Shielding help

[BenBradshaw]

This is a multiple part question. I'm trying to do the shielding mod that I found at GuitarNuts.com. So here goes.

1. Does opening up my guitar void the warranty?

2. The black wires on my MIM Tele are each soldered onto these odd clips that screw into the body of the guitar. When I put in the copper shielding, do I not want this the make contact with it? It seems like it would create a ground loop, right?

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...g?t=1278719237

3. While inspecting the wires I found that this white wire was touching this little brown component (capacitor?) and seems to have gotten burnt. This is bad right? Should I clip off the burnt part and re-solder it? How can I prevent this from happening again?

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...g?t=1278719325

[David Collins]

1. No, but obviously butchering anything up in the process of modifying it can.

2. No such thing as a ground loop in a passive electric guitar circuit. Though there may certainly be some useful tips at the Guitarnuts site, some things seemingly stated with certainty there should be taken with a tablespoon of salt. Ground loops in guitar circuits for example, are a completely unfounded and incorrect myth.

3. An aesthetic blemish, nothing more. No practical impact whatsoever.

And finally, shielding the control cavity of a Tele will very, very rarely have any noticeable effect in the big picture. It won't hurt, but it can only help in a very particular set of circumstances of a minor type of hum, which is not typically the source of hum most people are trying to eliminate. More often than not, it's a harmless, yet misguided effort.

Plus, it looks like your cavity is already shielded. Albeit generally a mediocre shielding job, there is not typically a great deal of improvement that will be noticed with an improved nickel or copper shielding.

[BenBradshaw]

What makes you say it looks shielded? It is just paint inside the cavities.

[David Collins]

Originally Posted by BenBradshaw

What makes you say it looks shielded? It is just paint inside the cavities.

Shielding paint - the common black shielding paint that I believe is used standard on these. If it weren't shielding paint, then there would have been no reason for them to have screwed ground terminals to the cavities to begin with.

[FenderGuy53]

Originally Posted by David Collins

Shielding paint - the common black shielding paint that I believe is used standard on these. If it weren't shielding paint, then there would have been no reason for them to have screwed ground terminals to the cavities to begin with.

I was clueless about the shielding paint when I installed my new pickups last Wednesday.

What happens if I don't ground the shielding paint?

[SimpleOne]

Originally Posted by FenderGuy53

I was clueless about the shielding paint when I installed my new pickups last Wednesday.

What happens if I don't ground the shielding paint?

FG53: See your own thread!

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...und-wires.html

What you are not grounded??!!

(kidding!)

[FenderGuy53]

Originally Posted by SimpleOne

FG53: See your own thread!

Just trying to get a quick reply is all...

[KenH]

Your wire, is it burned through? If not, it will be alright. If the wire is exposed you can tape it, replace it. Probably touched while soldering. The shielding paint was most likely applied before the finish for better adhesion, therefore over sprayed. Probably can't improve much on what you already have.

[FenderGuy53]

Originally Posted by KenH

Your wire, is it burned through? If not, it will be alright. If the wire is exposed you can tape it, replace it. Probably touched while soldering. The shielding paint was most likely applied before the finish for better adhesion, therefore over sprayed. Probably can't improve much on what you already have.

I have a newer Tele that has the factory shielding paint applied. The shielding paint was grounded by splicing a ring terminal into each of the pickup ground wires, screwing the ring terminals into the shielding paint in the pickup cavities, then soldering the ends of the pickup wires to the back of the Volume pot.

When I installed new pickups, I didn't ground the shielding paint. I just ran the pickup ground wires directly to the Volume pot.

What are the hazards of not grounding the shielding paint?

[cc9cii]

No hazard. You may or may not get extra noise (probably not).