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Vintage Jazz Bass Shielding

DHunt91

DHunt91

Sep 10, 2025
51
285
#1
Hi all,


I’m in the process of building a 60’s Fender/Warmoth Jazz Bass. A project build post will come soon, once the body arrives from Warmoth.

I am looking for the vintage style shielding that goes in the control cavity, under the pickups, and the strip from the bridge to the pickup.

As i’m from the UK. These parts seem very hard to source. I’ve seen them in USA and cost an absolute fortune, with no oversees shipping either.

Does anyone have the dimensions and thickness of these parts, as I think I will try and make them myself from brass sheets?

Photos attached of the parts in question.

Many thanks,

Dan
 

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#7
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#9
DHunt91 said:
Thats what i'm leaning more towards. Will be hell of a lot cheaper. Any idea what thickness Fender used?
Click to expand...
Here's the thing - the thickness of that part is about the least critical thin you can imagine - a sheet a thousandth of an inch thick will work ( at least electrostatically, it will shield just fine). That that's hard to handle, so you either use foil that's a couple thousandths of an inch thick (with adhesive, so you adhere it to the sides of the cavities as well as the back, or thin plates - somewhere in the neighborhood of .005 to .010. Any non - ferrous (meaning it DOES NOT stick to a magnet) metal will work fine. But you want to be able to solder to it, which means copper is good, brass is OK, and you DO NOT want aluminum, as you can't solder to it.
 
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#10
bcbassman said:
The bridge strip on the original 1960-61 Jazz bass was very thin and very unevenly cut. Because it was hidden under the F plate! The vintage reissues use a much wider strip that is cut very evenly. If you want yours to be closer to 1960; Make that strip about 25% of the width of the strip in your picture.
Good luck with your bass build.
Click to expand...
You're talking about the grounding strap, which is a different part than shields under the pickups, or the ground plate in the cavity - different pieces of metal.
 
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#11
DHunt91 said:
Hi all,


I’m in the process of building a 60’s Fender/Warmoth Jazz Bass. A project build post will come soon, once the body arrives from Warmoth.

I am looking for the vintage style shielding that goes in the control cavity, under the pickups, and the strip from the bridge to the pickup.

As i’m from the UK. These parts seem very hard to source. I’ve seen them in USA and cost an absolute fortune, with no oversees shipping either.

Does anyone have the dimensions and thickness of these parts, as I think I will try and make them myself from brass sheets?

Photos attached of the parts in question.

Many thanks,

Dan
Click to expand...
I am refinishing a '62 Jazz CS at the moment, how soon you need this information?
If you can wait a couple of days, I can send you sketches of all shields with dimensions, etc.
You will need a couple of retainers for the control cavity shield, I can send you pictures with dimensions as well. These are made out of steel.
Let me know.
 
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#12
DHunt91 said:
Hi all,


I’m in the process of building a 60’s Fender/Warmoth Jazz Bass. A project build post will come soon, once the body arrives from Warmoth.

I am looking for the vintage style shielding that goes in the control cavity, under the pickups, and the strip from the bridge to the pickup.

As i’m from the UK. These parts seem very hard to source. I’ve seen them in USA and cost an absolute fortune, with no oversees shipping either.

Does anyone have the dimensions and thickness of these parts, as I think I will try and make them myself from brass sheets?

Photos attached of the parts in question.

Many thanks,

Dan
Click to expand...

I needed all those same parts a few years ago, along with a vintage bridge, to "un-mod" a Japan '62 Jazz reissue. Got 'em off ebay, mostly from Musicians Friend ebay site. The parts were cheap, though. The Genuine Fender threaded saddle bridge was the most expensive part at a whopping $30. That was about 8 years ago, no clue what that stuff sells for now. Surprised to read that they now cost an "absolute fortune". Can you order the parts through a UK Fender dealer?...save a few bucks? Good luck.

All I've done so far is change out the bridge in 8 years. Thanks for starting this thread, it's reminded me to get this damned thing done! haha

1765430432071.jpeg
 
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#13
The Fender Pure Vintage ‘64 Jazz Bass Pickups came with the brass baseplates and the attached grounding strip.

I have them in both my Jazz Basses and like them a lot, maybe you can find a used set.

If you decide to make them yourself, this photo might help.


