i'm replacing the electronics in my mim hh fsr strat.

is shielding in the cavities recommended on hh strats?

i read in Dan Erlewine's "...repair guide" that some do and some at Fender believe it takes a bit away from the sound. i think that was for single coils and not humbuckers though.

if its a recommended thing now would be the time for me to take care of it and be done with that.

any thoughts from the community ?

i have always gone with strips (done about 12 strats and 3 tele's) and in all those i only noticed a change in tone on one strat. it got a little darker, sounded like it had humbuckers installed. that said using strips also allows for much easier and thorough grounding. ( check out the book on gilmour's black strat and you'll get the idea. i'm a relative old timer and shielding and shaving necks were the most common "mods" back in the '60's. anywho hope this helps a little and have fun doing your axe....it'll really feel personalized when your finished. have a good one

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

I perfer copper tape but for humbuckers I would use paint or aluminum.

Why bother for HUMbuckers?

It's a trick question, right?

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No no and no

+1 nikininja

I don't even like to shield the cavities for single coils, it does change the tone. A full pick guard shield is all I've ever done on a Strat. The change in tone from shielding is similar to changing the tone cap value. If I were to shield the cavities, I would use the paint instead of the copper tape. I am guessing, but feel that the paint would have less affect on tone than the copper does.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

+1

WTF does a shielding do for a pair of humbuckers anyway???

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Shielding of any kind never hurts! But if you are using good, quality humbuckers, you really won't "need" the shielding. Single coils REALLY benefit from shielding.

to those who questioned the "why do it with humbuckers...", well, that is why i posted the question. from the readings i've done, that is what i gathered too. i.e., not really needed for humbuckers, more so for single coils.

the replacement humbuckers are fairly top end boutique types that sounded good to my ears.

anyhoo, thought it best to ask while i'm at this point. thanks

thanks for the tip. i see some inexpensive options for the guard shield if i decide to do that.

yeah, it does help. i'm kinda glad i'm re-doing much of this guitar just for the reason you mentioned, "she" and i certainly are getting a more personalized relationship, which is probably a good thing for a musical instrument.

A shielding job poorly done will not only leave the guitar susceptible to noise but may also make noise actually worse. Trust me. Been there, done that. So this is the voice of experience talking. Shielding must be complete with no gaps whatsoever in all 3 dimensions. A shielded scratch plate and unshielded cavity does absolutely nothing. Zero. Nada. Zip. Except maybe make things worse. Using strips introduces the possibility of gaps. Foil can be perforated quite easily. Even a small hole like a pin $@!&# will make the shielding useless and can even make noise problems worse. All I'm saying is be careful with shielding. Don't disturb existing shielding and ensure a thorough job that you KNOW will be complete and durable. That usually means the paint on kind in a thick heavy coat.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

LOL @ the censorship software.
I was referring to a pin "pea are eye see Kay"

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Why anyone needs shielding on singlecoils is beyond me.
The noise is barely diminished, especialy from light sources which get in through the unshielded front of the pickup. The sound is greatly altered. The noise is a greatly exaggerated problem anyway. If you're playing anywhere important enough to care about noise, they will have taken care of it.

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No no and no

Uhhhh, huh-huh, huh-huh, he said $@!&#, huh-huh....

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

makes sense as it is basically a "faraday cage". a lot of good info. i'll give it some time to digest