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Is it absolutely necessary to shield an SX bass??

Discussion in 'Pickups & Electronics [BG]' started by twdavis13, Jul 23, 2009.

  1. Jul 23, 2009 #1
    twdavis13

    twdavis13

    Dec 14, 2008
    I bought an SX Pirate bass yesterday, and am concerned about the shielding issue, and how badly the bass will sound without it. If I decide to do it, how hard is it to do???


    One other member said it's as easy as this:

    aluminum-foil-00.jpg
     
  2. Jul 23, 2009 #2
    SpamBot

    SpamBot

    Dec 25, 2008
    St. Paul, MN
    No. I have found it's rarely necessary. Do it if you're a perfectionist, or have a bass that's unusable noisy. Most basses are fine.
     
  3. Jul 23, 2009 #3
    faust23

    faust23

    Jul 8, 2009
    Victorville California
    id say its absolutly necessary to shield every bass,use shielding tape and shielded wire
     
  4. Jul 23, 2009 #4
    twdavis13

    twdavis13

    Dec 14, 2008

    Seriously???
     
  5. Jul 23, 2009 #5
    SpamBot

    SpamBot

    Dec 25, 2008
    St. Paul, MN
    If you do decide to shield it, just use the foil. The one bass I needed to shield worked fine with the plain ol' plain ol'.
     
  6. Jul 23, 2009 #6
    faust23

    faust23

    Jul 8, 2009
    Victorville California
    yes,but i would have to agree with the perfectionist thing,id say its like a fail safe
     
  7. Jul 23, 2009 #7
    SpamBot

    SpamBot

    Dec 25, 2008
    St. Paul, MN
    +1, fail safe is a great way to put it. Shielding can never hurt (unless you do a bad job of it.) FYI if you miss a spot, what hum there was will be louder, IIRC.
     
  8. Jul 23, 2009 #8
    line6man

    line6man

    Jun 20, 2008
    Close to Los Angeles, CA
    It's so cheap and easy to shield that i think every bass should be shielded regardless of whether it's actually necessary or not.


    Aluminum foil?
    That will work, but solder doesn't stick to aluminum. You're going to have a tough time maintaining continuity between each little piece...
     
  9. Jul 23, 2009 #9
    SpamBot

    SpamBot

    Dec 25, 2008
    St. Paul, MN
    I just ripped of a huge piece and trimmed it down once it was in there.
     
  10. Jul 23, 2009 #10
    rumblethump

    rumblethump

    Mar 25, 2000
    Pioneer CA. 95666
    Absolutely necessary? No. Been playing 40 years and never had to shield an instrument.
     
  11. Jul 23, 2009 #11
    Ric5

    Ric5 Supporting Member

    Jan 29, 2008
    Colorado
    I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
    Is it absolutely necessary to shield an SX bass??

    nope ...

    it is not absolutely necessary to sheild any bass ... but it might be desireable ... and sheilding doesn't hurt the bass.
     
  12. Jul 23, 2009 #12
    stflbn

    stflbn

    May 10, 2007
    Nashville
    Not necessary, but definitely worth doing.

    And... IMHO... give up on the thoughts of using aluminum foil. Buy some Copper Shielding tape and do it right. It will take a quiet bass and make it dead quiet. Also helps to put better pots into the SX at the same time, as you'll probably find them getting noisy quick.