later if I want to. My SX had some hum with the original pickups and it has no shielding whatsoever. It wasn't that bad though, sounds like a single coil guitar to me! Every single coil guitar that I ever had buzzed at least a little bit, whether it had shielding or not. I think it has a lot to do with the pickups. I'm hoping that the Keystones are quieter than the stock pickups.

November 20th, 2009, 09:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
DavidP Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 740	What Peter Rabbit said--I always shield the pup and control cavity with copper foil (get it in 1 ft squares) from a stained glass store. __________________ barely in tune and teetering on the brink of oblivion...

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