Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)

[needmoney]

Awesome! Thanks man!

[Dan1099]

Lyle... I'm sure I'm having a brain fart here... But how does the shield (copper foil, control plate, etc.) connect to the ground lug on the output jack?

Edit: Nevermind. I'm an idiot.

[Vic]

I just (re)found this thread and it's such a good one I wanted to at least print out the first post with pics and such, but without all the web dressing, so I converted it to a Word doc, and credited Lyle for it. This way, it prints out nice. I also PM'd Lyle so he could get it from me via email (or here) if he wanted.

FYI...

Jazz_Shielding_Pictorial.doc

[marc40a]

So I'm done w/ the shielding part. I still have some soldering to do. I popped the control plate w/ the stock wiring on the bass for a test run and it does indeed lower the noise floor. Thanks for the pictorial.

My question... Do you get hum when you're touching the polepieces when you're not simultaneously contacting the strings or control plate?

I'm curious to see if that is a sign of a bad pickup ground or if it's something that might be alleviated once I'm wired properly.

Thanks

[Lyle Caldwell]

Some pickups do that, some don't. Brush some clear nail polish over the polepieces and then yours won't.

[marc40a]

Thanks.

The problem is gone, now. It disappeared after I fully strung up the bass. I'm psyched.

When I wrote that post I had only one string on the bass so I could test the shielding.

[Lyle Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Vic

I just (re)found this thread and it's such a good one I wanted to at least print out the first post with pics and such, but without all the web dressing, so I converted it to a Word doc, and credited Lyle for it. This way, it prints out nice. I also PM'd Lyle so he could get it from me via email (or here) if he wanted.

FYI...

Jazz_Shielding_Pictorial.doc

Thanks, Vic!

[spaceman]

Originally Posted by Lyle Caldwell

Some pickups do that, some don't. Brush some clear nail polish over the polepieces and then yours won't.

I did that to mine but it didn't help.
I checked with a meter that the nail polish was non-conductive and that was the case. My wild speculation is that there may be some type of capacitative effect that can also cause a buzz.

[Jazz Ad]

On a Jazz-style bass (well, the couple of them I did already), I shielded the pickups, not the cavities.
First I covered the coils and the bottom with a layer of teflon tape to make sure the shielding wouldn't get in contact with the coils and then I used adhesive copper tape over it.

I copper taped each corner of the PU and also the bottom. This way, the whole PU was wrapped in shielding tape but the upper poles and about 1/8" around them. When I put the covers back onto them, the whole thing was invisible.

I kept the original 2 wire cable and wrapped it just the same, instead of doing the "tunnel" thing.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

On a Jazz-style bass (well, the couple of them I did already), I shielded the pickups, not the cavities.
First I covered the coils and the bottom with a layer of teflon tape to make sure the shielding wouldn't get in contact with the coils and then I used adhesive copper tape over it.

I copper taped each corner of the PU and also the bottom. This way, the whole PU was wrapped in shielding tape but the upper poles and about 1/8" around them. When I put the covers back onto them, the whole thing was invisible.

I kept the original 2 wire cable and wrapped it just the same, instead of doing the "tunnel" thing.

I think this was discussed and I seem to recall that moving the shield this close to the coils and pole pieces was suspected to affect tone. I don't know if it's true, but I believe that's what was said.

[Lyle Caldwell]

It can affect the tone, making it slightly darker. But with the lower noise and hiss, you can turn the trble up on your amp to compensate. It's a tradeoff that works for some, doesn't work for others.

[Lyle Caldwell]

Originally Posted by spaceman

I did that to mine but it didn't help.
I checked with a meter that the nail polish was non-conductive and that was the case. My wild speculation is that there may be some type of capacitative effect that can also cause a buzz.

Really? I haven't run into that. But I guess that's possible, and capacitance is probably the cause. In which case, just don't touch the polepieces. <g>

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Lyle Caldwell

Really? I haven't run into that. But I guess that's possible, and capacitance is probably the cause. In which case, just don't touch the polepieces. <g>

Patient: Doc, it hurts when I stick forks in my eyes
Doctor: Don't stick forks in your eyes

[Cardiac95]

Lyle: A have an '03 Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that gives me buzzing issues in one particular venue. Having read this thread, I opened her up for the first time & found the following:

-Grounding Plates installed in each pickup & control cavity.
-Grounding Wires from each pickup ground plate connected to a Ground Lug that was screwed through the control cavity ground plate. Also connected to the ground lug were the negative leads from each pickup.
-A Ground Wire from the bridge was soldered to the Tone Pot along with a 2nd Ground Wire that was then soldered to the control cavity ground plate (seperate from the ground lug).
-None of the side walls in either the pickup or control cavities were shielded.
-There was no "connection" between the control plate & the control cavity ground plate (such as your copper foil tab).

My assessment is that the bass is pretty well grounded, but not well shielded. I'm guessing my next move would be to shield the sidewalls of all cavities, soldering them to each ground plate....then install the foil tab to connect the control plate to the rest of the shielding.

Did I miss anything? Are the multiple ground plates an issue?

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Cardiac95

Lyle: A have an '03 Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that gives me buzzing issues in one particular venue. Having read this thread, I opened her up for the first time & found the following:

-Grounding Plates installed in each pickup & control cavity.
-Grounding Wires from each pickup ground plate connected to a Ground Lug that was screwed through the control cavity ground plate. Also connected to the ground lug were the negative leads from each pickup.
-A Ground Wire from the bridge was soldered to the Tone Pot along with a 2nd Ground Wire that was then soldered to the control cavity ground plate (seperate from the ground lug).
-None of the side walls in either the pickup or control cavities were shielded.
-There was no "connection" between the control plate & the control cavity ground plate (such as your copper foil tab).

My assessment is that the bass is pretty well grounded, but not well shielded. I'm guessing my next move would be to shield the sidewalls of all cavities, soldering them to each ground plate....then install the foil tab to connect the control plate to the rest of the shielding.

Did I miss anything? Are the multiple ground plates an issue?

Nope, you got it, and it should take care of it, except for single-coil hum, which you can not get rid of w/out swapping p'ups. However, a good shielding job will minimize it enough to not be a problem.

[msquared]

Originally Posted by Vic

I just (re)found this thread and it's such a good one I wanted to at least print out the first post with pics and such, but without all the web dressing, so I converted it to a Word doc, and credited Lyle for it.

I took the liberty of PDFing it for those who don't do MS products: http://matt.fluxcapacitor.net/Jazz_S..._Pictorial.pdf

[Vic]

Originally Posted by msquared

I took the liberty of PDFing it for those who don't do MS products: http://matt.fluxcapacitor.net/Jazz_S..._Pictorial.pdf

VERY cool! Saving a copy now.

[renejaime]

I've seen the use of Conductive Paint and Copper foil is there any difference between the two?

Shielding Effectiveness?
Ease of Use?

I've read that Rick Turner uses both on his Renaissance basses...if so how, doubling up foil over paint or just where one is less than optimal for application?

[Vic]

Originally Posted by renejaime

I've seen the use of Conductive Paint and Copper foil is there any difference between the two?

Shielding Effectiveness?
Ease of Use?

I've read that Rick Turner uses both on his Renaissance basses...if so how, doubling up foil over paint or just where one is less than optimal for application?

I've tried both. IMHO, paint sux. It's easier to use, but I think you have to use a lot of it to get it to work ok, and even then I think the foil is much better.

[renejaime]

thanks, for the answers...

great thread btw very helpful.