Shielding Single Coil Wires

[frets]

Hi Guys,
I had a real guitar snob in the shop today (ooo, he was snobby.....you know the type) who wants me to build a loaded pickguard. He wants me to shield the single coil wires (in addition to the pickguard shielding). I say if a guy has done a good guard and cavity shielding, that’s enough). I’ve built so many Strats and have never shielded the wires (and they come out dead quiet - ooo, now I’m being snobby). But I wanted your opinions on the subject. Thanks💘💘

[newey]

Feb 15, 2021 15:45:28 GMT -5 frets said:

He wants me to shield the single coil wires

In what way? Are we talking aabout a braided shield around the outside, which is then tied into the ground?

Basically, with shielding, we are building a Faraday Cage to block unwanted signal. While it probably won't do any harm, building one Faraday Cage inside another is not likely to enhance the effectiveness. At least that's my2¢

If he was a real snob, he'd want the wires as twisted pairs, and that I'll buy as potentially making a difference. Maybe, anyway.

But of course the customer gets what the customer wants, right?

[frets]

Newey,
He wants me to wrap the pickup wires with copper tape (which I’m doing). I had to keep a straight face from bursting out laughing. I explained my feelings on the topic but he read on a guitar forum that this was the thing to do for, “complete EMF protection.”

Do you know how hard it is to get copper tape to stick to cloth wire?  Look at my third grade science fair project.

[newey]

Let me guess, he insisted on the cloth wire, too, amirite?

[thetragichero]

cloth wire "sounds better" because leo did it that way......
free wire salvaged from organs sounds better to me because it sounds like more money in my wallet

[reTrEaD]

Feb 15, 2021 15:45:28 GMT -5 frets said:

But I wanted your opinions on the subject. Thanks💘💘

My opinion is: Give the customer what they want (as long as it doesn't degrade the performance or present a hazard). (And charge them accordingly.)

I haven't bought any for years, but I reckon you still might be able to find braided copper sleeve. When you push it together (longitudinally) it gets larger in diameter. When you stretch it (longitudinally) it gets smaller in diameter.

[frets]

Newey,
Yes he did insist on cloth wire and it’s not an easy build (Volume/Series, Tone/Phase, N/B Blender). Keeping track of all the wires with the copper coming off is a nightmare. I like Retread’s idea.

[blademaster2]

If he really wants such low noise then he is probably barking up the wrong tree to go with single coil pickups in the first place. Also, adding the capacitance of the close-hugging shield will only make things more low-pass filtered - and if the cavity shielding was done well it likely adds little benefit (some, but little).

Cloth insulation might in theory change the capacitance of the cables to the shields, which I doubt *I* could hear but it probably gets swamped by adding the shield around the wires that he wants.

IMHO test added bang for the buck is probably twisting the conductors of each pickup, which only slightly increases the capacitance and rejects some of the picked up EM noise.

Then he plugs it all into a cable that dominates the capacitance before the signal gets to the amp....

Maybe tell him that there is a new type of wire you will use, with a new type of insulation made from 100% pure placebo. That seems to work pretty well.

[frets]

Hi Blade 😺,
I agree with you....wholeheartedly. What this guy did was special order some pickups where the middle pup was “not” reverse wound.  He supplied all the materials and wanted it in 24 hours.  Apparently, the parts had been sitting with a Guitar Center tech for 3 weeks. Well, trying to tape the wires just became a farce.  So I called him and said, “Either you let me build it my way or you wait until I get some braided sleeves (thanks Retread!!)”. He acquiesced and I built it where the wires are copper taped from about 1/2” from the pickup to where the pups emerge into the cavity.

Its not one of my best but it’s done and he’s coming right now to get it. I’m scared 🙀!!


This type of customer is why other guitar forums can be dangerous with all the inaccurate advice they provide. Thank God for Guitarnutz2!!

[thetragichero]

"i want zero noise but i also don't want to use any advances in pickup technology that were not used in the first stratocaster assembled by Leo's own hands"

[unreg]

^ “bc, obviously, music has nothing to do with an individual’s skill; so, please, i want Leo’s shoemaker too. i will wear his shoes!”