I called to a luthier buddy the other day ,
we did a few simple experiments with reducing the induced noise from a nearby CFL desk lamp ,
First off , standard open coil humbuckers , the kind without the top cover were signifigantly worse than the fully sheilded kind .
We found that applying a strip of copper foil over the front of the pickup and connecting it to the base plate was fairly effective at reducing noise ,
If your having noise issues live or in a studio situation it may be worth a try , its simple and reversable so wont harm the value of your instrument .
I should have tried the mobile phone as a noise source too ,
Les Pauls are typically very well sheilded , single coil pickups tend to do a lot worse in the modern day , to the point they become unusable in many situations .
Conditions vary so its impossible to recreate on the test bench what a customer see's at home or at a gig .
Ive always kept a guitar to hand for testing amps after repair , LP junior style with P90 at the neck and PAF at the bridge , I used the traditional
cloth with braided screen wire , with extra screening in the pickup cavities ,
I think I might add the cover to the humbucker .
I noted an enquirey lately about guitar pickup wiring ,
I highly reccomend Les Shattens Book of standard wiring diagrams for guitar and bass ,
I had a quick look but didnt find it for download ,
Stew Mac wants 69.99 for a printed copy
we did a few simple experiments with reducing the induced noise from a nearby CFL desk lamp ,
First off , standard open coil humbuckers , the kind without the top cover were signifigantly worse than the fully sheilded kind .
We found that applying a strip of copper foil over the front of the pickup and connecting it to the base plate was fairly effective at reducing noise ,
If your having noise issues live or in a studio situation it may be worth a try , its simple and reversable so wont harm the value of your instrument .
I should have tried the mobile phone as a noise source too ,
Les Pauls are typically very well sheilded , single coil pickups tend to do a lot worse in the modern day , to the point they become unusable in many situations .
Conditions vary so its impossible to recreate on the test bench what a customer see's at home or at a gig .
Ive always kept a guitar to hand for testing amps after repair , LP junior style with P90 at the neck and PAF at the bridge , I used the traditional
cloth with braided screen wire , with extra screening in the pickup cavities ,
I think I might add the cover to the humbucker .
I noted an enquirey lately about guitar pickup wiring ,
I highly reccomend Les Shattens Book of standard wiring diagrams for guitar and bass ,
I had a quick look but didnt find it for download ,
Stew Mac wants 69.99 for a printed copy
