Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)

[Vic]

Sorry Vic, I dont wake up mentally till after my shower in the morning. What I meant was "Can we just use that schematic, with only one volume pot, as there is only one pickup" somehow this is what i was trying to say in that huge paragraph above. Thanks

The answer is yes, but the recommendation is still to fix/replace the dead pickup rather than wire around it.

Also, the clarification is, I assume we're talking about a passive J bass... not a passive P, which is what you originally mentioned.

I just want to make sure I'm answering the right question, so I can do my best to answer correctly.

 

[Dan1099]

Sorry Vic, I dont wake up mentally till after my shower in the morning. What I meant was "Can we just use that schematic, with only one volume pot, as there is only one pickup" somehow this is what i was trying to say in that huge paragraph above. Thanks

Essentially, yes. Pickup to volume, volume to tone, tone to output. Treat each pot as it's teated in the above diagram...i.e. ground lugs all go to one common star ground, along with the bridge ground. A wire goes from there to the output ground lug. The black wire from the pickup also goes to the ground lug of the output jack.

 

[Dan1099]

The answer is yes, but the recommendation is still to fix/replace the dead pickup rather than wire around it.

Also, the clarification is, I assume we're talking about a passive J bass... not a passive P, which is what you originally mentioned.

I just want to make sure I'm answering the right question, so I can do my best to answer correctly.

He's asking if he can use the J-bass wiring diagram to wire his P bass, by just deleting one of the volume controls.

 

[Vic]

He's asking if he can use the J-bass wiring diagram to wire his P bass, by just deleting one of the volume controls.

Ok, I see that now... the whole pickup being a dud comment threw me.

 

[grumpyjfc]

I'm confused. Why do you need a blend pot for only one pickup?

 

[Vic]

I'm confused. Why do you need a blend pot for only one pickup?

I'm confused. Who said this?

 

[BigTreble]

So i wired up my bass with the new pickup, and for some reason, when the tone is turned up and not rolling off treble, there is an audible buzzing or humming, but once i turn it down, or touch the pot shaft, it stops humming. I am not ground to my strings at all in anyway. My guess would be a ground loop, but i thought i would ask, and see where i should look first. Thanks for all the help, you guys kick asss.

 

[Dan1099]

Ground the strings. This will make it silent while you're playing the bass. Search for a ground loop.

-Remember, all the "ground lugs" from the pots, along with the bridge ground, should be tied to a single grounding point (this is the "star" of star grounding), which is screwed through the shielding tape. No More bending pot lugs back and soldering them to the pot casing!

-The tape should also climb "over" the wall of the cavity, so that it contacts the shield on the back of the pickup. This grounds the pickguard and pot casings.

-One wire goes from the "star" to the ground lug of the output jack.

-The pickup negative lead goes directly to the ground lug of the output jack.


That should cover it all. Let me know how it works!

 

[fretster]

Hi. I just wanted to report in that I did the copper job on my Fender Fretless Jazz, and the result is awesome. No problems, no questions, just straight forward. I got the copper foil in the kit from StewMac. This bass is now dead quiet. No need to touch the strings to remove the buzz. It's just great.

This bass had no shielding to begin with.

By contrast, my 85 Marcus Miller MiJ DOES have shielding paint in the control cavity. It was not humming (much), but in some places it would pick up the sound from the PA, usually the vocal. Very odd hearing the singer's voice coming out of my amp! Taking off the control plate, I saw the grey paint in there, and even tested with an ohm-meter. Bummer. Shielding present, and still external noise coming through. I concluded the only solution was to replace the single coil pickups with dualcoils. I happened to mention this to John East (of J-retro fame), who suggested I check the pickup cavities. Sure enough, they were NOT shielded. He says those are more important to shield than the control pots cavity. So, with the leftover copper from the first job, I had just enough for the pickup cavities, and I tidied up the ground wiring to be more star-like. Result--- no more PA through this bass, and it is just as quiet as the other one.

And of course, thanks tons to Lyle, Vic, Pdeon, and all the others contributing to this thread!

 

[Bassmancan]

Thanks so much for the info !

 

[sleepy_monkey]

Can anyone direct me to the copper tape? I saw it on StewMac but the shipping is as much as the tape...so I was hoping there was another place to get it.

And how much will one of those rolls do? 3 basses?

Thanks!

 

[Woogles]

Would it help yo shield the pickguard around where the pickups are?

 

[joelc1319]

Would it help yo shield the pickguard around where the pickups are?

I believe it is not a good idea to shield the pickguard at all. I may be mistaken, however, but can't you just fold the tape up onto the body under the pickguard? that way you wont have to worry about putting it in the right place on the pickguard and whatnot. However, how do you account for shielding around the bridge pickup?

 

[scuz]

I believe it is not a good idea to shield the pickguard at all. I may be mistaken, however, but can't you just fold the tape up onto the body under the pickguard? that way you wont have to worry about putting it in the right place on the pickguard and whatnot. However, how do you account for shielding around the bridge pickup?

I'm gonna have to shield the pickguard over the spot where the top-route is on my MIM J. Or do I not have to do that?

 

[Dan1099]

I'm gonna have to shield the pickguard over the spot where the top-route is on my MIM J. Or do I not have to do that?

