dave_bass5 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I know this seems like a silly question but ive not done this before. Im going to change the bridge pup in my DJ5 from a single coil to a split coil this week. I was going to take this opportunity to put some left over aluminium tape on the back of the control plate to help shield the cavity from RF noise. Is it worth doing this? Is this even the right tape to use? Thanks for any pointers etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moos3h Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I'd be interested to hear how you get on, I ordered a shielding kit recently, but couldn't for the life of me get the tape to stay stuck to the body - I cleaned the painted surfaces but it should wouldn't stick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I've always used copper shielding tape / foil. It does quieten things down a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 [quote name='Moos3h' post='644301' date='Nov 3 2009, 12:27 PM']I'd be interested to hear how you get on, I ordered a shielding kit recently, but couldn't for the life of me get the tape to stay stuck to the body - I cleaned the painted surfaces but it should wouldn't stick![/quote] I've found a little sand paper is useful - and tape that's not too thin. I've never managed to get tape less than about an inch thick to stick. You can cut it thinner, but if it comes thinner, it's not that sticky I've found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Guys. Im only planing on putting the tape on the underside of the control plate and im just wondering if its worth it. I cant be bothered to do the whole cavity unless i really have to. Im nervious enough just changing the pup ;-) Ive read that some people staple the tape in the cavity if it wont stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 After looking inside my basses to figure out why they are so quiet it seems everything inside including the pickup cavities are coated in grey sheilding paint works well + it must be easier than trying to get tape to stick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Isn't the paint some kind of graphite paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moos3h Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I'd like to find a good cheap source for that stuff, ebay is mostly useless! In Halfords, you can buy conductive paint for fixing the elements of your rear window demister, I wonder if this would do the trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 (edited) If you're going to shield then go the whole hog and do everything. You can get copper self-adhesive tape on eBay. It's sold as slug-repellent! Gardeners put it around their flowerpots! When a slug goes over it, they create a circuit which gives them an electric shock. Aluminium tape works as well but I remember reading something about the joins. I've used copper tape on all shielding so far. Cover the whole control cavity, the cavity cover, the pickup routs and the underside of the scratchplate. Also, spiral the copper tape around the runs of wire which go from pickup to control cavity. Lastly, make sure the there are tabs of tape over the screwholes for the scratchplate/control plate in the body. This way the two surfaces are copper to copper. Sorry if I've just made a simple job sound long-winded. But no point in just shielding one bit, might as well go the whole way. There's some great stuff on shielding and wiring on [url="http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/index.php"]Guitar Nuts.[/url] Worth taking time to read, although I can't say that I understand it all. Edited November 4, 2009 by 7string Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 [quote name='bigjohn' post='644303' date='Nov 3 2009, 12:28 PM']I've always used copper shielding tape / foil. It does quieten things down a little.[/quote] I did my 80s P-bass with this. One issue can be rust. The bridge of my P-bass was so rusty underneath that it wouldn't conduct properly. A good clean up all around and it made a difference. It's worth remembering (for anyone new to basses) that you get a certain amount of hum with Fender style basses anyway. My P-bass is now fine. I think the rust came from my old punk days when I used to rest my hand on the bridge. Those were some sweaty gigs and that must of been years of heavy gigging and old bad habits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Thanks guys. I spent a long time reading the Jazz shielding sticky over on TB last night and got a good idea of what to do. Unfortunately im a very impulsive person so i didnt bother doing any shielding last night as i just wanted to get the new pup in and make sure its all working. To be honest ive not had any noise issues in the past so im going to see how it goes at the next gig (13th Nov) and if noise isnt an issue ill leave it for now. Both pups are now split coils so it should be quieter than before so i think ill probably be ok. The tape idea was just because i had some lying around and as i was opening the control cavity up i thought it might be a good idea, i never really planned on doing the whole lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Could be a good project at some point though and if you do get a noise problem you know what to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 [quote name='7string' post='645326' date='Nov 4 2009, 03:13 PM']Could be a good project at some point though and if you do get a noise problem you know what to do [/quote] Yeah, i just really didnt have time last night but wanted to get the pup in and then get to bed. when i first put it all back together i had a very slight noise that actually got a bit worse when i touched the metal parts. But this was in a room that i hadn't had the bass in before and through my Pandora so dont know if it was like that already. I cant see that i messed anything up though as i only had to change two wires. In the living room it was fine so im not too worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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