82072.jpg
 
Last edited:
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#14
murphy said:
Go to Solo music online and just north of Toronto.
I am sure they will ship to you.
If not...I could get them sent to my home in Toronto and ship them to you

www.solomusicgear.com

SOLO Music Gear - Best DIY Guitar Kits, Guitar Store Near Me, Strat Kits & Services Canada

SOLO Music Gear store is the best manufacturer and distributor of DIY Guitar kits, Strat kits, bass kits, bodies, necks and parts in Vaughan, CA. Shop now & build your own guitar!
www.solomusicgear.com www.solomusicgear.com
Click to expand...
I’ll check them out thanks! It all depends on shipping and import costs too I guess
 
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#15
wysiwyg248 said:
I am refinishing a '62 Jazz CS at the moment, how soon you need this information?
If you can wait a couple of days, I can send you sketches of all shields with dimensions, etc.
You will need a couple of retainers for the control cavity shield, I can send you pictures with dimensions as well. These are made out of steel.
Let me know.
Click to expand...
That would be great thanks!! 😁
 
#16
Iridescentone said:
I needed all those same parts a few years ago, along with a vintage bridge, to "un-mod" a Japan '62 Jazz reissue. Got 'em off ebay, mostly from Musicians Friend ebay site. The parts were cheap, though. The Genuine Fender threaded saddle bridge was the most expensive part at a whopping $30. That was about 8 years ago, no clue what that stuff sells for now. Surprised to read that they now cost an "absolute fortune". Can you order the parts through a UK Fender dealer?...save a few bucks? Good luck.

All I've done so far is change out the bridge in 8 years. Thanks for starting this thread, it's reminded me to get this damned thing done! haha

View attachment 7386371
Click to expand...
They are very expensive. I think Reverb and ebay are definitely your friend in this game.

I have looked for a UK dealer, but I cannot find any. Allparts do not stock anything like it, which is why i’m thinking of doing it myself.

Absolutely love that colour on your bass too! 😍
 
#17
antfarm said:
The Fender Pure Vintage ‘64 Jazz Bass Pickups came with the brass baseplates and the attached grounding strip.

I have them in both my Jazz Basses and like them a lot, maybe you can find a used set.

If you decide to make them yourself, this photo might help.


View attachment 7386376
Click to expand...
That would solve all my problems! I don't know if theres any around for sale. I have seen that the CS 60’s pickups apparently come with the pickup shields. So maybe the Pure vintage ones do too.
 
#18
DHunt91 said:
That would be great thanks!! 😁
Click to expand...
Here are pictures and a sketch with shields dimensions.
Two comments:
1. My bass ('62 CS) does not have a bridge shield strap, it was built for a bridge ground wire -see pic. below-.
However, I measured the cross section of the bridge strap you are referring to. Is it in mm: 6.1 x 0.2 thickness.
2. The two triangular pieces of steel are to retain the control cavity shield. They bite in the vertical wall of the cavity, holding the brass plate at both ends.
Pictures are not great but should help show details.

I hope these will help, let me know if there are questions.

Shields dimensions.jpg
Pickup shield and foam.jpg
Pickup foam cross section.jpg
Control cavity shield.jpg
Bridge ground hole.jpg
 
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#19
wysiwyg248 said:
Here are pictures and a sketch with shields dimensions.
Two comments:
1. My bass ('62 CS) does not have a bridge shield strap, it was built for a bridge ground wire -see pic. below-.
However, I measured the cross section of the bridge strap you are referring to. Is it in mm: 6.1 x 0.2 thickness.
2. The two triangular pieces of steel are to retain the control cavity shield. They bite in the vertical wall of the cavity, holding the brass plate at both ends.
Pictures are not great but should help show details.

I hope these will help, let me know if there are questions.

View attachment 7386571View attachment 7386572View attachment 7386573View attachment 7386574View attachment 7386575
Click to expand...
Thats brilliant! That will go a long way for me!

Thank you for your diagrams. I'll order up some sheets of brass and give them a go! I have a box of those metal glazier points already thankfully. 👍
 
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#20
Hey all, thought i'd give you all an update.

Thank you to everyones responses. And thank you to @wysiwyg248 for the drawings! Such a huge help!

I've cut all of the pieces I need. They're as close as I can get by hand, they just need a bit of tapping flat. I haven't completely shaped the bridge strap yet as I will do this within the pickup cavity on the Warmoth body when I receive it. A test fit in the control cavity of another bass. Does that seem about right? Minus the glazier points obviously.


So i'm going to be building a red flame maple Geddy Lee replica which is based on a 60's spec, with his signature neck as per the photo. My question is, the bridge strap on his looks wider than 6.1mm as shown on mine. Did they make different sizes? Other than the thin ones that came on 60's Japanese models?

Thank you all for your support with this.
Dan

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