Hi all!

So I find the 60 cycle hum gets out of control when I use distortion, so I'm going to shield my strat.

I'm going to go by the instructions of this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_UnQbxtV7Y

I understand that video is for a Tele, but the theory for both guitars is the same.

First question: Do I have to take the pickups out of the pickguard, or can I leave them screwed in and just foil around them?

Secondly: What kind of wire/cable is best for this kind of job? If someone could link me to what I should be looking at, that would be awesome!

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated as well!

Cheers!

Normally you would do the routed area where the pickups and capacitators go on the body. The pickguard will usually already have foil shielding around the capacitators, it's the silver shield part underneath. Go to StewMac and buy this, http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics ... 3&xsr=4425
It comes in a kit so everything you need is in it.
NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU GROUND THE SHIELD, OR IT WON'T DO S***.

_________________
1965 Fender Precision Bass, 1994 Fender '54 Reissue Precision Bass, 2007 Applause Celebrity, 2011 Fender American Special Jazz Bass, 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, 2013 Fender American Special Stratocaster, 2013 Gibson LPJ

Thanks for that mate, I'll grab that kit and it should make everything a whole lot easier!

Keep in mind all hum does not come from the guitar it can come from the cable and be inherent in the amp as well. Test your gear on another amp or at another location to be sure.

I've done all those things, and the hum dies when on positions 2 and 4. So if this doesn't fix it, noiseless pickups it is then haha!

If it comes to that, take a look at the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage series. I've got them installed in two guitars and they're definitely "strattier" than Fender's SCN's or their Vintage Noiseless. And quiet as the proverbial barn mouse.

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

Cheers for the advice! Hopefully shielding the guitar will solve my issues, if I can remove the hum then I'll be a very happy man, as I love the tones I can get out of my guitar, I'd hate to sacrifice that to be noise free!

But we shall wait and see what happens!

My hr57 had a buzzing problem, and static, I shielded the cavity
And installed a copper shield pickguard , grounded the copper
Cavity shielding to the volume tone pot, now it's dead quiet .

Ps, it has scn and tone zone S rails type of single coil size
Hb

_________________
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

oogway, kungfu panda 2008

I don't know, my opinion is that the 60 cycle hum is an integral part of the "Strat" sound. In my case just touching a metal part of the guitar gets my hum to stop, and if you don't want to do that, you can just turn the volume all the way down. The noiseless pickups are not REAL singlecoil pickups, they just look like them.

_________________
1965 Fender Precision Bass, 1994 Fender '54 Reissue Precision Bass, 2007 Applause Celebrity, 2011 Fender American Special Jazz Bass, 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, 2013 Fender American Special Stratocaster, 2013 Gibson LPJ

If you've ever played in some of the bars I play at you'll quickly come to realize that your beloved 60Hz hum is a downright pain in the butt.....

Hey, If ya really wanna do a shielding job on your Strat or Tele, go to:
http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi These guys are the wiring wizzes, and can answer any questions you may have, and have no fear. There are no stupid questions at GN2.

This is the link to the original Guitar Nuts site, where you'll find nice, easy to read schematics, and shielding instructions.
http://www.guitarnuts.com/index.php (extinct link. see below )

To see some pics of a nice shielding job, see;
http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index. ... hread=5773

and this is where I wound up getting good hookup wire cheap :
http://www.radiodaze.com/wire-PVC_hookup.htm

good luck ! You'll love your new Strat.

Be sure to sand down the contact points on the output jack. I've found that this, or with extremely old jacks a replacement will quiet the guitar more than any other shielding.

_________________
2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

+1, thanks for the tip!

_________________
1965 Fender Precision Bass, 1994 Fender '54 Reissue Precision Bass, 2007 Applause Celebrity, 2011 Fender American Special Jazz Bass, 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, 2013 Fender American Special Stratocaster, 2013 Gibson LPJ

woops. Sorry about that. The original Guitar Nuts site is having some problems. But you can still access the original Guitar Nuts page, with excellent step by step instructions and very easy to read schematics. Instead of the link I posted above, go here :

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

I suppose some extremely cruddy jack contacts could cause some noise, but if you really want to improve your Strat in a drastic way, you need to shield the entire body cavity from EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and RFI, (Radio Frequency Interference) and, all interior surfaces must have electrical continuity, ( electrical connection from one piece to the rest) in order to shunt this interference to ground. It seems like a big deal at first, but once you do one guitar, you'll wonder why it seemed to be so daunting, and why you didn't do it a long time ago.

Yes, you should remove your pups from the pick guard, just to keep them safely out of the way while you cover the backside of your pick guard with foil, and then trim it with an Exacto knife. This seems to be a big deal at first too, but it really is easy enough once you try it.

Get yourself set up on a table or bench where tools and parts won't be disturbed for a week or so. Print out the step by step instructions from the site I just mentioned, collect the few simple tools listed there, and then just do one step at a time, checking things off as you complete them.

The kit from stewmac is very good, but a bit chinzy on copper foil. If you can spare the extra expense, get 2 kits, just to allow yourself some extra material, in case you make a mistake. I just finished a guitar using regular aluminum foil, from the kitchen. It's not quite as easy to work with, but it costs a lot less.

The difference you'll see, after a well done shielding job is really amazing, and well worth the time, effort and expense. Some players do like to hear 60hz AC hum when they fire up their amps, but as dr. jimmy pointed out above, that can be a real problem in certain live situations, and, if you ever want to do any multi-tracking, the elimination of single coil hum is an absolute necessity in order to maintain an acceptable signal to noise ratio.


Shielding works, and you can do it! Good luck.

aaaand one more thing. hehe.. I just remembered that the best, easiest to read before and after schematics I've ever seen are kind of hidden in the above mentioned page. For that, go here:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/innards.php