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Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)

#621
selowitch said:
I wonder if you can use the pickup cover facing up the first time to apply the fold points first, the for the next step, flip the pickup over and press it down to flatten the areas of the tape that are supposed to be flat.
Click to expand...
OHhhh... now I get what you're saying.

I tried to do the all in one thing before and could just not get it to stick very well against the walls. I had much better luck simply making one piece to lay flat on the bottom, and then just taping around the walls, and connecting them with solder at one point.

Remember, it's ok to have small gaps here and there. It's all about percentage of coverage.
 
#622
Vic said:
connecting them with solder at one point.
Click to expand...
Oh, so each piece need only be connected to the next at a single point, not all along each edge? That's a relief for this noob!
Per your advice, I figure I can just place the pickup cover over the reverse side of the tape (with the backing still on) and trace it with pencil, then cut it out, probably using a paper trimmer for all the straight cuts, and finally a sharp set of metal cutters for the circular parts.

Hey, moderators or OP or somebody -- can we please get the links to the pics fixed?
 
#624
I had been planning to replace the pickups and electronics in my CV jazz for a while and figured I may as well do the shielding while I'm at it. I honestly didn't expect it to make a huge difference, but even without switching to humbuckers or stacks, it cut the noise down to less than 1/10th of what it was previously. That's pretty huge in my book.

Just chiming in in appreciation of all the info here. It helped a lot.
 
#625
I followed all of this and I still get a terrible buzz/hum from my MIM Jazz w/ Audere jz3. The buzzing will mostly go away if I turn the bass away from the amp at *just* the right angle. In hooking up the Audere I jooked up the commons from the pickups to the regular inputs on the Audere, but then grounded the audere and bridge ground to the shielding. Anyone have any insight on this?

*Edit... I hooked up my factory control plate just to trouble shoot... same thing. Loud buzzing/humming.
 
#628
lawnranger said:
I would love to see the pics, did not see anything on the thread. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Yep, you missed something. The original links are trashed, but in the middle of the thread somewhere they were re-posted. Sadly, the First Post can't be edited to put in the new links. Every couple months this question comes up.

Look around Page 26, or this post:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2448997&postcount=103

Vic would have told you this but he is still recovering from NAMM.
 
#631
Ragnor said:
Any thoughts on grounding the bridge without having to reroute the body?
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reroute??? Dude, how big of a grounding wire are you talking about??? :)

Seriously, you just need to drill a hole at an angle that will intersect with the control cavity and run a wire through it. Strip the wire and push it through such that the insulation stops at the surface of the body and just the bare strands lay under the bridge. Solder the other end to the ground lug. Easy. Done.
 
#633
Ragnor said:
1/4", obviously. ;)

I see what you mean.
Does it make a huge difference? So far, I've tried wiring the bridge to a grounding point I have at my working table, but I didn't really hear a difference. (or is it because I haven't shielded anything yet, that grounding the bridge doesn't make a difference?)
Click to expand...
Depends on lots of things. Bottom line, yeah, do it. If it literally wasn't worth it, it wouldn't be the standard practice that it is.
 
#635
It should be noted that most brands of copper tape are meant to be conductive on both sides, such that just overlapping the tape will make a continuous surface. This means you don't have to tack all of he seams- it saves a lot of time and makes the result much neater.
 
#636
Angus said:
It should be noted that most brands of copper tape are meant to be conductive on both sides, such that just overlapping the tape will make a continuous surface. This means you don't have to tack all of he seams- it saves a lot of time and makes the result much neater.
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Yes, I assumed that. However, with self-adhesive copper tape, is the adhesive material conductive as well? I think I'll better verify that with my ohm meter when the tape arrives.
It shouldn't be a problem if it isn't, though. I use my soldering iron all the time.
 
