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Post subject: Proper aluminum pickguard-shield install...How to?
Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:31 pm
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Roadie
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Hi

I purchased electronics out of a 1962 Strat reissue model that include the 5-way switch, pots and capacitor. The pots have the thin metal wire "ground straps?" running to each pot.

Pickups will be a Tokai bridge pickup, Alnico V in the middle off a 2009 American Standard strat, and a Vintage Noiseless in the neck.

I purchased a Fender aluminum pickguard-shield and also some All-Parts adhesive copper shielding tape for the cavities.

SO my questions are should I leave the ground straps as they are?

SHOULD the copper shielding tape IF in contact with the pickguard-shield be enough to complete the grounding of the tape? Or do I need to solder a ground wire to the tape from somewhere?

:D I'm excited to hook this stuff up! Thanks for any help!


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Post subject: Re: Proper aluminum pickguard-shield install...How to?
Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:59 pm
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Rock Star
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warmachine wrote:
Hi

I purchased electronics out of a 1962 Strat reissue model that include the 5-way switch, pots and capacitor. The pots have the thin metal wire "ground straps?" running to each pot.

Pickups will be a Tokai bridge pickup, Alnico V in the middle off a 2009 American Standard strat, and a Vintage Noiseless in the neck.

I purchased a Fender aluminum pickguard-shield and also some All-Parts adhesive copper shielding tape for the cavities.

SO my questions are should I leave the ground straps as they are?

SHOULD the copper shielding tape IF in contact with the pickguard-shield be enough to complete the grounding of the tape? Or do I need to solder a ground wire to the tape from somewhere?

:D I'm excited to hook this stuff up! Thanks for any help!


If I'm interpreting you correctly, those "ground straps", are in fact, one thin, solid and bare piece of wire connected to all three pots. This being the case, it is called a 'buss wire'. Yes, it is fine for grounding as that is in fact, a buss wire's primary purpose. It would be a good idea not to remove it even though you'll be mounting the pots to the aluminum shield. See, if ever the pots become loose on the shield, they will have intermittent contact with the shield which means they'll be intermittently grounded and as a result, you'll get all sorts of loud and nasty noises. With the buss wire still intact, even if any of the pots do become loose, you'll never have this intermittent ground problem.

As to your foil shielding (if you must), I presume you will be shielding below the output jack as well. Run a tab of foil up to and over the upper screw hole of the jack cup. Upon screwing that screw of the jack cup down, this shall ground the cup and the jack to the foil. The negative wire on the output jack is connected to the back of your volume pot and so, this shall ground the entire cup/jack area to the rest of the circuit. Now, run a tab of foil up out of the body cavity so that it will catch any one of the aluminum shield's screw holes. This shall ground the body cavity foil to the shield which in turn is grounded to the rest of the guitar's electronics. For every piece of foil that you lay one piece on top of another, after they have been permanently stuck in place, take a regular, everyday pin and pop a few holes through where these different pieces of foil meet. This will guarantee uninterrupted conductivity more so than just having a sticky piece of copper on top of another.

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Post subject: Re: Proper aluminum pickguard-shield install...How to?
Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:29 pm
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Roadie
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Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
Martian wrote:
warmachine wrote:
Hi

As to your foil shielding (if you must), I presume you will be shielding below the output jack as well. Run a tab of foil up to and over the upper screw hole of the jack cup. Upon screwing that screw of the jack cup down, this shall ground the cup and the jack to the foil. The negative wire on the output jack is connected to the back of your volume pot and so, this shall ground the entire cup/jack area to the rest of the circuit. Now, run a tab of foil up out of the body cavity so that it will catch any one of the aluminum shield's screw holes. This shall ground the body cavity foil to the shield which in turn is grounded to the rest of the guitar's electronics. For every piece of foil that you lay one piece on top of another, after they have been permanently stuck in place, take a regular, everyday pin and pop a few holes through where these different pieces of foil meet. This will guarantee uninterrupted conductivity more so than just having a sticky piece of copper on top of another.


Thanks for the shielding tips and info on the buss wire. Last night I was reading some posts that say the pickguard-shield will help quiet things down considerably. SO tonight I will copper tape the control cavity and output jack cavity. I'll leave the pickup cavities bare.

As far as wiring to run from the 5-way to the pots I have some nice stuff I may steal off a car stereo wiring harness. Im talking about the thin 18 or 22 gauge wires that come off the back of the car radio. It has the nice thick insulation on there. Idk if that will suffice? Or is that a mistake to use?

Thanks for the help


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Post subject: Re: Proper aluminum pickguard-shield install...How to?
Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:36 pm
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Rock Star
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Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:33 am
Posts: 8461
Location: Mars, the angry red planet.
warmachine wrote:
Martian wrote:
warmachine wrote:
Hi

As to your foil shielding (if you must), I presume you will be shielding below the output jack as well. Run a tab of foil up to and over the upper screw hole of the jack cup. Upon screwing that screw of the jack cup down, this shall ground the cup and the jack to the foil. The negative wire on the output jack is connected to the back of your volume pot and so, this shall ground the entire cup/jack area to the rest of the circuit. Now, run a tab of foil up out of the body cavity so that it will catch any one of the aluminum shield's screw holes. This shall ground the body cavity foil to the shield which in turn is grounded to the rest of the guitar's electronics. For every piece of foil that you lay one piece on top of another, after they have been permanently stuck in place, take a regular, everyday pin and pop a few holes through where these different pieces of foil meet. This will guarantee uninterrupted conductivity more so than just having a sticky piece of copper on top of another.


Thanks for the shielding tips and info on the buss wire. Last night I was reading some posts that say the pickguard-shield will help quiet things down considerably. SO tonight I will copper tape the control cavity and output jack cavity. I'll leave the pickup cavities bare.

As far as wiring to run from the 5-way to the pots I have some nice stuff I may steal off a car stereo wiring harness. Im talking about the thin 18 or 22 gauge wires that come off the back of the car radio. It has the nice thick insulation on there. Idk if that will suffice? Or is that a mistake to use?

Thanks for the help


You're welcome.

That wire you intend on using will be fine.

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