Shielding for Dummies?

[thisSNsucks]

There should be a book out there, but there isnt, so help me out guys. I have a MIJ parts bass put together that I got from eBay. The sucker is really noisy though when the tone is cranked up. So I cracked it open tonight and realized the pickguard wasnt sheilded. Everything was properly grounded though, wire to the bridge and one to a brass plate under the pickup. So is it just the pickguard that needs to be shielded to get rid of the buzzing or do I need to shield the whole inner cavity. If I do have to do the inner cavity, whats better, copper foil or sheilding paint?

 

[Foamy]

There may not be a book out there, but there is a lot of information already posted here. Do a search for shielding in the titles, and you'll come up with a lot. Not sure if this URL will work for you, but here's what I got: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search.php?searchid=2764577
Cheers!

 

[Rodent]

there's also a great thread identified in the Pickups FAQ at the top of this page. look for

Lyle Caldwells excellent Jazz shielding pictorial

closer to the bottom of the FAQ

all the best,

R

 

[LoveThatBass]

All Cavities must be shielded and grounded if using single coil pups. I used 3 coats of Stewmac Electrically conductive paint last week on a P bass special with J bridge pup. I coated the inside walls where the wires route to the control cavity by using a cotten cue tip. I then put the wire in a lug, soldered to the lug, and screwed it down to the paint of the cavity. I then applied the 3rd and final coat of paint to the cavities, covering the screw. Once dry (24 hours per coat) it was well shielded with very minimal noise levels.

 

[ToneRanger]

I highly recomend 3M 1181 EMI Copper Foil Shielding Tape with conductive adhesive.
I bought it for the piezo pickups I was making but found it really useful for shielding inside instruments. A great product -the adhesive is conductive so you can stick it all over the place and get perfect shielding.