Many pickguards are foil-backed. If this is the case, you don't have to add any additional shielding to it, you just need to make sure that the foil is making contact with your copper-foil shielding in the cavity. This is usually accomplished by having your copper come out of the cavity and fold over the edge onto the face of the guitar for a half inch or so.

 

[Vic]

Many pickguards are foil-backed. If this is the case, you don't have to add any additional shielding to it, you just need to make sure that the foil is making contact with your copper-foil shielding in the cavity. This is usually accomplished by having your copper come out of the cavity and fold over the edge onto the face of the guitar for a half inch or so.

+1 This is correct.

It depends on how big the hole is under the pickguard and whatnot. For example, in a P bass, they shield the pickguard just over the section covering the pickup route, then the idea, just as Dan1099 says, is to make sure that foil makes contact with the shielding in the pickup route, to "complete the shield can" around the pickup and its wires.

 

[FrostFire]

Has anyone successfully shielded a Jaguar bass? You've all heard about how bad the hum is, and yes, it's pretty bad, especially in active. It has the same pickups as a J, but all of the other electronic crap concerns me.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

There's the wiring diagram. I just have a few questions before I start this project (my tape won't arrive for 3 or so days anyway):

1. Basically, the process is cover all cavities with shielding tape, and make sure each compartment is connected to at least one other via a tube of copper or (just any ordinary copper) ground wire? And I'm no electrician, so what exactly needs to be soldered and what purpose does it serve?

2. I don't need to rewire anything, right? Will I need to unhook any pots or anything else? What about the battery in the Jag? Will this affect the shielding process?

Thanks in advance. I didn't see anything here about anyone shielding a Jag bass, so i thought I'd ask.

 

[fretster]

Has anyone successfully shielded a Jaguar bass? You've all heard about how bad the hum is, and yes, it's pretty bad, especially in active. It has the same pickups as a J, but all of the other electronic crap concerns me.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

There's the wiring diagram. I just have a few questions before I start this project (my tape won't arrive for 3 or so days anyway):

1. Basically, the process is cover all cavities with shielding tape, and make sure each compartment is connected to at least one other via a tube of copper or (just any ordinary copper) ground wire? And I'm no electrician, so what exactly needs to be soldered and what purpose does it serve?

2. I don't need to rewire anything, right? Will I need to unhook any pots or anything else? What about the battery in the Jag? Will this affect the shielding process?

Thanks in advance. I didn't see anything here about anyone shielding a Jag bass, so i thought I'd ask.

I've done two Jazz basses, but no Jaguars. BUT, the principle is the same: shield the pickup cavities and the control pot cavity, and tie the shielding to the ground point.

You need to put in solder points on the shielding itself where one piece of copper overlaps another, just as a precaution that the sticky glue loses its grip and the loses the connectivity. This is from experience of the other people posting on this thread, Lyle, Ptidwell, Vic, etc.

Read up on Star grounding too. From your wiring diagram, the Jag is almost star-grounded, with everything tied together on the case of the main volume pot except the Bridge ground wire. You need to add a wire from the new shielding to the main ground point. You might consider moving the bridge ground wire up to the same point with all the other ground wires, OR, tieing all the ground wires together on a ground lug, and running a new single wire from there to that pot. Do not mess with the ground wires from the pickups!

 

[FrostFire]

Alright, so I took apart my Jag and this is what I'm looking at:

A few questions:
I'm going to have to unwire everything, right? That's a lot of wires.
My pickup cavities have some sort of foam for the pickup to rest on. Does this need to be removed and shielded under/shielded over/not shielded at all?
I make tabs to connect the shielding with the pickguard on all cavities except the pickups cavities, correct?

All help is much appreciated. I'd rather not mess this up. Thanks!

EDIT: And it looks like everything is already star grounded, save for the bridge ground. Should I connect that to the other grounds? Or is it fine where it is?

 

[fretster]

Alright, so I took apart my Jag and this is what I'm looking at:
<pictures>


A few questions:
I'm going to have to unwire everything, right?

You should be able to work around them, and not unwire anything. You will run a new ground wire through the wire channel holes, as you can't create a shielding tube without unwiring.

My pickup cavities have some sort of foam for the pickup to rest on. Does this need to be removed and shielded under/shielded over/not shielded at all?

I suggest pulling up the foam, cleaning out the rubbery bits as much as you can, then shielding. Really get it clean before you put in the copper foil though. Then when it's time to put it all backtogether, put the foam in but don't bother glueing it in place.

I make tabs to connect the shielding with the pickguard on all cavities except the pickups cavities, correct?

Conventional wisdom is to have the pickguard plate touch the ground at just one point, to avoid loops. You do need to connect the shielding in each cavity to the next cavity, with a new wire.

All help is much appreciated. I'd rather not mess this up. Thanks!

EDIT: And it looks like everything is already star grounded, save for the bridge ground. Should I connect that to the other grounds? Or is it fine where it is?

I would not bother for now. When you are all done you still have some buzz, THEN do it.

NOTE: the most important cavities to shield are the pickups and the control cavity. The extra cavities for the switches and preamp may not be so important. I'm not sure on that though. Maybe the other TB Shielding Gurus can weigh in here. Might save you a lot of work if you only have to shield 3 cavities, and you might run out of copper foil if you do all 6. At least do those last!