Self adhesive copper tape vs Alu tape??

[Jimothey]

I want to shield the pickup and control cavities and was wondering if self adhesive Alu tape would work as well as Copper tape????

[yorks5stringer]

You are forming part of a Faraday cage, so as long as it is metal it should be OK

[Jimothey]

I thought it would do but I just wanted to check, that’s a result tho I’ve got about 5 rolls of Alu tape left over from a ducting job I did a few months back ........

[dannybuoy]

I believe you need to make sure it has conductive adhesive if using it for shielding a bass though. If the glue is insulating neighbouring strips of foil from eachother then the shielding won't be as effective.

[Geek99]

You can always join the pieces with solder

[Hellzero]

I've done both types of shielding (aluminum or copper) and there is no difference, except that copper is easier to put in place as aluminum has the bad habit to wrinkle very easily.

Don't forget to solder an earth point on your shielding and, if you shield the pickup(s) cavity(ies), to earth them at the same point, which is something almost everybody forgets. 

[Geek99]

@Hellzero @dannyboy @Jimothey you don't need to do this if you use the copper tape with conductive adhesive.   

I just use a multimeter to check there is connectivity between each piece and the jack socket, and then switch to the resistance setting to check that resistance is low.  

Edited April 12, 2018 by Geek99

[Norris]

Conductive paint is another alternative. I think I got mine from Black Cat Music iirc

[rmorris]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

You can always join the pieces with solder

Yes but Aluminium isn't as easy to solder.

You'll probably need to use 'special' aluminium solder and possibly more heat to be succesful.

eg

Aluminium Solder CPC

Also note that aluminium develops a non conducting oxide layer on it so you should key that off to provide a good base for the solder seam.

With either copper or Aluminium you need a good deal of heat as the metal tape will act as a heatsink - like soldering to a potentiometer case.

[rmorris]

11 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I want to shield the pickup and control cavities and was wondering if self adhesive Alu tape would work as well as Copper tape????

Technically they should both work well. Copper would be a bit better than Aluminium but it's unlikely you'll actually experience a difference.

If you have Aluminium tape I'd say go with that - but as has already been said - the adhesive needs to be conductive. On Copper tape it often is as it's intended use is probably shielding but for Aluminium it might not be if the intended use is non-electrical (although I'd guess ducting systems get connnected to 'Earth' for electrical safety standards )

[Geek99]

you can buy copper shielding tape with conductive glue on ebay for about £4 - its a lot less hassle. 

[dyerseve]

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. I have done several basses(pup and control cavities) with copper foil and it's a doddle to solder. Quite frankly if you don't have a decent solder iron and know how to solder properly then you probably shouldn't be messing around with your basses electronics in the first place as you will make a mess soldering them back in once you have completed the shielding.

[paul_5]

I used Aluminium tape in all of my basses - remember to fold it over when overlapping joints, so that the glue doesn't insulate one piece from another.

Arguably copper tape tends to give a better finish as the Al stuff wrinkles easily (as has already been mentioned), but given that it's pickup cavities and control routs it's a moot point.

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, dyerseve said:

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. I have done several basses(pup and control cavities) with copper foil and it's a doddle to solder. Quite frankly if you don't have a decent solder iron and know how to solder properly then you probably shouldn't be messing around with your basses electronics in the first place as you will make a mess soldering them back in once you have completed the shielding.

Well that’s quite lucky that I can solder (Also I can Arc/Spot, TIG, MIG and braze weld) and have a decent soldering iron so it shouldn’t really be a problem

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, dyerseve said:

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. I have done several basses(pup and control cavities) with copper foil and it's a doddle to solder. Quite frankly if you don't have a decent solder iron and know how to solder properly then you probably shouldn't be messing around with your basses electronics in the first place as you will make a mess soldering them back in once you have completed the shielding.

 

+1

and if you have a solder iron but it's not very good... buy another!

I have used an underpowered one for years. I bought it when I was a student so I got the cheapest I could get thinking it would not last long and then I'd buy a better one. The thing refused to die and I still have it... but eventually I went and bought a decent soldering station. Nothing too fancy, but you can set the temperature, it holds the iron and there's a nice bit for the wet sponge etc. It wasn't very expensive. What a difference it made!!! Suddenly all my soldering works were beautiful, and it was easy, quick... So, really, get yourself a decent iron if yours is not up to the task. Soldering becomes almost a relaxing experience

 

[paul_5]

27 minutes ago, mcnach said:

Soldering becomes almost a relaxing experience

 

This. I got into making effects out of necessity, and now make them for fun; I genuinely enjoy making pedals that I’m not necessarily going to use. They’re mostly on veroboard so I can tinker with the circuitry and learn about what’s happening at any given point on the board.