Experimented with Copper Foil Tape...

JJunkie said:
Doest this only affect the noise that happens when you take your hands off the strings? My prs custom 22 soapbar hums as you expect but there is no extra noise when I'm not touching the strings. It's shielded with paint
Click to expand...
Single coils of course are going to hum, nothing will ever really eliminate it but shielding will help reduce it. As far as the hand not touching the strings, shielding can help this some but never completely.

I'm no electronics expert but my theory as to the reason a guitar stops making noise when a hand touches the strings is your contact with the floor completes the ground circuit from the amp, pedalboard and/or monitor. All building grounds are supposed to be grounded into the earth so not touching the strings creates an open ended ground.

In my experience a solid ground not only helps with noise but also improves the overall tone. I had a PRS CE24 with the conductive paint that sounded a bit anemic, not a lot of noise, just lacked umph as far as tone goes. After I put the copper tape in the cavity and made a common ground, the tone of the guitar dramatically improved, much more full and open.
 
dpeterson said:
What about the foil vs the conductive paint? any differences?
Click to expand...
Foil is a better conductor. Paint is cheaper for a factory to apply because it can just be sprayed in. With paint there’s also a risk that it will degrade over time, and lose its conductivity. The glue on the back of copper foil can also degrade, so it’s worth soldering across each joint.

I’ve bought sheets of copper it the past. Nowadays I use the anti-slug tape sold in garden centres. It’s thinner, which not only makes it cheaper, but easier to work with. Once it’s stuck in place I put a dab of solder across each joint, and run a fine copper wire between pickup and control cavities. It’s not carrying any current, so you can use a single strand from a multi core cable, soldered to the tape.
 
In my experience, copper tape works great, conductive paint, not so great.

I didn’t realize the conductivity in the ashesive could decrease with age. Good to know.
 
Regardless of the conductivity of the copper tape's adhesive, I've always soldered pieces together to reduce the potential for future issues. Doesn't take much time at all and I typically have the soldering iron on anyway. An ounce of prevention is worth - more than - a pound of cure.
 
FractalAudio said:
I always do this to my guitars. It's a bit of work and you end up with tiny cuts all over your hands but it's worth it.
Click to expand...

I use a sewing thimble and a guitar pick to apply the tape, so I don't get cuts.


TremoloFan said:
I prefer tape over paint. Stewmac has some great deals on the tape every so often. I have never been able to get the paint to have continuity throughout without at least two thick coats, and the mess associated. If using copper tape, make sure the adhesive is conductive or that you "connect" all the pieces with a drop of solder. The Stewmac stuff is conductive and takes about 20 minutes to do a strat or tele (I've done many).
Click to expand...

I fold small seams into top layers of foil, so they touch the bottom layers and then I don't have to solder. I also foil the toggle switch cavity for Les Paul style guitars.

I've used HVAC Foil Tape with good results and it's cheaper than copper foil tape but you definitely have to fold seams or solder the HVAC Foil Tape because the adhesive is not conductive.
 
I wonder if it would help to wrap the PC case or maybe cover the window with foil tape that leaks EMI? I've thought about getting a new case w/o a window but I really don't want to take my entire PC apart.
 
GotMetalBoy said:
I wonder if it would help to wrap the PC case or maybe cover the window with foil tape that leaks EMI? I've thought about getting a new case w/o a window but I really don't want to take my entire PC apart.
Click to expand...

Better get an EMI sealed PC case. But then there the monitor that can create quite some noise too.
 
ChristThePhone said:
Better get an EMI sealed PC case. But then there the monitor that can create quite some noise too.
Click to expand...

I didn't know there was such a thing. Do you know of any good brands or models?

I don't get much noise from my monitors but my PC is located on my right, which is the side with the window and if I'm sitting down and playing guitar, the noise is coming from the window. I can't move my PC because it's the only place all the cables can reach. I've tried moving my PC but then it causes power cables to make noise in the audio cables.

Does anyone know if there are EMI Shielded wire looms? I've thought about using flexible metal conduit and attaching a ground wire to it but I haven't been able to find any with a large enough diameter to fit a power cable through.
 
GotMetalBoy said:
I didn't know there was such a thing. Do you know of any good brands or models?

I don't get much noise from my monitors but my PC is located on my right, which is the side with the window and if I'm sitting down and playing guitar, the noise is coming from the window. I can't move my PC because it's the only place all the cables can reach. I've tried moving my PC but then it causes power cables to make noise in the audio cables.

Does anyone know if there are EMI Shielded wire looms? I've thought about using flexible metal conduit and attaching a ground wire to it but I haven't been able to find any with a large enough diameter to fit a power cable through.
Click to expand...

Duh, I checked and couldn't find anything that doesn't fall into the expensive 19" and beyond server category. Usually an all-metal case has good EMI shielding characteristics. I'd try to cover the window with copper foil, just make sure the foil is connected to the metal case.
 
I've done copper tape to a few guitars. It did make a difference, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. I guess if you go into it with high expectations prepare to be disappointed. Most of the noise is picked up by the pickups, not the wiring inside the guitar... although that wiring is acting like antennas so it is picking up some. Make sure to twist wire +/- pairs to reduce the antenna affect. I will say that if doing a Strat or Tele with a plastic pick guard, be sure to tape the entire back of the pick guard. It will get rid of that annoying tick-tick-tick sound of static discharge on higher gain settings when the fingers on your picking hand touch the guard while strumming.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the inspiration guys. I bought some copper shielding tape and did the cavity on one of my guitars. For me in my room, it was a big improvement. Very happy. I’ll do the pickup cavity tomorrow any maybe another guitar.
 
Stewmac sells some with conductive adhesive so you can layer it...put like 3 layers on everything. It's like FAS Secret Sauce for ur guitar
 
I'll jump on the thread necro to say that I meticulously copper shielded my G&L "strat" recently and it's nearly dead silent now. I thought it might help, but I had no idea how well it would work.

I was very pleasantly surprised.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom