sheilding a jazz -grounding plates?

[dane22]

I'm building a j bass. If I'm shielding the cavities with copper foil and soldering ground wires, do I need the grounding plates under the pickups? I'll use foam for height adjustment.Thanks!

 

[line6man]

The ground plates do nothing, just shield normally with copper tape.

 

[dane22]

That's what I thought! Thanks, Line6man.

 

[bassbenj]

The ground plates do nothing, just shield normally with copper tape.

What some (but not all) ground plates do is ground the pole pieces. This is always a good idea. If bottoms are accessible just run a strip of copper foil (conductive glue) down them and ground it. You don't need a ground plate.

See here:

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[peekypoo]

Sub...

 

[walterw]

actually, no stock fender ground plates go anywhere near the polepiece magnets.

+1 though, to grounding the poles with copper foil to eliminate noise when you touch them.

 

[line6man]

actually, no stock fender ground plates go anywhere near the polepiece magnets.

+1 though, to grounding the poles with copper foil to eliminate noise when you touch them.

Yeah, you've got a layer of foam between the pole pieces and ground plate. This means that the plate neither grounds the pole pieces, nor interacts in any significant way with the magnetic field.

Bassbenj, you might be thinking of the base plates on Telecaster pickups.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

What some (but not all) ground plates do is ground the pole pieces. This is always a good idea. If bottoms are accessible just run a strip of copper foil (conductive glue) down them and ground it. You don't need a ground plate.

See here:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

All the ground plates I have ever seen have the foam "springs" on them, so they do not touch, or ground the poles. Fender pickups have never had grounded poles, even though they should.

The ground plates were just there for shielding purposes.

 

[bassbenj]

Yeah, you've got a layer of foam between the pole pieces and ground plate. This means that the plate neither grounds the pole pieces, nor interacts in any significant way with the magnetic field.

Bassbenj, you might be thinking of the base plates on Telecaster pickups.

I was just talking in a generic sense rather than about specific Jazz pickups. I don't think my Jazz pickups have any grounding plates (or grounded pole pieces). And the grounding plates on my G&L do ground the poles through springs underneath between the foil shield and the plates but they don't connect to the poles for some reason unless you run tape down them. It kind of makes me wonder what the grounding plates are for. I presume that the idea is just sort of a quick and dirty half-baked hum shield that is better than none at all. But a real foil cavity coat seems to be the right thing to do.