Shielding

[Oby]

Recently I built 2 identical kits which gave me a chance to do some good comparison tests. Both kits were YB-4 bass with standard hardware. The only mod was replacing the standard jack with barrel jacks.
One kit I used the wires that came with the kit. The other I used expensive shielded cables. There was no noticeable difference although both of them suffered from slight background noise. It wasn't a grounding issue because touching the bridge eliminated the noise.
I decided to add copper shielding to one of them. I chose the one with shielded cables. Inside the pickup cavities and lining the control cavity including the back of the cover plate. Bingo! No more background noise.
I did the same with the other kit and got the same result.
I always thought the wiring was more important but in future I'll be paying more attention to shielding.

[FCD]

Thanks for sharing the observations.

[fender3x]

Shielding can make a big difference, particularly with single coils.

I am curious why you changed out the jacks? I have done it the other way round. I have found that even Switchcraft barril jacks are highly prone to failure, and you have to be very careful what cords you use with them. Never yet had a problem with standard jacks....

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[JoshW_USA]

New shielding question: I am working on a new TLA-1Q and am thinking about the shielding. Since the control cavity is part of one of the hollow-body chambers, it would be very difficult to completely shield. Is it worth getting some shielding paint and trying to coat the whole chamber? Copper tape what I can reach? Or is it not necessary to shield that chamber? This is my first build, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

[FrankenWashie]

New shielding question: I am working on a new TLA-1Q and am thinking about the shielding. Since the control cavity is part of one of the hollow-body chambers, it would be very difficult to completely shield. Is it worth getting some shielding paint and trying to coat the whole chamber? Copper tape what I can reach? Or is it not necessary to shield that chamber? This is my first build, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Most hollow bodies don't bother with shielding, if you are running single coils then you might try and tape the pup cavity and the control plate like on a strat, but you need to create a complete envelope around the electrics to have it do what it should.
You are not going to be able to do that with a Thinline. if noise is a really big problem you might try getting some shielding paint in there, but it may do nothing other than frustrate you during the build.

[fender3x]

I would start by using shielded cable between all of the components and by shielding the pickup cavities. Maybe try that first. If you're not hearing much noise, then doing more is probably overkill.

If that's not enough, you might be able to do something like what the old Danelectro's did. Make a box out of cardboard that fits over the components that you can attach to the pickguard or control plate. Cover the box with shielding tape. Make sure the shielding tape is grounded to the jack. Drink a beer. (You should turn off your soldering iron before the last step.)

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