Sheilding and grounding..is there a difference

[Olivetti17]

I've just received some Aguilar pickups, and on the wiring diagram, it shows three wires coming from each one, White is main feed, then there is a black down going to the body of the blend pot, and then the grey wire going to the sheilding, it's humming like hell, my question is this, are shielding and earthing not the same thing when it comes to guitar wiring, I'd have thought yes, although a little confused, please send help

 

[John Cribbin]

A guitar needs to have an earth, that is part of the circuit.

 

It does not need to have shielding, that is the paint or tape in the cavities which helps reduce hum/interference.

 

If you can post photos we may be able to see the issue.

 

 

[Olivetti17]

Thank you for that, I'll take some pics later, but it's a busy cavity pot wise

 

[ikay]

Shielding is to prevent electromagnetic interference from nearby devices such as lighting etc. A guitar acts like an antenna and extraneous EM interference can  cause humming and buzzing without shielding. Shielding such as conductive paint and copper tape is intended to form a continuous cage (called a Faraday cage) surrounding all the electronics to keep this interference out. The shield itself also needs to be grounded, so that's something to check.

[Paul S]

This might help

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2015/04/15/solving-bass-hum-problems-grounding-vs-shielding/

[Olivetti17]

Thanks for your help