spinynorman Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I just got a 51 RI Precision and it hums like a bee in a matchbox. Would it be worth shielding the control and pickup cavities with copper tape, or is this just a fact of single coil life and not fixable, short of changing the pickup? Supplementary question - if it's worth doing, are there grades of this stuff? Is it better to buy sheets from somewhere like AxesRUS, or is the cheaper tape on eBay ok? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I did this the other week to my P just because I had it's guts out. It wasn't very noisy to begin with, but now there is no noise whatsoever from it. I just used the sheet stuff from Axesrus and ran some solder into each join to ensure continuity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 [quote name='spinynorman' post='458020' date='Apr 9 2009, 12:44 AM']I just got a 51 RI Precision and it hums like a bee in a matchbox. Would it be worth shielding the control and pickup cavities with copper tape, or is this just a fact of single coil life and not fixable, short of changing the pickup? Supplementary question - if it's worth doing, are there grades of this stuff? Is it better to buy sheets from somewhere like AxesRUS, or is the cheaper tape on eBay ok? Thanks.[/quote] Go for shielding paint... stick a few coats of that on and you'll have a fantastic looking job which should eliminate the unwanted hum quite nicely. It's easy to get into all the nooks and crannies too. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2x18 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) Go for shielding paint... stick a few coats of that on and you'll have a fantastic looking job which should eliminate the unwanted hum quite nicely. It's easy to get into all the nooks and crannies too. Good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------- Where do you get the Shielding Paint from? Will. Edited April 11, 2009 by 2x18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerdragon Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Conductive-Shielding-Paint-Guitar-Shielding_W0QQitemZ310101097478QQihZ021QQcategoryZ42455QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Conductive-Shielding...1742.m153.l1262[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) [quote name='beerdragon' post='460014' date='Apr 11 2009, 04:55 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Conductive-Shielding-Paint-Guitar-Shielding_W0QQitemZ310101097478QQihZ021QQcategoryZ42455QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Conductive-Shielding...1742.m153.l1262[/url][/quote] yeah, 3 fat coats of paint should help. If you chose to do the pickup covers, take note that it will alter the tone slightly. If done properly, I would say its as good, if not better (and alot neater) than copper sheets. Make sure you put quite alot of paint on because if you don't, it wont do a great deal to help the matter! Edited April 11, 2009 by EBS_freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 You could always try one of the humbuckers. I've been thinking about getting one for ages. Seymor Duncan do them as well as a few others. I think Sting has one in his '57 single coil P bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 My 51 doesn't hum at all. Ever. It's completely stock, except for an Electrosocket jack. However, as it has the full complement of covers, there is a bit of shielding... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 Thanks for the advice, though I didn't see the paint recommendation until after I'd ordered a sheet of sticky copper. So I've just done the control cavity with copper and, hey presto, no hum. Knowing my track record with paint that was probably the safest option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 [quote name='Delberthot' post='460595' date='Apr 12 2009, 03:01 PM']You could always try one of the humbuckers. I've been thinking about getting one for ages. Seymor Duncan do them as well as a few others. I think Sting has one in his '57 single coil P bass[/quote] Just looked on the SD site and can't find any such animal - you got a link to these useful sounding goodys?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tl Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 [quote name='Dr.Dave' post='466683' date='Apr 19 2009, 12:45 PM']Just looked on the SD site and can't find any such animal - you got a link to these useful sounding goodys??[/quote] [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/custom-shop/specialized-1/single_coilstac/"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/cust...ingle_coilstac/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 [quote name='~tl' post='466717' date='Apr 19 2009, 01:45 PM'][url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/custom-shop/specialized-1/single_coilstac/"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/cust...ingle_coilstac/[/url][/quote] Excellent pointer , matey. Thankyou. I looked under the basslines range and couldn't find it. I'm going to try one of these in my Blueflower , currently it has a SDQP in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I used to have a '51 RI. Great bass! I put a Seymour Duncan SCPB-1 into it and shielded it with the copper tape. As well as taping the cavities, tape the underneath of the scratchplate (making sure it touches the tape on the cavities) and the run of cable which goes from the pickup to the controls. Might be little OTT, but I never had a buzzing problem after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.