Can Shielding Adversley Affect Pickup Tonality?

[llJasonll]

I read in another topic (I think it is called Nailbombs = Compressed) where the topic creator thinks there is something wrong because his Nailbomb sounds overly compressed.  Another user then asks if the cavity of the guitar is shielded, mentioning that nailbombs react adversley to shielding.

Has anyone else had this experience with other pickups, specifically Painkillers?  The reason why I am asking is because I purchased a painkiller set and I do believe (though I am not certain) that the guitar they are going in has been shielded.

Thanks!

[Lukie]

i have heard people say that the sheilding can act like a big capacitor, and effect the "sparkle" of their guitar, but i don't know how much truth there is to their claims . . .

any experts here on this topic?

[WezV]

shielding pickup cavities can have an adverse affect on the pickups sound. its recommended by some people who are trying to rid starts of all the single coil hum, completely unneccesary for humbuckers.  its a bit simplified but they do sound 'boxed in'.  i think this is due to the change in the magnetic field

i dont think shielding control cavities has a negative affect unless its grounded badly

[pagan7]

It was me who mentioned the problem I had with Nailbombs in sheilded pup cavities and it was Tim who advised me to remove the sheilding - it made a world of difference to the dynamic response of the pups and really opened out the sound - everything I was hoping for from the Nailbombs
I also have Painkillers fitted to another guitar of the same type and tone woods and they sounds enormous with drop D flat tuning - no sheilding fitted. You can grunt,squeel and rasp away to your hearts content and harmonics just fly out of them, but I can't say how they might sound with sheilding as I haven't tried it - and don't intend to any time soon   :lol:

[Philly Q]

I do believe that it affects the tone, but whether the effect is adverse or not perhaps depends on the particular type of guitar and pickups?   Fender conductive-paint shield all the cavities on current USA guitars, and Jazzmasters have a complete metal shielding "box" in the pickup/control cavity.

In a Gibson-style guitar, where the pickup cavities are separate from the control cavity, I wouldn't shield the pickup cavities because I don't think humbuckers need extra shielding. 

But in a Strat, where there's one big cavity around the pickups and controls, there's a big gap between the pickup area and the control area, for the wires to pass through.  So is it effective to shield just the control area of the cavity, since it won't be fully enclosed by the shielding?

[llJasonll]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it!!!!

That's interesting about the shielding issue.  I was inspecting my guitar and it looks like when my Luthier put my guitar together he shielded it.  It looks like there is a thin layer of paint (darker color, probably a very dark charcoal grey) in the control cavity and in the pickup cavities.  So if this is shielding paint then I may not be able to remove it...

Oh well, hopefully it doesn't effect my tone too much when I install my Painkillers... :?

[Prawnik]

with regard to single coils, some people claim that a shielded guitar sounds more detailed or "open," probably shielding lowers the noise floor.

This may well be cork-sniffing.

I usually do not bother shielding my Strats, for what it is worth.

[pagan7]

My `72 Strat came sheiled as standard with the original pups and was pretty quiet when plugged straight into an amp although still a little microphonic, but plugged through a few early 70s effects pedals with the volume up and nothing being played and it was like water on a hotplate an inch from your ears - total hiss fest.
I didn't mind at the time but that guitar never sounded "Stratty" enough for my liking, even though it's fairly lightweight alder with an all maple neck/fingerboard - so it should have been.
I eventually got the sound I was after by fitting a set of Fenders own hot  noiseless pups and 500k pots along with a Fender TBC tone control, and being noisless - no hiss   :D

[llJasonll]

Well, I suppose I have one more question for everyone...

Since my guitar is already shielded in the control cavity and the pickup cavities, my next question would be, How much does, or will, the shielding paint affect my tone?  Or rather, how noticeable would the difference be.  Is there a way to quantify the difference somehow?    Thanks!!

[Philly Q]

I think it's impossible to quantify. 

My question(s) would be, what's the guitar, what pickups does it have now and what do you like/dislike about the sound as it is?  I wouldn't get too hung up on the effect of the shielding.

[llJasonll]

I have a custom guitar that has a Mahogany body with a thin Koa top, a Maple neck, and a Brazillian Rosewood fretboard.  I have some Seymour Duncan pickups in there now (the pickups are tight sounding) that don't sound bad, but I did order a set of Painkillers because I wanted to change my sound a bit.  I have not gotten the Painkillers, yet so I don't really know what it will sound like in my shielded guitar.

To be honest, I am quite neurotic, and I just want the full effect of the Painkillers' tone to shine through on my guitar... I'm sure they will still sound good.

[Philly Q]

I think the construction style, the types of wood (and the particular pieces of timber used in that guitar) are going to have at least as much effect as the shielding.  You really can't predict exactly what a pickup's going to sound like.

Anyhow.....I just found the pics of your guitar on another thread.  Since it doesn't have a scratchplate, I'd guess if the pickup cavities are shielded the conductive paint will be connected to ground with wires (since it's difficult to get paint through the wiring channels). 

If you disconnect those wires then --- I think --- the shielding in the cavities will have no effect, so long as the metal parts of the pickup don't touch the shielding.

[llJasonll]

Oh okay, great!  So that is always an option then!

I think I will discuss it with the luthier that I go to (since he built the guitar!) when it is time to install the pickups, and ask his opinion on what can be done if I decide that she shielding is interfering with the sound that I want.

Thanks, Philly!   :D

[rsf1977]

hey, does anyone know if the Aftermath is known to react badly to close shielding paint?

[Roobubba]

Big pinch of salt needed here, especially when you're talking about (high output!) humbuckers.

I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that other factors, such as what type of bridge you have, what the guitar is made from and how it's constructed, the nut, the pots and caps (if any), new strings/different gauges/makes of strings etc will have a FAR more significant effect on the tone than shielding the control cavity. Sure, shielding in the pickup cavity *might* make a slight difference, but probably nowhere near as much as, eg changing the picks you use.

Of all the things to get hung up on, this isn't one! (except if you have feedback problems, where shielding the control cavity can help significantly)

Roo