GuitarNutsThe Internet Home for Wayward Pickers

Over the years I've received a lot of great email feedback from people who have shielded their guitars.  I was just thinking the other day that it would be great to be able to look back over five years of "wows" but most of those notes are gone to the bit bucket.  Still, I had a few still rattling around that I've kept for one reason or another.  So, in the spirit of "better late than never" I'm going to start posting some of the feedback that strikes my fancy.  Don't feel bad if your mail doesn't make it to the page – there is simply no way I can post the hundreds of emails I get so I'm only putting up the occasional gem here.

January 2000

I have a Fender Telecaster Nashville Custom (three pickups, 
Tex-Mex Tele neck and bridge, Strat in the middle).  I just
completed potting the pickups in wax and doing the recommended
shielding steps.  I used tin foil on the pickguard and in 
the pickup cavities.  "Hiding" the big capacitor was a bit
of a problem.  The only place it would fit in under the 
pickguard.  I had to tape it in place to screw the whole mess
back together. There is a cosmetic problem with the Telecaster 
bridge.  The hole routed underneath extends to the very edge
of the bridge, so you need to be very careful when you glue
the foil on or it will show.  Plan ahead and "dry fit" first.

The results were astounding.  I bought the guitar because I
liked the funky tone variations on the three pickups.  After
the mods, the sound is BIG.  It sounds basically the same,
but much fatter.  Even my wife commented how good it sounded
when I plugged in for the acid test.  I'm glad I didn't try
any of the other mods before completing this one.  The noise
reduction is amazing. With the guitar wide open my old amp 
didn't sing a note (except for the usual Twin sound).  
Clarity and fatness is what you can expect.

The writer of this letter asked me to purge it of identifying elements (I would too, after that "even my wife" thing). So, I'll say only that he's been around the block a couple of times...
February 2000

John, I just finished (after putting it off for over a year) your
Stratocaster shielding/quieting mod on my reissue 1962 Stratocaster.
I've had the guitar for about 12 years & for 10 of those years I've had
Seymour Duncan Classic Strat Stacks in it because of the noisy stock
pickups. The Duncans were quiet & adequate.

About an hour ago I plugged my modified guitar into my Twin Reverb &
almost wet myself. God, I love Leo Fender & John Atchley.

John, I can't thank you enough for sharing the information with
everyone. God bless ya, buddy!

Bill

I sure hope Bill wasn't standing too close to the amp when he almost wet himself, that could be dangerous...;-)
July 2000

I have tried shielding my Stratocaster 2 different
ways before I found your web site, with little or no
success. I tried your way. I can't believe the
improvement in performance and noise reduction! It
really works. Up until now I was about ready to give
up on it and accept the fact that single coil
pickups are simply noisy and there's nothing you can
do about it. That's pretty much what all the music
shops around here told me. You have an awesome site
and I will keep coming back. 
Thanks for the very helpful info.
-Shawn

[Rant Mode On]
Back in '96, when I first put the shielding page up, I heard from a guy whose local Fender dealer had gone so far as to claim that his rather expensive signature Strat was supposed to hum, that it was "built in, part of the Fender sound."  That kind of nonsense makes me furious.
[Rant Mode Off]
April 2001

I went to your site after reading about it in Guitar 
Player® as did many others.  I took my standard, assembled
in May-hee-ko strat, disassembled the guts and marveled at
the lack of shielding.  I carefully followed the directions
for shielding as well as tweaking the tone controls.  Upon
reaassembly I plugged it into my Carvin SX200D and was (and
remain) totally blown away.  My rig just kills now.  Hum
reduction was incredible.  I can now use some rather noisy
signal devices that were just too painful to include before
the shielding was installed.   My tone controls actually
have a purpose beyond muddying up the sound!  Thanks for
your info.  My playing life is forever changed.
Mark

"Marveled at the lack of shielding" about says it all.  That was exactly my response when I first opened a Strat back in late '95.  Having spent almost two decades in electronics I just couldn't believe that anyone would have the nerve to sell guitars for hundreds of dollars and omit shielding.  Even humbucker-equipped guitars really should have shielded control cavities to reduce the buzz from flourescent lights and such.
December 2003

Awesome.  I completed the modifications on my Squire as mentioned below.
The shielding was the single most important mod I've ever made to a
guitar.  The guitar never had a bad "hum" problem. It was more susceptible
to interference created by neon and fluorescent lights and dimmer
switches. We played this weekend at one of our regular venues. Neon lights
and automatic dimmers surround the stage.  The lighting systems used to
induce a terrible 'buzz" in the axe.  I could turn my body one direction
and it would get worse etc...  This is no longer the case.  The guitar is
perfectly quite, even wide open without muting the strings.  It did not
matter where I stood, what light combos were on, etc..  KILLER !!!

Potting the pickup eliminated the ungodly squeal it's had for years.  I
wish I had know this several years ago.  I got rid of the guitar these
pickups were originally in because of this squeal.  

Pickguard Static IT'S GONE !!!!  The pickguard static was very
frustrating to me, especially during recording sessions.  I love the way
the guitar sounds and plays but our engineer would not allow me to record
with it because of the static!  I'm sure he'll change his tune when he
hears it.

I wish I had taken pictures of the processes.  I used the paraffin and
bees wax combo for the potting.  I purchased the heavy duty shielding tape
from StewMac (2 inch wide with conductive adhesive).  I replaced the
wiring with two conductor shielded wire purchased from Radio Shack and
"star grounded" everything instead of soldering to the pots (answered my
own question below after reading through your instructions several times).

I want to thank you for the knowledge you've patiently shared through your
site.

Respectfully,
Ray

Thanks for the kind words Ray.  I've been "preaching" for eight years now – a few manufacturers are beginning to get it, but there are still more unshielded than shielded guitars being sold.  A $39 portable CD player is shielded and wired better than most $750 guitars...

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