Thoughts on shielding...

[offplanetfilms]

I'm considering shielding my 2005 Legacy (USA swamp ash with maple neck) with copper foil. Would there be any noticeable effect on high frequencies afterwards? (Which this guitar currently excels at)

I've previously used the star-grounding & shielding mod on a strat copy, which really did the trick, but I'd rather not mod the Legacy too far. I'm just having a few buzz difficulties for recording purposes. Perhaps I just need a better cable first?

Any pro's / cons / recommendations?

[Ken Baker]

Adding shielding will tend to darken the tone of some instruments. Depends on the instrument. I much prefer shielded to not, but then I play bass and I'm not after that jangly bright thing. I've even been known to shield the holes between the pickup and control cavities.

Checking your cable and grounding is always a good thing.

Ken...

[Boogie Bill]

I don't think properly done sheilding will negatively affect the market value of your Legacy, assuming it's done properly, if that's the concern about modding your guitar. It might even add value. I had a LP Special with P-90s sheilded years ago, and it did help with the noise--only minimally affecting the tone.

Turn off fluourescents, and neons, and the air conditioner; and turn off any lights on a dimmer switch to minimize RFI. Use a good source of power--using a Furman line conditioner might help. Check your wall-plugs with wiring tester, and make sure the wiring is correct. Never assume wiring is correct.

But the simplest way to resolve a noise issue when your recording is to move yourself and the guitar in relationship to your amp. You should be able to find one or more positions where that noise is minimized. That's how they do it in the big studios.

Bill

[Philby]

I've shielded and star grounded 3 strats with great success in the past. I've also done 2 tele's but shielding/grounding was far less effective with those guitars for some reason. I've never noticed a loss of high end frequencies, but then I'm prepared to put up with a loss of top end to get rid of the electronic buzz

Shielding will work best when the entire electronics cavity and underside of pickguard are shielded to form a conductive, earthed 'cage' around the electronics. I think the technical term is a Faraday cage. I always laugh when I see replacment pickguards with a token piece of foil stuck around the volume/tone control area.