Noisy strat

fnpt

So I've got this partscaster which is too noisy even for a single coil guitar. I attribute that to bad soldier connections and to the lack of shielding.

My question is simply whether or not that kitchen aluminium paper would do the job or do I need a particular type of paper and if so, where can I find it?

Voxman

I think simple kitchen foil is OK, but there are better materials. Noise can be a real PITA with strats.  Shielding will help a little but if it's that noisy you're probably best to focus checking on the p/ups, wiring, earthing etc. 

I found this article on strat shielding for you that might be helpful:

http://www.artandtechnology.com.au/guitar/shielding-strat.html

ICBM

Kitchen foil can work well for some things - like inside amp cabinets - but in a guitar it's not easy to stick properly to the woodwork, and not easy to make electrical connections to.

What you really need is copper shielding tape. It's self-adhesive, and very easy to make really good connections to with solder - you can also put a small spot of solder on each join to make sure it makes continuous contact, the 'conductive glue' very often doesn't work too well for that.

You can buy it in small quantities suitable for a guitar from various Ebay sellers, it isn't too expensive.

Voxman

And another two articles here: 

http://joegiampaoli.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/shielding-strat-guitar-to-eliminate-hum.html

http://www.mcquain.com/lespaul/StratWiring/Strat_Shielding_Tips.pdf

It's these type of articles I was thinking of when I floated the idea of creating a centralised information base on FB. 

fnpt

Cheers guys, very helpful.

SNAKEBITE

Copper tape round the top of flower pots keeps slugs away.

fnpt

SNAKEBITE said:

Copper tape round the top of flower pots keeps slugs away.

Well, that is also useful to know.

mart

SNAKEBITE said:

Copper tape round the top of flower pots keeps slugs away.

Does that mean it might interfere with the slug coils in a humbucker?