DarkMark’s Es-3 first build

[DarkMark]

Hello,
My custom Es-3 has yet to arrive but it must only be weeks away. The long wait has been a good thing as I’ve changed my mind twice as to how I plan to finish it. So, during the final waiting period I’d like to tool up in preparation. This is my first build so there will be things I don’t understand and need help with. Part of the reason I chose Pit Bull Guitars was because of this great forum and you guys/girls.
This post is basically asking for help with my shopping list.
Will I need shielding tape for my Es-3 pick ups? I have vague understanding that it is required to reduce noise or hum (but I don’t understand the theory behind it).

And while I have your attention I might add reading everyone’s build diary has become my nightly routine for months now and I’ve loved everyone’s guitars (even the guitars I don’t like). I’ve even learnt to love the colour sea foam green.

Thank you for your interest and any help offered.

[Simon Barden]

Hi. No, you won't need shielding tape. You've got a hollow body guitar so it's impossible to fit it all round the inside.

The idea with the tape is that you create a 'Faraday cage', enclosing the controls and pickups as much as possible in a conducting enclosure that's connected to ground and any electromagnetic interference is taken to ground before it has a chance to get to the pickups or controls wiring. It can't stop magnetic field interference from things like the transformers in your amp, but it can reduce other RF noise to very low levels.

You simply can't do that in a hollow body guitar (unless you install the tape during the construction of the body) but you can use enclosed pickups (not open coils) and then use shielded wiring for the wiring harness to reduce noise pickup ti a minimum. The ES-3 has more access to the internal body area than most kits, but it's still not enough to get the tape in, and to be honest, I don't think you'd want a fully copper-covered very acoustically reflective cavity as it will sound a lot different to bare wood.

You said you've got a custom ES-3 arriving. How custom is it? Is it still routed for humbuckers, or maybe you've gone for P90s. Guitars with single coil pickups are the ones that benefit the most from shielding, as humbuckers get rid of most hum by themselves. P90s are very prone to picking up a lot of noise, but can sound glorious, so its a trade-off you learn to live with, and so play in the most noise free spot you can find.

Just think that at least 95% of the guitars ever built have no, or only token attempts at, shielding. As we use more and more electronic items however, the environment has become evermore electrically noisy, so shielding a guitar makes good sense if it can be done sensibly.

[JohnH]

Hey DarkMark! Look forward to seeing how you customised your kit

[DarkMark]

Hi Simon and JohnH.
Simon, you are a wealth of knowledge, thanks for the detailed reply.
The customisation is routed for a single neck pup only. My idea is I like a guitar to ‘have a sound’ and the less variables the better, so two pups is one too many. Adam will be sending a p90 so I’m assuming the routed hole will match? I’ll keep it fairly stock, don’t see the need for fancy tuners (as long as stock are ok), use flat wound strings and haven’t changed them in about four years. Might change the knobs if I’m really happy with the end result. Oh, shaping the headstock and decals of course.

[Simon Barden]

You'll have to ask Adam about the type of P90 that's being sent.

As it's a hollow body, if it's a 'true' P90, then it will have to be a dog-ear type so that it can be fitted to the body, as soap-bar P90s screw directly into the wood directly beneath the pickup (or on Gibsons into a metal plate that's screwed to the wood). On the ES-3, being a hollow body, there isn't any wood beneath the pickup, so you'd need the ears in order to screw it down at each end.

Or it may be the standard humbucker hole and you've got a P90 sized humbucker coming. e.g. https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...-nickel-cover/

[DarkMark]

I had a look back at my correspondence with Adam,

“Hi Mark, definitely stick with the P90, it is the traditional Warm Jazz
sounding pup, especially for this hollow body style.

Take the kit with the stock Chinese P90...”

I’m not anticipating any problems at this stage.

[Simon Barden]

No, it should be fine. I have no idea what the stock P90 sounds like, but there aren't a huge number of low-priced upgrade pickups that are dog-ears. No dog-ear Toneriders or Irongears for instance (Bensons from the PBG site, yes, but not so cheap - then again it is only one pickup so more affordable than a pair). You can always buy a new cover and back plate for a soapbar to make it into a dog-ear, but it's easier to get it all done for you.

You may find you need a shim to raise the pickup up towards the strings, but you may find the distance OK. Something you can add later if required (though I'd do it before you solder the pickup in).

[DarkMark]

Practice staining a burst and testing my IT skills to see how I go resizing and uploading photos.