The Copper Sheilding Thread:

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

Ambassador of Tone
Fallen Star
Country flag
Here's a thread to discuss the benefit of copper shielding, causes of hum or squeal and a resource for copper shielding techniques and supplies.

My first copper shielded guitar was my 1987 Fender Squire, which I shielded with Carvin copper tape in 1992.

Copper.jpg



Many of you know that I struggled with noise from my 2016 Gibson SG. The unpotted Gibson 490's squealed so loud that I had to roll the volume off after every lick that I played. At lower volumes, a persistent hum was present regardless of amp used, cables used or different venues. I encountered the same problem with my new 2016 Gibson Gold Top and even posted a You Tube video of the noise anomalies in which I did back to back comparisons of several guitars.

So, after stripping out the PCB and installing the copper, along with a Gary Standefer (Tone Man) vintage harness, the hum disappeared, but the squeal persisted until I replaced the 490's.

Here's what I ended up with:

SG Treble Bleed Small.jpg

Here's one of the best descriptions of copper shielding I have ever read, posted by a TTR member:

Bocc69 said:
Robert, what you describe is exactly what my LP was doing. Ground ground ground is all I thought it was. I rewired that sucker three times, only to find it still doing it.

If I touched any metal component on the guitar, it would stop. Very frustrating....had to be the ground. Then, as you did on the squire and sg I believe, I copper shelded it. Problem solved! Dead silent.

I think you said this guitar has shielding paint, but maybe the quality of it isn't as should be, for the changes you made. Seems you're trying everything else.....just maybe it needs the tape. I know you like silence, and my LP is friggen silent, as is your Squire.
Click to expand...

What's your experience been with copper???
 
My experience has been mixed.

I copper shielded my Strat, which has all single coils. The effect has been slight. I still get noise from them. However, the pickups, themselves, aren't shielded. They only have plastic covers.

I also took great care to shield my Les Paul Studio project, which is well-documented in the thread I created for that. When the coils are not split, the guitar is very silent. When I split the coil, I can get a little hum. It's not bad, but it is there. They are metal-covered pickups, too. Perhaps, if I had no shielding at all on the Studio, it would be worse. Also, as I applied the shielding tape, I took numerous ohms readings (not just continuity tests) to be sure I was getting good conductivity and coverage throughout the guitar.

I don't regret taking the time to do the shielding. I think the shielding probably works well to ensure humbucking pickups operate in an ideal environment. Even humbucking pickups can only compensate for so much.

But, my experience has been that it won't make a single coil pickup immune from all effects of hum.
 
Last edited:
smitty_p said:
My experience has been mixed.

I copper shielded my Strat, which has all single coils. The effect has been slight. I still get noise from them. However, the pickups, themselves, aren't shielded. They only have plastic covers.

I also took great care to shield my Les Paul Studio project, which is well-documented in the thread I created for that. When the coils are not split, the guitar is very silent. When I split the coil, I can get a little hum. It's not bad, but it is there. They are metal-covered pickups, too. Perhaps, if I had no shielding at all on the Studio, it would be worse. Also, as I applied the shielding tape, I took numerous ohms readings (not just continuity tests) to be sure I was getting good conductivity and coverage throughout the guitar.

I don't regret taking the time to do the shielding. I think the shielding probably works well to ensure humbucking pickups operate in an ideal environment. Even humbucking pickups can only compensate for so much.

But, my experience has been that it won't make a single coil pickup immune all effects of hum.
Click to expand...

You have analysed this dead right. You can't shield a single coil pickup - sensitivity to hum is built into the design, and the mechanism is magnetic - direct into the coil. Humbuckers pretty well cancel that out, but if they aren't shielded round the back by a can, they can be troubled by capacitive pickup. That will get worse as you move the guitar towards your body, and go away when you grab the strings.

If your pickups have cans and coaxial wire, forget about copper tape - it will add nothing. Four wire pickups benefit from shielding the wires. My favoured method is to strip the braid out of some coax cable and slide it over the four wires. It then gets grounded to a pot.

The control cavity is the place where you get most benefit. Get that shielded, and most important the rear cover plate, and the guitar will be as quiet as it is possible to get it.
 
Robert you did a very nice job with that stuff. I changed over to the paint after I had that stuff in my hair all day and no one told me. They just looked and now I know some wanted to pick it out but worried it was a cool look. They knew I met Andy Warhol years ago.
 
DonP said:
You have analysed this dead right. You can't shield a single coil pickup - sensitivity to hum is built into the design, and the mechanism is magnetic - direct into the coil. Humbuckers pretty well cancel that out, but if they aren't shielded round the back by a can, they can be troubled by capacitive pickup. That will get worse as you move the guitar towards your body, and go away when you grab the strings.

If your pickups have cans and coaxial wire, forget about copper tape - it will add nothing. Four wire pickups benefit from shielding the wires. My favoured method is to strip the braid out of some coax cable and slide it over the four wires. It then gets grounded to a pot.

The control cavity is the place where you get most benefit. Get that shielded, and most important the rear cover plate, and the guitar will be as quiet as it is possible to get it.
Click to expand...

Even with German silver baseplates and nickel covers, I had buzz & hum until the copper went in....

Rear Cover Plate for certain!!!!!
 
kevinpaul said:
Robert you did a very nice job with that stuff. I changed over to the paint after I had that stuff in my hair all day and no one told me. They just looked and now I know some wanted to pick it out but worried it was a cool look. They knew I met Andy Warhol years ago.
Click to expand...

I have some shielding paint too. I plan on giving the Destroyer the "Double Whammy," shielding paint followed with copper tape!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top