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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.

Thanks for replying Darren. I've done a bit more measuring/fiddling around and the standard chrome surround provides about 6mm more headroom for the spring than a flush mounted perspex surround. This means that, when the pickup is raised to the height I usually set it at, the spring is much more compressed with a flush surround. The spring is quite stiff and adds a lot of resistance to adjustment when it's so heavily compressed. I've now ordered some shorter springs which will be a better fit with a flush surround and make adjustment easier.

Here's a pic of my '72 Precision decal. Getting an exact measurement is a bit tricky as it's an italic script but I make it 7.5mm.

Yes, good idea. If the spring doesn't fit (or allow enough adjustment) I was thinking about something like that, or maybe a wad of pickup mounting foam between the caddy and the face plate.

I'm thinking of getting a flush mounting plate/bezel for the bridge pickup on my 4003, like the Pickguardian one or similar (may make my own). But a flush mounting plate will have 1cm less headroom for the height adjustment spring. See pic below. The dotted red line indicates the approx level of the underside of the flush mounting plate which appears to leave hardly any room for a spring. The existing spring is quite long and, even it can compress into that space, it leaves very little wiggle room for raising the pickup height. Can someone who has installed a flush plate like this tell me if the original spring still works or did you need to use shorter springs? Thanks for any input.

I'm considering swapping the neck Hi-Gain in my 2019 4003S for a reissue Toaster. I've scoured youtube looking for a side-by-side demo of a modern Hi-Gain (11k) and a reissue or vintage Toaster (7.4k) to show the difference in tone but can't find anything. Plenty of vids showing one or the other but I'd really like to hear a direct comparison of the Hi-Gain and Toaster in a more controlled setting. Can anyone post a demo or point me in the right direction?

OK that sound good, cheers.

Did this project fall by the wayside or is it still progressing?

There's an Entwistle JBXN neck pup on ebay at the moment (bridge pup out of stock) - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333702776098

It's a '78

👍 I'll mention it when I'm there

I think round core strings are more prone to the straight cut/dead string thing, hex core much less so as the angled edges offer a bit more grip for the windings.

👍 PRO17s ordered and ear impressions booked for next week.

Ah ok, thanks.

Sorry if I'm being a bit thick but what does 'cut the string straight' mean and how does that deaden the string?

I found a few vids on youtube showing how to get the flush ones in and out and looks OK so I'll go without the lugs. Cord comes as standard and looks useful. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the replies. I'll go for a set of PRO17s. Is it best to add the 'grips' option (extra silicone lug) to help with getting them in and out or are the flush ones OK?