Hey guys. Well it seems that with each guitar I get a little bit deeper into electronics. The further I get, the more I learn that I really need to be shielding everything and grounding out to the strings, which I guess ends up using the player's body as a shield (ugh?).
I've always been more of a software guy versus hardware, so I was wondering if there was somewhere I could go to really read up on the subject? Guitar electronics seems to be a hefty subject all it's own outside of the usual questions we all have to ask. I can't imagine that this hasn't been asked before.
All I'm really looking for is a good all around approach to making sure that I have all the electronics properly shielded and grounded in my guitars.
Thanks,
Josh
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The best grounding method is to have a ground wire touching the metal on your bridge,
if you're touching the strings or resting your hand on the bridge then the ground circuit
is complete, no noise whatsoever.
as far as shielding goes, usually effects boxes are the culprits that pick up radio signals,
but if you want to shield your guitar then line the inside with copper shielding tape or
copper sheilding paint. this can be expensive. I like using that aluminum tape that they
use for all weather insulating, they carry it at most hardware stores.this should block
out RF signals like cb radios & radio stations.
Shielding and grounding are two different animals. Search radio and RF type articles on shielding. 'RF' or 'Radio Frequency electromagnetic sheilding' searches yield good results.
Replies
if you're touching the strings or resting your hand on the bridge then the ground circuit
is complete, no noise whatsoever.
as far as shielding goes, usually effects boxes are the culprits that pick up radio signals,
but if you want to shield your guitar then line the inside with copper shielding tape or
copper sheilding paint. this can be expensive. I like using that aluminum tape that they
use for all weather insulating, they carry it at most hardware stores.this should block
out RF signals like cb radios & radio stations.
AluminumTape.jpg
Here's a good exlaination on balanced vs unbalanced audio shielding
http://www.rane.com/note151.html