say what you want about aluminum foil but it worked for me. I shielded all my basses for $1.89. foil = $.89, glue = $1.00. basses went from humming to silent 
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Reynolds Wrap shielding
- Thread starter BassLife77
- Start date
+2
ask me how I know...
and I've done a lot of soldering. I actually got it to hold, even if it's 2 connections out of 10...
when soldering to shielding of any kind, copper tape is the way to go.
This is good to know. My wife has a little machine made by Xyron that puts an adhesive backing on any flat material. I could just run the foil through it then stick it right in the control cavities.
I used to do the aluminium foil, but once I got some copper, I was sold, much, much better stuff.
True. I was thinking about it more from a cost standpoint. I think I paid about $8 for the last pkg of copper tape and barely got two basses worth out of it.
It's true. Copper tape costs more. Aluminum foil is close to free and even better it comes in big sheets (rolls). The reason that is important is that because it's so difficult to connect to aluminum foil you want to shield the cavities on your bass with a SINGLE piece of foil. That way once you mash the foil into all the cavities you don't have to worry about connecting all the separate pieces together like you do with copper. OF course since copper solders so easily, that isn't a problem.
But you DO understand that you must connect the shield to ground! So somehow you have to connect to the aluminum foil. The simplest way to do this is with a wood screw into the body of the guitar through the foil with a lock washer on it. You want a lockwasher with the tiny "teeth". In particular you want one with "outside sems". That will dig into the foil and make contact. Best is to ground the foil near the output jack.
But be aware that one problem with aluminum is that it's a fairly active metal and it oxidizes (rusts). Only aluminum oxide is an excellent insulator! Thus over time your mechanical connections may oxidize and loose contact. It's not a biggie to go in and retighten the grounding screw, but be aware it happens. With soldered copper foil the connection lasts forever unless a wire breaks or something.
And one last problem is that if you have a pickguard covering the cavities and the pickguard has foil on it act as a shield, (which is what you want) then you have the problem of connecting the cover to the ground in the cavities. With copper you can just run a wire. With aluminum foil you have to rely on mechanical contact under the screws. Again this leads to the oxidation problems where over time contact can be lost. Sometimes guitar makers use a very thin silver foil for shielding pickguards and it makes contact because silver oxide is conductive.
By the way you can get copper foil at Hobby Lobby though it's thicker than shielding copper and harder to work with. Just get a can of spray glue to hold it in place when installed.
There is such a thing as aluminum solder but I've never had much luck with it. YMMV.
Aluminum foil tape would be good alternative. Most hardware stores should carry it. It's used for sealing ductwork.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/alum_foil.php
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/alum_foil.php
Seriously, $4 a bass is too expensive?
That's about the cost of replacing a pot.
Surely it's easier to pay $4 a bass for copper tape than to use aluminum foil?
- Dec 21, 2007
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It's actually $3 a bass, as he spent $1 for the freakin' aluminum foil. It's okay though, as he made up for the cost differential using coat hangers for patch cables.
LOL. Coat hangars work fine as long as the lacquer is thick enough to resist shorting....It's actually $3 a bass, as he spent $1 for the freakin' aluminum foil. It's okay though, as he made up for the cost differential using coat hangers for patch cables.
Yes, copper tape really is cheap enough, and works better. But the aluminum duct stuff works fine in a pinch, and yes, it solders just fine, in spite of reports to the contrary. Just gotta leave the heat on it longer, but it will flow out and stick very well. I use it on the back of pickguards because it's cheap, and also thinner, so the overlapped seams don't lift it off the body.
I've used aluminum tape (for ducts) on all the basses I've shielded and I found that it works great! Instead of soldering the pieces of foil, I make a small 'bridge' out of an upside down piece of foil tape stuck beneath another, slightly bigger piece of foil tape. I always check continuity with a circuit tester and I get pretty close to '0' resistance throughout the entire shield.
For the problem of connecting the pickguard shielding to the rest of the shielding, I just make sure a bit of the cavity shielding extends outside of the cavity to the surface of the bass, preferably right at a screw hole. Then, when the pickguard is screwed in place, both pieces of foil (on the pickguard and sticking out from the cavity) are pressed together firmly.
I use the star grounding method for all my ground connections and then screw the terminal into the wood, making contact with the shielding.
Realistically, copper foil with soldered connections would probably shield a tiny bit better, but aluminum has worked fine for me for about 10 years and there are a few advantages with the aluminum tape:
-aluminum tape is readily available (I don't have to order it online or visit a specialty store)
-aluminum tape is extremely cheap
-I can shield an entire bass with no soldering required
-it's SILVER!
So, I guess my point is that a good shielding job can still be done with aluminum instead of copper, as long as it's done right.
For the problem of connecting the pickguard shielding to the rest of the shielding, I just make sure a bit of the cavity shielding extends outside of the cavity to the surface of the bass, preferably right at a screw hole. Then, when the pickguard is screwed in place, both pieces of foil (on the pickguard and sticking out from the cavity) are pressed together firmly.
I use the star grounding method for all my ground connections and then screw the terminal into the wood, making contact with the shielding.
Realistically, copper foil with soldered connections would probably shield a tiny bit better, but aluminum has worked fine for me for about 10 years and there are a few advantages with the aluminum tape:
-aluminum tape is readily available (I don't have to order it online or visit a specialty store)
-aluminum tape is extremely cheap
-I can shield an entire bass with no soldering required
-it's SILVER!
So, I guess my point is that a good shielding job can still be done with aluminum instead of copper, as long as it's done right.
I never said it was too expensive. I was just pointing out that it would be a more economical alternative for someone who didn't want to spend the money or had a hard time finding copper tape. I don't think $4 a bass is expensive. I spend $4 on a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
never had to solder to the foil. you have to be creative when making the contacts. everything overlaps so I used bare wire at the pinch points to get the "grounded box"
