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Can someone recomend me some shielding paint.


dave_bass5
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I want to try and shield my CV Jazz a bit. Its earthed fine but a bit noisier when i back one of the pups off than my other Jazz basses that ive owned.
Its not a big deal but i thought i'd try and give shielding a go for the first time.
So, i figured pain might be easier than tape but i dont really know what to look for. Maplins is just down the road so i was hoping i could pick something up from them.
I had thought about copper tape (and i do have a roll) but not sure if it will stick to the walls of the cavity.

Anything i need to watch out for etc?

Cheers.

Edited by dave_bass5
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[quote name='dave_bass5' post='865047' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:44 AM']I want to try and shield my CV Jazz a bit. Its earthed fine but a bit noisier when i back one of the pups off than my other Jazz basses that ive owned.
Its not a big deal but i thought i'd try and give shielding a go for the first time.
So, i figured pain might be easier than tape but i dont really know what to look for. Maplins is just down the road so i was hoping i could pick something up from them.
I had thought about copper tape (and i do have a roll) but not sure if it will stick to the walls of the cavity.

Anything i need to watch out for etc?

Cheers.[/quote]
If its any use the fella that built my telecaster used a foil sheeting that is applied like gold leaf,its readily available in art & craft shops.You just apply a water based glue to the cavity then apply the foil pushing into place with a brush ,you can build it up to any thickness you like.The finish is great and there are no seams.And it wont comeaway like tapebacked foils.
Im told it comes in Aluminium.Copper,Silver & Gold you can probably find it on the bay
Hope this helps :)

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[quote name='Ou7shined' post='865164' date='Jun 12 2010, 01:18 PM']I'm down with the foil too, although I use sheets rather than tape so there are less joins. I think you can be more sure that you have 100% coverage with foil + you can just solder each cavity to earth it.[/quote]

you lost me at that last point lol.

Thanks all, it seems like as i have the tape i might as well give it a go first, and if not ill try some of this foil. I know the type you guys mean and there is an art shop nearby.
Im pretty lazy so i might start off with just the cavity, and do the control plate later. I plan on upgrading the pups soon anyway so ill see how this first stage goes. It might even be the pups that are more the issue.

Im off to Wales for a gig soon and wont be back until this time tomorrow so ill not have any internet. I do plan on doing a good search for any guides etc (even though i know its pretty straight forward) but if any of you do have a favourite link it will be much appreciated.

Have a good weekend all.

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You too. Have fun.

You need to earth each section of shielding so that it acts as a sort of faraday cage. I prefer a belt and braces approach and solder each piece of foil despite it having conductive glue (apparently).

Here's a pic of when I did my SUB as an example of the "science bit". :)

[attachment=51980:SUB_shielding_3.jpg]

With multi cavitied basses you have to earth each one which ultimately of course goes to your main earth.

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[quote name='essexbasscat' post='865239' date='Jun 12 2010, 02:51 PM']Just checked this to make sure before I posted this .....

If you do an e -bay search for conductive paint, you will find a number of options available. Conductive Graphite paint normally does the job and is way easier than copper tape.

T[/quote]

Cheers for that. I'll look in to the paint. Do you know if I would need a base coat of some sort or do I just paint it straight on to the wood?

Just got back from the gig and to be honest noise was a non issue, although I think I'll still try and shield it in case i play somewhere that has bad lighting etc.

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[quote name='dave_bass5' post='865874' date='Jun 13 2010, 12:34 PM']Cheers for that. I'll look in to the paint. Do you know if I would need a base coat of some sort or do I just paint it straight on to the wood?

Just got back from the gig and to be honest noise was a non issue, although I think I'll still try and shield it in case i play somewhere that has bad lighting etc.[/quote]

The instructions are all the usual i.e. a clean, grease - free surface. Two good coats usually does the job.

If you go to GuitarNuts.com, there is a lot of info. on the topic of guitar sheilding (but related to Strats), along with some alternative wiring diagrams for Strats and Telecasters.

A very useful site indeed that one. Highly recommended :)

T

Edited by essexbasscat
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[quote name='dave_bass5' post='865047' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:44 AM']Maplins is just down the road so i was hoping i could pick something up from them.
I had thought about copper tape (and i do have a roll) but not sure if it will stick to the walls of the cavity.

Anything i need to watch out for etc?

Cheers.[/quote]

I've used the Maplins conductive paint (the bottle is TINY!) with good results before; depends what you're doing. My custom bass has an all-over back scratchplate, but it wasn't earthed so it used to build up static very quickly, when playing which crackled thru the amp.
I painted a good coat of the paint all over where the control cavity is on the inside of the scratchplate & then joined a wire from the paint to the bass earth, perfect!

I've also used their copper S/A sheet to line the inside of a control cavity on a guitar which is also perfect, but it means you have to strip the guitar controls down a fair bit to get the stuff in if you want to do a tidy job.

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[quote name='Ou7shined' post='865199' date='Jun 12 2010, 02:06 PM']You too. Have fun.

You need to earth each section of shielding so that it acts as a sort of faraday cage. I prefer a belt and braces approach and solder each piece of foil despite it having conductive glue (apparently).

Here's a pic of when I did my SUB as an example of the "science bit". :)

[attachment=51980:SUB_shielding_3.jpg]

With multi cavitied basses you have to earth each one which ultimately of course goes to your main earth.[/quote]Very nice.
Copper foil is a bugger for cutting your fingers.

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[quote name='steve-soar' post='866339' date='Jun 13 2010, 08:07 PM']Very nice.
Copper foil is a bugger for cutting your fingers.[/quote]
Cheers I do it to every bass I own regardless of whether it needs it or not.

Ain't it just - and usually on the tip of a fretting finger. :)

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Cheers all.
Im going to wait until next week before i do anything. The bass was fine at sat's gig so i want to use it a bit more to see if it really needs doing before deciding on what method i use to shield it. Paint in the cavity looks like the way to go though and then maybe some foil/tape on the back of the control plate.
Im not sure yet.

Im hoping to get some new pups for it this or next week so i might take the opportunity to shield the pup cavity's while i have it open.

Then again, im pretty impatient so might not bother unless i really do have a problem.

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