New to forum/ shielding

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Sat Feb 01, 2003 2:13 am

I have a couple of v63s that are very quiet as well. They aren't shielded either...
I played one of the "old style" 4004 Cheyennes a couple of years ago at a guitar show. It was VERY quiet, and I fell in love with the tone, which I would describe as a 4001 on Steroids. Very warm, rich tone. I wanted to buy that bass but I just couldn't justify the money, as my wife was not encouraging about the idea!

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Sun Feb 02, 2003 3:55 pm

Actually, our humbucker really sounds more like a single coil pickup. To prejudge and classify it's sound without actually have heard it is to miss a great opportunity.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Feb 02, 2003 7:21 pm

I have one of your Ric Humbucker pickups ... Interesting design with a ceramic magnet and two rails ... in the same shape as the high gain and toaster pickups .... I had a '74 and a '73 4001 which I used for experimenting with different pickups ... I put in toasters, '70s high gain, '90's high gain, Ric humbuckers, Seymour Duncan humbuckers, carvin humbucker, a jazz bass pickup .... whew ... lots of work and testing ... but when you are a tone freak like me you have to follow that path ...

So I reinforced my opinion that I am a single coil guy ... For what I play it works best for my ears ... I like a good treble bite, a mid punch and a full bass bottom, low action, a little fret buzz, and a slightly dirty sound. I like p-basses, jazz basses, and Rickenbackers .... all with single coils ... I love the 4003s5 ... I want to get a 4004 someday ... but I will probably convert it into a bass like the 4003s5 ... 5 string with tight spacing and single coil pickups ... this would be very easy with the 4004 ... I know that there is a new 4004 five string ... I just don't like wide necks on a bass ... it slows me down ...

Actually the Ric humbucker sounds ok in the neck position ... sort of like a hot toaster ... but I have to have a single coil in the bridge position ...

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Sun Feb 02, 2003 10:26 pm

Some truth in what JH says about the Rick HB sounding kind of "single-coily"; for sure, I can't think of Anyone elses HB that sounds like the Rick.On my buddies' JL355 full scale,I put 3 HBs on it, and we did some other easy experiments, like I put .0047 caps inline on the bridge and mid PUs.Still full HB, but more bite.Last I heard, he put push pull pots in the guitar to put the .0047 in or out with the PUs.
Great sound....

davecondra · Post by **davecondra** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 1:43 pm

Well, Sergio, I removed the ground from the bridge and all is well! The only ground now is to the shielding. Thanks for the tip.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 1:48 am

You're welcome, David.
Shielding a guitar the way I suggest is just an alternative to using a string ground, which in some instances is potentially hazardous. End of line.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 6:53 pm

Sergio,
What does removing the bridge ground do? And what is the theory behind it? i know that ground loops are dangerous in high voltage situations such as something that has 120 VAC or higher in it, but if you have that in your bass you have a definite amp problem.
I never removed mine and had no problems and the basses were as quiet as church at night, my then guitar player couldn't believe the difference.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:14 pm

Well, unless you shield your guitar properly, removing the string ground will make it hum quite loud. So, by shielding your guitar with aluminum foil or conductive paint or whatever instead you eliminate hum and render the guitar totally safe.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 5:45 am

Maybe I misread your post but I thought you said that after shielding a bass you removed the bridge ground wire, so as not to create a ground loop, I'm not sure what you mean by that, because I shielded mine and left the ground wire in place for the bridge and never had any problems.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 10:10 am

Yes, REMOVE the string ground once you have properly shielded your guitar.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:21 pm

Sergio, my question is why? I never removed mine and had no problems at all.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:39 pm

Sergio,
I am not trying to be a PIA here, but I am looking at a 4001 right now, if I shield the cavities and the pickguard, and the pickups and unhook the bridge ground, that will leave the bridge, strings and keys ungrounded which will act as an antenna picking up noise and inducing that into the pickups. The bridge ground wire is the only point that that whole assembly touches the ground at any point. That is also potentially dangerous as you could touch a live mic with 120 or 220 VAC and not know it unless you happened to touch either pickup while touching the mic. Or even worse you could touch the live mic and ground out through your feet.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 11:08 pm

Ideally, the pickups should be shielded as well, but since this is not always feasible, shielding the controls cavity, the treble pickup route, the underside of the pickguard and even the inside of both jacksocket holes will allow you to do away with the string ground without getting additional hum. The idea really is to permanently disconnect the string ground so as to avoid any of the unpleasant surprises you mention hereabove.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 5:31 am

Well thanks for the reply Sergio, but I think that I would leave the string ground hooked up as it is the only point of attachment to ground that whole assembly. I think that part of a guitar is grounded for safety reasons as well as noise. But then again I don't know everything, almost though! haha.

big_g · Post by **big_g** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 6:17 am

I never get shocked any more since I went wireless during my live performances. Not as many cables to trip over either. Performing in small bands in small places, we never had a separate sound man. So I could always go out during a sound check and walk around and check out the mix while playing with the band, to make sure we like the sound in the mains.