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Squier affinity PJ needs shield?
- Thread starter icarus88
- Start date
I think (maybe a hypothesis) the best quality sound is obtained with DC power. Because DC voltage don't need ground too much. When I run the laptop with battery, the background noise almost disappeared. But the battery life is also short.
If I buy an amplifier in the future, I will definitely get one that works with battery.
Let's say you solved the grounding problem of the house and the guitar, what about the computer's GPU? GPU noise is injected into the ground plane.
I wish I could get all DC power in my system other than batteries.
If I buy an amplifier in the future, I will definitely get one that works with battery.
Let's say you solved the grounding problem of the house and the guitar, what about the computer's GPU? GPU noise is injected into the ground plane.
I wish I could get all DC power in my system other than batteries.
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Because it's a Squier or Fender PJ with likely traditional (aka: non-noiseless) pickups, the split coil Precision Bass pickup may make some 60-cycle hum. Certainly, the Jazz Bass pickup will make some hum. The thing is to figure out which is the 60-cycle hum that is inherent in these pickups, versus any instrument shielding or instrument grounding issue(s), versus home/room/playing are electric wiring or non-wiring issues such as neon lights or other noise/hum-producing devices on same circuit and/or in proximity. Even a cell phone if left on, or in certain proximity of an amp can itself cause an increase in noise/hum. Playing your instrument even in proximity of certain televisions or TV monitors may itself create more noise/hum than the instrument, room or wiring would otherwise produce.
This may take a little time to sort out EXACTLY how much noise/hum is acceptable and also unavoidable as inherent in the instrument's basic specs and configuration, versus other factors not inherent in the instrument, itself. Whether you need conducive paint or not and how much of that conducive paint will or will not make a difference is really IMPOSSIBLE for any of us to definitively know with your detail provided in the original post.
All I could say with any certainty is A.) It won't hurt to add conducive paint, if you want a little project to mess with the instrument, and B.) While you're underneath the hood doing things, assuring that the instrument is properly grounded will also not hurt. At these points, at least you could write off or check off those particular boxes as no longer potential reasons for an unacceptable level of noise/hum.
Good luck.
This may take a little time to sort out EXACTLY how much noise/hum is acceptable and also unavoidable as inherent in the instrument's basic specs and configuration, versus other factors not inherent in the instrument, itself. Whether you need conducive paint or not and how much of that conducive paint will or will not make a difference is really IMPOSSIBLE for any of us to definitively know with your detail provided in the original post.
All I could say with any certainty is A.) It won't hurt to add conducive paint, if you want a little project to mess with the instrument, and B.) While you're underneath the hood doing things, assuring that the instrument is properly grounded will also not hurt. At these points, at least you could write off or check off those particular boxes as no longer potential reasons for an unacceptable level of noise/hum.
Good luck.
As someone who has modded a bunch of Squier bass over the last 2 decades+, IME new pots, and shielding if there isn’t paint shielding is a “why not do it because it’s super cheap and won’t hurt only help” thing.
I always put new pups in Squiers as well. The stock ones range from wimpy to ok most of the time, unless it’s one of the special Squiers with Duncans or EMGs.
But in the end you do you, if that makes you happy.
Cheers.
Edit:
FWIW, I put Dimarzio Split P and Ultra Jazz in my Squier PJ and it sounds amazing. I also added a series/parallel switch. The s/p switch makes the bass sound huge when using rounds and in series mode.
I always put new pups in Squiers as well. The stock ones range from wimpy to ok most of the time, unless it’s one of the special Squiers with Duncans or EMGs.
But in the end you do you, if that makes you happy.
Cheers.
Edit:
FWIW, I put Dimarzio Split P and Ultra Jazz in my Squier PJ and it sounds amazing. I also added a series/parallel switch. The s/p switch makes the bass sound huge when using rounds and in series mode.
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The problem is, I don't know how to do it myself, I will learn from videos.
The problem is, I don't know how to do it myself, I will learn from videos.
Link here for shielding.
I bought my copper tape super cheap from Amazon. But Lowe’s and Home Depot probably sell the stuff too locally.
Little bit sloppy when I did it on a Squier recently but here is a pic of mine.
The wire you see is soldered to the bottom of the bridge J cavity to the bottom of the electronics cavity.
I also put copper tape on the backside of the pickguard near the P pups.
That’s what the foil outside the cavity is for to make connection to the pickguard foil.
If you have P body make the foil on the pick guard covers the area with the pots that sits over cavity as well.
This body has a J control plate, the control plate is metal and doesn’t really need foil on the back of it.
I bought my copper tape super cheap from Amazon. But Lowe’s and Home Depot probably sell the stuff too locally.
Little bit sloppy when I did it on a Squier recently but here is a pic of mine.
The wire you see is soldered to the bottom of the bridge J cavity to the bottom of the electronics cavity.
I also put copper tape on the backside of the pickguard near the P pups.
That’s what the foil outside the cavity is for to make connection to the pickguard foil.
If you have P body make the foil on the pick guard covers the area with the pots that sits over cavity as well.
This body has a J control plate, the control plate is metal and doesn’t really need foil on the back of it.
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Well I can’t speak on electrical theory but IME shielding cavities has reduced unwanted noises from several bass builds I’ve done. There are many factors that can cause unwanted noises in audio equipment that are external from an electric guitar but that’s a massive rabbit hole you don’t want to go down if you have any OCD tendencies.
Now I understand why my humbucker pickup is noisy, there is no metal plate on the back! My single pickup is super quiet. Like a mouse
Alot of us can relate to that. It might be worth biting the bullet and picking up a decent quality hum cancelling j pickup. I dont know where you are located, but you can find Dimarzios for under 100 USD
Mine was dead silent with stock pickups, before i installed these before-bigbang-silent EMG Geezers.
Your bass is picking up alien transmissions. Shielding won't help. I've asked them to operate on frequencies that will not interfere with our basses, but they just laughed at me.