Thanks. I don't know what the standard is in the US. The HVAC tape here (or on Amazon) does not generally say whether the adhesive is conductive. I have two rolls from different mfgs...and one is one is not. We *should* have such a standard, but I guess that means we may not.
Meanwhile those are much better prices than the last time I looked. It's about twice the cost as alu tape, but double the cost is still pretty cheap...and since it says it has conductive adhesive you know what you're getting.
I guess if you don't mind the patchwork look, then your idea of using the copper tape to conductively connect the aluminium is a good compromise, with the added benefit that it gives you points you can solder to if needed. Generally I used ebay if I want cheap, and Amazon if I want fast. Here in Oz Amazon is generally more expensive.
Ss long as you have conductive adhesive tape (which I would say is a necessity as it’s easily available), you can always connect a ground wire to it (given enough space) by taping down an exposed length of wire, forming a tape sandwich. This works best if joining two shielded areas together so the wire won’t be moved, rather than a wire that’s going to be soldered to the back of a scratchplate-mounted pot at one end and so liable to get pulled as it’s moved.
I have more of the copper tape on order. Thanks for the link. On my last build, (an offset guitar with Strat electronics). I had just enough of the copper tape to do .25" strips to make continuity with the 2" strips of aluminum tape. I sort of liked the way it looked. Silver with copper spiderweb. Of course no one but me is every likely to see it. To connect the ground to the wiring harness I used an eyelet connector like this:
I pried open the "tube" and flattened out the sides so that they were like wings. I soldered the bridge ground wire to one side, and a wire going to the volume pot to the other. That way if I need to take out the pickguard, I just have one wire to de-solder. With all the jostling a guitar will get, I am not sure I'd trust just taping down a ground wire.
I tested continuity before closing it up. Once closed up, I tested it with one lead on the jack ring, and the other on the strings, the pots, and the pickguard screws that connect the body shielding with the pickguard shielding.
I just checked and eBay here has the same copper shielding tape for a little more than Amazon. Here Amazon is generally faster (though that is no longer always the case), and also often the same or cheaper than eBay for things they sell a lot of. Guitar parts I have generally found cheaper on eBay...particularly if they are better quality.
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