Heavy Armor

[GitDiv]

Do you think this is over kill? :doh:
I do. I bet this guitar weighs over 10 lbs, or near it.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stratocaster-discussion-forum/112065-lets-do-sharp-dressed-strat-4.html

This guy is pretty good at the woodworking. He builds guitars for money. He built this Strat from scratch. I just don't think he understands electronics that well. Way too much solder IMHO. Not necessary.

I'm moving to the opinion that shielding the body cavity isn't necessary at all, if braided/shielded wire is used, and all grounds are connected together. Even on single coils, you're better off shielding each pickup itself with insulated copper foil.

-Dave

 

[metalman22105]

This guy definitely knows what he's doing, the solder holds the shielding together since it's in pieces. What a fantastic strat build

 

[tfarny]

Brilliant, love the recessed neck and output jack plates. Sure the shielding is overkill, but every boy crazy bout a well-shielded strat$!  :blob7:

 

[blue313]

The only thing I think he's doing wrong is that partial shim.  IMHO make a full pocket shim at least.  It'll eliminate any future rising tongue issues.

As far as the shielding goes, he may have tacked it down in a lot of places but its better than too few.  However, you can get foil with conductive adhesive these days.  That eliminates the need for the solder entirely.

I do put a shield on my Strat pickguards.  It eliminates static buildup.

That all said, it looks like a fantastic build.  He seems like he's paying great attention to all the little details.

 

[Mor Paul]

Yep, I've posted about him before. Those little recesses are a great touch, I think. Everything I've seen by him seems top-notch.

 

[Nando Vallart]

I just *LOVE* overkill :laughing7:

 

[mayfly]

If you are going to shield your guitar, what this guy did was not overkill.  Last time I used copper to shield a guitar cavity I fully soldered up all the seams.

 

[dbw]

Yes, overkill, but this guy goes over the top to get every detail perfect.  I like it.

 

[chrisg]

I've done my Tele with adhesive copper foil. Soldered all joins to mainatin continuity.  Hardly makes any difference to the weight and it works a treat.  :glasses9:

 

[Unwound G]

I think he is a bit trigger happy with his soldering iron.  Overall, very nice work for a custom Strat.

 

[GitDiv]

I complimented him on his wood work. This section is about guitar electronics, however.

You're not trying to make it bullet proof or air tight, which is what a lot of people confuse with the job of making it magnetically isolated from external influence. Magnetic fields don't turn corners. They may come from a lot of different directions, but they don't turn corners.

You only need one electronic connection, not 50, as long as the foil (copper armor ? :doh overlaps and makes contact.

Adhesive backed aluminum heat-duct tape from Home Depot works great. Just burnish it where it touches another piece. Use the meter and confirm continuity. Touch the probe to each separate piece while holding the other probe to the previous piece to verify. Once continuity is assured, one piece of wire screwed into the cavity shield somewhere, and soldered to the negative volume pot connection on the pot case, or the negative output jack connection, is all that's needed.

I leave a small tab on the cavity shield, where it can be hidden, bent over, so the pickguard shield makes good, tight mechanical contact with the cavity shield.

All that solder and armor WILL increase the weight considerably. Sorry. Ever pick up a roll of solder? It weighs quite a bit for it's size.

The new hum-free single coils do the job very well, sound quite good, "Quack" and "ring"intact, and along with braided shield wire, eliminate the need for all that "Armor". :icon_tongue:

-Dave