Static Noise- Shielded S-500- With Pictures

Static has been discussed in great detail recently. Last fall I discovered excessive pickguard noise in my S-500 when the humidity went down. Today was my day to solve this. So here are a description of what was done and the results of doing this. When I removed the pickguard I discovered that it had no shielding.



I used common HVAC aluminum tape with adhesive backing.



I applied the tape and this picture is before trimming



This how it looked after trimming with a razor blade.



And finally punching the aluminum over the screw holes with a small punch.



I reinstalled the pickguard and new strings and tested it. The pickguard was quiet and everything sounded as it should, however I could still get some noise when rubbing on the lower pickup height adjustment screw on the middle pickup. I decided to remove the strings and the pickguard again as I discovered that when grounding that pickup height screw the noise was gone. I added a ground wire by wrapping a wire around the screw and spring for the pickup height adjustment screw and soldered it to the pot case.



At this point I laid the pickguard back in the guitar, installed the strings and tested . This baby is now silent. There is a bit of 60 cycle hum when I am two feet in front of the amp in positions 1, 3 and 5. Positions 2&4 are quiet. The 60 cycle hum is mostly gone after moving more that 4 feet in front of the amp. This thing sounds great and is quieter than it has ever been. After reinstalling the pickguard I removed the trem cover and it was not shielded either.



It was not causing any noise but I decided to shield it anyway.



Here is the finished product



This project would have taken less than 45 minutes if I didn't have to remove everything again to deal with the pickup height screw. It is an easy project and the results are awesome. This is a quiet S-500 and I am a happy camper. Some of you may not think that I have enough to do but this stuff is fun! -- Darwin

if the guitar cavity is shielded, the trem cover makes no difference. if the guitar cavity (front) is not shielded, the trem cover again makes no difference. of course the shielding of the trem cover is not grounded, so it makes no difference whatsoever.

Thanks darwinohm.

Definitely going try that. I notice the hum and find myself going to position 2 & 4 often.

Meowmix, This will not eliminate 60 Cycle hum picked up directly but does eliminate static electricity from the pickguard. A good test for hum is to ground different point with the guitar plugged into the amp. That will pretty much tell you what can be eliminated and what can't. -- Darwin

I do remember reading somewhere, someone said not to do it unless it is a serious problem.
And that has been the reason why I have been holding off trying it out. It really isn't a problem for me, just step back a couple of feet and it's gone.

Today I had some free time, so what the heck. I used copper shield, which is a waste btw.
You pay more for copper and you have to buy 3M sticky spray which adds to the total.
Cheaper to use the aluminum $4 tape at hardware store.

Place copper in cavity not pick guard, grounded, used solder etc.....
Tested and .....no difference.

oh well, now I know.

Long live single coil.

great project Darwin, fun too! Nice work!

I do remember reading somewhere, someone said not to do it unless it is a serious problem.
And that has been the reason why I have been holding off trying it out. It really isn't a problem for me, just step back a couple of feet and it's gone.

Today I had some free time, so what the heck. I used copper shield, which is a waste btw.
You pay more for copper and you have to buy 3M sticky spray which adds to the total.
Cheaper to use the aluminum $4 tape at hardware store.

Place copper in cavity not pick guard, grounded, used solder etc.....
Tested and .....no difference.

oh well, now I know.

Long live single coil.

if you don't put it on the pickguard, you will not get much benefit. have to create a faraday cage. did you test that there is connectivity between all points with an continuity tester? to have it work properly, you have to shield the jack cavity and the channel between the control cavity and jack cavity. emi is directional, and most of it comes from the front, as your body shields some from behind, but you have to surround the electronics to get great results. my guess at this point would be pilot error.

if you don't put it on the pickguard, you will not get much benefit. have to create a faraday cage. did you test that there is connectivity between all points with an continuity tester? to have it work properly, you have to shield the jack cavity and the channel between the control cavity and jack cavity. emi is directional, and most of it comes from the front, as your body shields some from behind, but you have to surround the electronics to get great results. my guess at this point would be pilot error.

Good point on what direction the fields are coming from. Next string change I might look into it. It is an easy thing to do.

if you don't put it on the pickguard, you will not get much benefit. have to create a faraday cage. did you test that there is connectivity between all points with an continuity tester? to have it work properly, you have to shield the jack cavity and the channel between the control cavity and jack cavity. emi is directional, and most of it comes from the front, as your body shields some from behind, but you have to surround the electronics to get great results. my guess at this point would be pilot error.

Good point on what direction the fields are coming from. Next string change I might look into it. It is an easy thing to do.

you have to make sure there is a tab from the cavity shielding on the surface, so the shielding on the pickguard can connect to it, closing the cage. without that it doesn't work.

There is already a ground wire from the jack.
Also, the first in line to pick up noise is the pickup, not the pick guard. I have reservations on how much this will work.

There is already a ground wire from the jack.
Also, the first in line to pick up noise is the pickup, not the pick guard. I have reservations on how much this will work.

yes, and most of the pickup will be behind the pickguard.

if you don't put it on the pickguard, you will not get much benefit. have to create a faraday cage.

It is impossible to create a faraday cage. If there is a hole for the pickup, how is that a faraday "cage"?
Oh, then they say put copper around the pickup. Now it becomes ridiculous. Waste of my time. Sorry I tried.
Going back in to replace with Silver Mica caps, and replace wire. I do like the idea of replacing the wire with the Teflon silver braid. There will be no sound difference, only stronger wire and more heat resistance.

if you don't put it on the pickguard, you will not get much benefit. have to create a faraday cage.

It is impossible to create a faraday cage. If there is a hole for the pickup, how is that a faraday "cage"?
Oh, then they say put copper around the pickup. Now it becomes ridiculous. Waste of my time. Sorry I tried.
Going back in to replace with Silver Mica caps, and replace wire. I do like the idea of replacing the wire with the Teflon silver braid. There will be no sound difference, only stronger wire and more heat resistance.

if you shield the pickguard, it is a pretty effective cage. if you only shield the body, it is an absolute waste indeed. some people put shielding around the pup, but you can have some pretty good results without that.