Is shielding required on a passive P-bass?

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Title says it all. I just acquired a 2017 Fender American Professional Precision bass. It's the passive model. The POT cavity is not painted black nor does it have shielding. The color of the bass body is antique green, as is the internal walls of the cavity. Should I add shielding? Thank you!

 

[dwizum]

Any conductive part in your circuit will be subject to picking up electromagnetic noise. That includes wiring and other compoents. A humbcuking pickup only protects you from noise picked up by the pickup - if you have unshielded wiring (as in your photo), the wiring itself may still pick up enough noise to make you unhappy. That's where shielding a cavity helps, and it has nothing at all to do with the style of bass or the type of pickup in it.

I haven't seen one of those close up so I can't tell for sure, but I know some instruments are given shielding paint in the cavities prior to their final finish, so the fact that the green extends into the cavity doesn't mean it isn't shielded.

Ultimately, the question "does this need shielding?" is best answered by observation: does the bass make noise in your normal playing conditions?

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Any conductive part in your circuit will be subject to picking up electromagnetic noise. That includes wiring and other compoents. A humbcuking pickup only protects you from noise picked up by the pickup - if you have unshielded wiring (as in your photo), the wiring itself may still pick up enough noise to make you unhappy. That's where shielding a cavity helps, and it has nothing at all to do with the style of bass or the type of pickup in it.

I haven't seen one of those close up so I can't tell for sure, but I know some instruments are given shielding paint in the cavities prior to their final finish, so the fact that the green extends into the cavity doesn't mean it isn't shielded.

Ultimately, the question "does this need shielding?" is best answered by observation: does the bass make noise in your normal playing conditions?

There was a ground wire from the treble pickup that was broken off from the solder joint. That created random crackles, which is why I opened it up to troubleshoot. Waiting for a new soldering iron to arrive to fix that.

It seems like there might be a slightly blackish tint to the cavity paint but I'm not sure.

 

[Kro]

Very strange. This would seem to indicate that the thought was there to ground it. BUT I'm not sure how that would work if the primary finish was coated over the shielding paint.

Do you have a multimeter? You can always check for continuity to test it out in a few places.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Very strange. This would seem to indicate that the thought was there to ground it. BUT I'm not sure how that would work if the primary finish was coated over the shielding paint.

Do you have a multimeter? You can always check for continuity to test it out in a few places.

View attachment 4172735

No multimeter. Wouldn't know how to use it!

How is shielding applied? Is there a particular type of tape to use? Glue in tinfoil? I am completely new in this department.

 

[BlueTalon]

This is my preferred method and source. Just line the cavities with it, make sure your bridge is grounded (you can solder the bridge ground directly to it) and that the shielding is connected to the circuit ground, and you're set. Don't forget to line the back side of your pick guard over the cavity opening, and make sure the tape comes over the edge of the cavity a little bit to make contact with the pick guard.

Copper Foil Shielding Tape w/ Conductive Adhesive Guitar Bass 3/4" x 18' roll | eBay

By the way, a multimeter would be a worthy investment. You should be able to get one for around $20 or so. You would use it to check continuity, among other things. For example, you could tell immediately if your bridge is grounded or not by touching one of the leads to your bridge and the other to the visible portion of your jack -- it should show zero resistance or something close to zero. If the reading jumps to a much higher number, you know you have a problem. Plus, you could measure your pickups with it.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Title says it all. I just acquired a 2017 Fender American Professional Precision bass. It's the passive model. The POT cavity is not painted black nor does it have shielding. The color of the bass body is antique green, as is the internal walls of the cavity. Should I add shielding? Thank you!

View attachment 4172612

Shielding isn't required on any bass. If you want to sheild it though, go for it.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Since there appears to be a faint blackish tint to the green paint inside the cavity, I'm wondering if Fender shielded first with black and then painted antique green over everything. Can anyone confirm if that's the process? If so, it's hard to believe the company would do it that way if it were to compromise shielding capability.

 

[dwizum]

You can paint all you want on top of the shielding, it will have zero impact on how effective the shielding is. Just FYI!

 

[Kro]

You can paint all you want on top of the shielding, it will have zero impact on how effective the shielding is. Just FYI!

That's true, as long as you're still able to have it make connection with the ground. It is possible that painting over it could break that connection.

It's also possible, that the ground wire screwed into the cavity still works. Without a multimeter, it's pretty much impossible to know though.

I will say this, my American Standard (burst) has the shielding paint over the finish - not the other way around. Still, the proof is in the pudding... (my assumption is that you're probably fine and don't need additional shielding).

 

[BlueTalon]

Do you absolutely need shielding? Probably not. But if you're asking the question, for the amount of money involved (not much) and a little bit of your time in exchange for peace of mind, you might as well do it.

 

[Killing Floor]

That screw? The ground wire anchored to the wood suggests there is some type of shielding. Maybe it's painted as a first coat under the green? Not saying I am right, but what could it be?

If you need it, Stew Mac has copper tape pretty low cost.

 

[40Hz]

Very strange. This would seem to indicate that the thought was there to ground it. BUT I'm not sure how that would work if the primary finish was coated over the shielding paint.

It’s not an ideal way to do it IMO. But the screw anchoring the lug would cut through and make contact with the conductive paint thereby grounding it if any is under there.

These are extremely small amounts of current you’re dealing with in a passive bass. You don’t need hefty connections to establish a circuit in this instance.

 

[wysiwyg248]

Just make sure the conductive tape has conductive adhesive as well.
As someone pointed, for the amount of work and investment, is worth doing it.
Last thing you want to do is to play in a old bar with lost of fluorescent lights that make your bass buzz like crazy.

 

[Ruknrole]

You have a ground wire to a ground screw. The shielding paint is probably under the green paint.

 

[bobdabilder]

Yes.

Title says it all. I just acquired a 2017 Fender American Professional Precision bass. It's the passive model. The POT cavity is not painted black nor does it have shielding. The color of the bass body is antique green, as is the internal walls of the cavity. Should I add shielding? Thank you!

View attachment 4172612

 

[andare]

Title says it all. I just acquired a 2017 Fender American Professional Precision bass. It's the passive model. The POT cavity is not painted black nor does it have shielding. The color of the bass body is antique green, as is the internal walls of the cavity. Should I add shielding? Thank you!

View attachment 4172612

You still haven't replied to the question: is there a buzz that goes away when you touch metal on the bass? If so then the shielding is absent or ineffective, in which case copper tape in the cavities and under the pickguard will do the job. Make sure to have tabs of tape over some of the pickguard screws. Use a multimeter to check continuity. It's cheap and easy to use.

 

[fhm555]

...I haven't seen one of those close up so I can't tell for sure, but I know some instruments are given shielding paint in the cavities prior to their final finish, so the fact that the green extends into the cavity doesn't mean it isn't shielded...

A lot of the MIM j basses i’ve seen had painted over shielding in the control cavity.

 

[Koshchei]

It won't hurt, and if you're uncertain about whether it's already shielded, conductive copper tape is more effective than conductive paint. Just make sure to get the underside of the pickguard as well to properly enclose the Faraday Cage you're constructing.

 

[Kro]

conductive copper tape is more effective than conductive paint.

Source?