Replaced 57 RI P Bass pickguard - do I need pickguard shield?

[Britbonic]

I have a 2008 57 AV PBass that I love. Lightweight, resonant and sounds great. However I just can't deal with the gold anodized pickguard. Yea, I know it's original and all but after a couple months I decided I needed to change it to a more traditional tort guard. Now that it looks and feels better to me I'm wondering if I also need to add a pickguard shield underneath. The 62 tort guard is just plastic with no foil or other shielding underneath.

Anyone have experience with these? Do I need one and will it make the bass quieter?

[ReidK]

It will almost certainly lower the noise level, and it can't hurt.

What I do on all my pickguards is cover the back with heavy duty alluminum foil, applied with a spray adhesive like 3M 77. Trim (carefully) with an exacto knikfe after gluing. Piece of cake, cheap, and works very well.

Reid