Jazz bass shielding question

[bassdog]

Does shielding the pup routes and control cavity make much of a difference? I'm considering getting some of that paint stuff but don't want to waste the money if it doesn't really matter. Thoughts? Thanks. Bob

 

[GMC]

Each Jazz pup is a single coil. So if you like to run em solo then it would be wise to try and shield / earth as much as you can. If you want to go active at some point, then you really will need to shield every thing that you possibly can.

 

[Lesfunk]

I’ve had very good results from shielding single coil equipped basses.
Especially with good quality pickups.
I shielded a jazz bass with Fralins and managed to knock down the single coil hum to almost imperceptible levels

 

[Killing Floor]

Yep.

 

[LoveThatBass]

Does shielding the pup routes and control cavity make much of a difference? I'm considering getting some of that paint stuff but don't want to waste the money if it doesn't really matter. Thoughts? Thanks. Bob

I shield any bass that isn’t already shielded

 

[JIO]

Carbon shielding paint goes a long way so a small bottle of it is good for a few basses. Two solid coats are best. A tip for using copper shielding tape (for under the pg and control cavity) - your local hardware store will have "Slug Tape" (same thing for less money than Stew Mac) You can also use the silver metal tape used for sealing ducts which comes in a wider roll. (also at the hw store) Star-grounding the cavities to the jack ground will also help contain hum. After using the paint in the whole cavity/cavities - I cut and apply copper tape to the base and you can solder to that. (like the copper plate in vintage Fender cavities)

 

[Geri O]

Does shielding the pup routes and control cavity make much of a difference? I'm considering getting some of that paint stuff but don't want to waste the money if it doesn't really matter. Thoughts? Thanks. Bob

I really cannot see any significant monetary savings by not painting/shielding. Consider it some very cheap insurance against noise.

Yeah, it matters.

 

[bassdog]

Thank you for the replies. The bridge pup cavity is tight on the Allparts body, and I had to sand the ends and corners of the Aguilar cover to get it in. It is still so tight it won't rise when I lossen the height adjustment screws. I don't think there is room to accommodate tape. Paint seems the way to go. Thanks

 

[laristotle]

I've shielded just the pups on my J and P/J and found them to be quieter.

Mod Garage: How to Shield Single-Coil Pickups

(guitar pup, but the same principle applies)

 

[micguy]

There are two sources of noise in pickups. Electrostatic noise and electromagnetic hum. Shielding will help with the first, but will do nothing for the second. Any single coil near a transformer or any other source of electromagnetic fields will hum, regardless of how well you shield it.

 

[skyline_01]

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I prefer copper tape, but yes it does help. It's not a cure-all, however. Think of it as a link in a chain or whatever analogy you prefer. It's also is not difficult to do. I even run bare-wire grounding jumpers from each cavity (using the copper tape to hold them in place).

 

[Bassamatic]

I have always copper shielded my J basses, and it DOES help, but not 100% because the coil always has to be open to get signals. I have ended up changing most of them to "noiseless" pickups so I can have more variance in the balance.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

because the coil always has to be open to get signals

What? The only signals it should receive are magnetic disruptions from a string vibrating within a field. Anything else is noise.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)

 

[Geri O]

Thank you for the replies. The bridge pup cavity is tight on the Allparts body, and I had to sand the ends and corners of the Aguilar cover to get it in. It is still so tight it won't rise when I lossen the height adjustment screws. I don't think there is room to accommodate tape. Paint seems the way to go. Thanks

Oh, I’m totally cool with the paint. There’s very knowledgeable folks that advocate its use.

A while back, I had 3 Fender Jazz basses at various times that proved to have the usual inadequate Fender shielding job. So I properly shielded all 3 basses. In all cases, I had only an evening to do the shielding work. Paint takes quite a while to dry and that’s fine if the schedule allows. So using the foil shielding was faster and worked in the time frame I had. That’s the only “advantage” I can see in the foil tape. My Mike Lull are crazy quiet and the shielding is all paint. No question whatsoever that it’s effective...

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I've done both, and in combination, using the shielding paint and foil. It definitely works, but it can be a pain to use, it dries really fast and tends to clump up, and it's expensive for even a small bottle that will do one bass. I like it for Pick up cavities, the edges of control cavities, etc where you don't want to see copper foil peeking through. You can get it in spray cans too, which probably puts it in more evenly, haven't tried that yet.

 

[mikecd1]

I like to use a hair dryer between coats. Someone suggested it in another thread and it really speeds up the drying time between coats and if you use the dryer on the final coat I've done several coats under an hour and put the bass back together quickly. Kind of like baking it on...