#638
Angus said:
It should be noted that most brands of copper tape are meant to be conductive on both sides, such that just overlapping the tape will make a continuous surface. This means you don't have to tack all of he seams- it saves a lot of time and makes the result much neater.
Click to expand...
In THEORY, you're correct, but in practice, I've found tacking is still a good thing to do. First, that conductive connection is not as good as a tack, and second, over time, that adhesive can dry out and add resistance back in. At the end of the day, it might not be a huge issue to the ears at a gig or maybe even in the studio, but IMHO, if you're doing it, you might as well just put the tacks on there. And doing a few tack solder dots here and there is really not hard or time consuming. What's most time consuming BY FAR, is the actual taping.

BTW, Ragnor, make VERY SURE your cavities are very clean and dry of dust, dirt, and polish compound (some vendors are famous for leaving lots of polish compound in pickup routes, etc.) Also, get the "good stuff". Stewmac.com has good stuff. The cheap stuff will start to pull off really bad over time, where the good stuff will stay put better. This matters more in active basses where the preamp module is typically glued or double-stick taped inside the cavity, but still... this job is something you don't want to have to redo. When you get into it, you'll see what I mean. :)
 
#639
Vic said:
In THEORY, you're correct, but in practice, I've found tacking is still a good thing to do. First, that conductive connection is not as good as a tack, and second, over time, that adhesive can dry out and add resistance back in. At the end of the day, it might not be a huge issue to the ears at a gig or maybe even in the studio, but IMHO, if you're doing it, you might as well just put the tacks on there. And doing a few tack solder dots here and there is really not hard or time consuming. What's most time consuming BY FAR, is the actual taping.
Click to expand...

What kind of timescale are you thinking about? Have you actually checked to see if there is a functional difference between the tacked connection and the tape-to-tape connection? I have instruments that I did 15 years ago without tacking the pieces together, and there is absolutely zero difference in potential between any piece. I don't think it's unreasonable to tack things- and no, it's not difficult if you know how to solder- but I think it's one of those old wives tales at this point that we do because it sounds like it should be better, or because of it's convention.

I just think it's always good to question convention with actual science. Besides, if you aren't hearing it in the studio, where are you going to hear it, and where is it going to matter?
 
#640
Angus said:
What kind of timescale are you thinking about? Have you actually checked to see if there is a functional difference between the tacked connection and the tape-to-tape connection?
Click to expand...
Yep (below).

I have instruments that I did 15 years ago without tacking the pieces together, and there is absolutely zero difference in potential between any piece. I don't think it's unreasonable to tack things- and no, it's not difficult if you know how to solder- but I think it's one of those old wives tales at this point that we do because it sounds like it should be better, or because of it's convention.

I just think it's always good to question convention with actual science. Besides, if you aren't hearing it in the studio, where are you going to hear it, and where is it going to matter?
Click to expand...
I agree it won't always matter, especially at a live gig, but sometimes it does (yes, I have had these experiences.)

I had a case where I relied on the stickum and I wasn't measuring zero ohms, but after tacking, I was. So I just tacked it all... 'cause again, it's just a trivial extra step, and I just like the assurance.

And while I can't give you exact time frames, I've done repairs on basses that have a few years on them and the tape was coming up a bit and separating and also not measuring zero ohms. I didn't shield them, so I don't know what tape was used, but I do know if those had been tacked the resistance still woulda' been zero. So I tacked it, and it also reduced hum. In a live mix, probably not that noticeable, but why put up with it at all if you don't have to, right?

I just feel any job done is worth doing 100% right, there is good science behind this, and again, the tacking is just a trivial step that provides more assurance, so it makes no sense to me to skip it.

I think what it all boils down to is this... we disagree on how trivial it is to do this tack soldering. IMHO, this kind of soldering is just not difficult or time consuming for anyone. Wiring preamps and pots, sure, but not this. If it was, then I'd be a lot more in your camp... if it was really difficult to do, then yeah, make sure it's really worth it. I just don't think that applies in this case. YMMV tho, and that's cool if so.
 

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