So how's everybody feel about shielding?

[klasher]

I was told on the Fender Forum that shielding my tele may be the way to go to get rid of nasty electronic hum from my amp and dist. pedal when the amp is cranked up (actually, the hum is always there, it's just louder and more annoying when the amp is louder!)
Anyway, he was telling me shielding his strat really helped. He said he preferred shielding paint rather than copper tape.
Anybody have similar success with shielding?
And does anybody know what the pros and cons are of copper tape versus shielding paint?
(by the way, my tele has rio twangbucker humbuckers in both positions, but it still hums more than my bucker-equipped strat).

[FMA]

Check this out: http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

Might be helpful...

[FMA]

Check this out: http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

Might be helpful...

[Rob DiStefano]

IME, shielding might help a teeny tad. The problem is that it's the top of the pickup (that acts like an antenna) that causes most of the 60 cycle buzz. Completely shielding the pickup in copper foil will greatly help, but it'll also change the tone of yer pup. In most cases, tidy and short wiring goes the longest distance to help the humbuzz. It doesn't hurt to use coax for any long hot lead runs, too. YMMV.

[e-merlin]

I haven't done as much experimenting as I'd like with sheilding, but that doesn't stop me from voicing my opinion.

Proponents of sheilding offer two reasons why it works:

1. Eliminates noise because it protects the electronics from RFI (radio frequency interference) and EMI (electro-mechanical interferince) by providing a barrier to stop it.

2. Provides seperate paths for signal ground and chassis ground.

Let's take a practical look at these.

1. Like Rob pointed out, the pickups are the main way a guitar picks up interference. They would have to be wrapped in sheilding material for it to be 100% effective. Most sheilding methods do not do this.

2. Unless you run another cable from your guitar to ground, the signal and chassis grounds have to meet. It doesn't matter when they meet, they still do meet.

So while it may do some good, it's a lot of work and to me it's not worth the extra time.

[sparky]

with no offence intended to E-merlin (like you 'I haven't done as much experimenting as I'd like with sheilding, but that doesn't stop me from voicing my opinion').
As the pick-ups are humbucking they should not pick up (lol) much hum in them selves, but the wiring, pots, etc may well benefit from shielding.
Agreed the signal earth and shield earth (ground) must meet, but if they only meet at one point they cannot create an earth loop, which is a common cause of hum-related problems.

[denny]

I have shielded my MIM standard tele with copper foil - see the guitarnuts link above, and gone beyond with braided shiellds in the "tunnels", and shielded cable from the volume control to the jack.

This guitar is now quiet in the presence of flourescent lights, computers, monitors, and all other noise.

The things to do with problem noise (specifically 60Hz hum or buzz) - called EMI is to:

1) Determine the source of the noise (EMI). This can be flourescent light fixtures, stage light dimmers, computers, etc.

2) Get the system (guitar, cables, etc.) as far away from the noise source as possible.

3) Use shielding or RF quieting FIRST ON THE NOISE SOURCE, if possible.

4) Shield the system from the noise. In the case of a Tele, shield the electronics, and use a high quality connecting cable.

5) Sometimes the orientation of the system with respect to the noise source will help... try turning in different directions or standing in a different place.

All else being said, one roll of 2-inch copper tape from stew-mac is enough for two guitars. I got the shielding kit, and it is still in the bag. I used copper gilding foil from a local hobby shop to back the pickguard.

Plays quiet in the computer room and under flourescent lights.

denny

[Tiddles]

If you have a vintage Tele then avoid copper paint or permanently fixed foil, because it covers/erases authentic body markings & will seriously reduce the value of the guitar . Otherwise - my Teles (single coil) always buzzed due to poor grounding of the bridge plate/pup – easy check by touching a length of wire from bridge to control plate (or other metal part) – I usually end up soldering an internal wire from base of bridge/pup to control pot. YMMV of course :? .

[Teleologist]

Check that your hum isn't from a bad ground connection or ground loop somewhere in the signal chain. Is the pedal powered by an AC power supply - try it on batteries, try other pedals, etc. Also the stock Tele wiring grounds the PUPs to he back of the Vol pot, the output jack to the back of the tone pot, so the ground connection goes thru the pots, nuts, washers, control plate, etc. IMO it's much better to star-ground everything to the back of the volume pot.

I have a Ric 360/6 with mini-buckers & shielded cable from the PUPs to the control cavity, but the control cavity(much bigger than a Tele) and pickguard are completely unshielded and wired with normal single conductor wire. The guitar is virtually dead-silent in front of a computer monitor or thru the high gain channel of a Boogie. I have shielded my modern Teles & Strats(I prefer shielding paint) and it does make the ones with single coils more directional, but most of the noise pickup is from the front. My bender Tele has a stack bridge PUP a neck bucker and shielding, but it's not any quieter than the Ric.

BTW, humbuckers WILL pick up hum if the source is from the side and not hitting both coils equally. Uncovered buckers are more susceptible to this.

[telel6s]

First, I shielded by Nashville Deluxe and it made a huge difference. I followed the GuitarNuts info to do it, using thin copper from a craft store. It was the first time I did any work on a guitar (after playing for over 20 years) and I found it quite easy to do. So my vote is yes to shielding if you're getting noise/hum/interference.

Question, since I'm going to be shielding a second tele:
If I use an anodized aluminum pickguard, will that take care of that part of the shielding? My guess is yes but I'm not certain.

Thanks.

[Bob Rogers]

If you get it all right it can make a good deal of difference, but it's not perfect. I've been using the copper foil. It's a fair amount of work to get it all right - no shorts - no loops. I'm going to get the paint next time. I'm sure it's not as good, but it will keep the hum lower with less chance of shorts, etc. There is nothing that is going to kill the hum completely if you are next to a transformer. Single coils are an antenna as said above.

Bottom line $.02- do some simple basic shielding (guitarhuts directions are good) but don't expect perfection or go out of your way to try to achieve it.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by Bob Rogers

.... I'm going to get the paint next time. I'm sure it's not as good, ....

Yes, it's as good, IMO - shake the can well b4 using, do 3 coats with adequate drying time for each coat. *MUCH* easier than copper foil and both achieve the same results - close, but no cigar. YMMV.

[Nofretsplz]

I've seen 3 different shielding techniques--
1. Thick aluminum foil and rubber cement
+ Cheap (less than$5)
+ Doesn't permanently adhere to that vintage gem of yours
- Messy and time-consuming

2. Self-adhesive aluminum or copper foil
+ same as above
+ the copper foil from Stew Mac has conductive adhesive, so you don't need to worry about whether overlapping layers are elecrically connected
- same as above

3. Conductive shielding paint
+ Easy to apply, esp. to odd-chaped cavities and tight spaces
- Uber-expensive ($26 at Stew Mac)
- I think it's pretty dang permanent

The electrical properties of all 3 techniques are identical.
See GuitarNuts.com for details...

Hope this helps,
James

[TG]

A few years ago when I first assembled my current tele out of parts I put in a Duncan AlnicoIIPro bridge pickup. I tried it a few days and I was really disappointed by it. Thin with lots of humming. I was ready to sell the pickup and try somethng else but, luckily, I'd found the guitarnuts site and had acquired some copper shielding tape before actually selling it. I did the shielding...and the difference in tone quality was incredible. This was supposed to be a backup guitar to the 2000 AmSe tele I used to have, but it's been my number 1 ever since.....and the AlnicoIIPro pickup is still in it.
So nobody can tell me shielding doesn't make a difference.