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I'm currently assembling a special strat that is going to have a diamond-plate pickguard made out of actual diamond-plate metal, not plastic.

Control-wise I'm going for a 5-way blade, master volume, and master tone. The pickups are Hot Rails Neck (x2) and Bridge models.

Do I have to do anything special to the pickguard to prevent sheilding/grounding problems that may arise from having a metal guard?

Pleeze advise.

Use an ohm meter and check to see that the metal guard is conductive. If it is you are good to go. All the pots and the switch should chassis ground right to the guard but use an ohm meter to check that as well, just to be sure.

Usually with a guitar that has a sheilded or conductive guard I solder the jack and bridge grounds to the tone pot chassis and the pickup grounds to the volume pot chassis.

I used to have an aluminium guard on my Strat but I removed it because it made my guitar noisy as hell. A friend of mine confirmed that for some reason aluminium guards add noise even though properly grounded. Now I have a plastic guard on, and my guitar's dead silent.


Originally Posted by PeterkuI used to have an aluminium guard on my Strat but I removed it because it made my guitar noisy as hell. A friend of mine confirmed that for some reason aluminium guards add noise even though properly grounded. Now I have a plastic guard on, and my guitar's dead silent.

Wow that is weird.... i would of thought a metal pickguard would of helped sheilding... but maybe the metal effects the pickups or something...


Originally Posted by WhoFanWow that is weird.... i would of thought a metal pickguard would of helped sheilding...

it does - I've found putting them on makes it deadly silent, even when theres no cavity sheilding whatsoever


Originally Posted by Peterku

for some reason aluminium guards add noise even though properly grounded.

No...

The only reason your metal plate might have enhanced noise is if you had failed to ground it properly. This will create a floating potential which enhances the aerial effect of the unscreened wiring inside the guitar.

Often people think that all they have to do is have a metal plate. That's not enough; the cavity has to be fully enclosed in a quot;Faraday cagequot;. if one side of the electrics is open to radiant wavefronts then you will still have noise and it will be worse if your screen is discontinuous as it will help to concentrate the interference.

If you are going to put a metal plate on your guitar make sure that the cavity is lined with a heavy layer of graphite paint and make sure that it is connected to the earth circuit of the guitar.


Originally Posted by octavedoctorNo...

The only reason your metal plate might have enhanced noise is if you had failed to ground it properly. This will create a floating potential which enhances the aerial effect of the unscreened wiring inside the guitar.

Often people think that all they have to do is have a metal plate. That's not enough; the cavity has to be fully enclosed in a quot;Faraday cagequot;. if one side of the electrics is open to radiant wavefronts then you will still have noise and it will be worse if your screen is discontinuous as it will help to concentrate the interference.

If you are going to put a metal plate on your guitar make sure that the cavity is lined with a heavy layer of graphite paint and make sure that it is connected to the earth circuit of the guitar.

Well the pickguard ITSELF is metal.

I'm a little confused... Do I still need to shield it on the underside with copper tape or something? Do I still attach all the grounds to the bottom of the volume pot as normal and connect the ground wire going to the back of the trem cavity or not?

I tihnk you'll be fine wiring things up as normal and then making sure the guard, if not grouded by contact already, is grounded with a solder connection.


Originally Posted by B2DWell the pickguard ITSELF is metal.

I'm a little confused... Do I still need to shield it on the underside with copper tape or something? Do I still attach all the grounds to the bottom of the volume pot as normal and connect the ground wire going to the back of the trem cavity or not?

You don't need to shield it if it's already metal but you need to make sure that it is fully grounded to all of the pot casings and every part of the earth circuit. However unless your pickup and wiring cavity is fully screened then you will not notice any effective reduction in noise as a discontinuous screen is worse than no screen at all.

I'll post a picture of a fully screened Strat presently so you can see what i'm talking about.

The inside cavity is not shielded.

On my aluminum guard, I put strips of black electrical tape on the backside, so that it dampens any vibration that finds it's way into the pickups. When I first installed it, I got some microphonic squeal at highgain, and pressed my fingers onto the pickguard, which dampened it. So I did the tape trick. I think I also ran a little wire from the back of the volume pot to the guard. I don't have any noise or squeal problems anymore.

Ooff... I'm gonna try to do this myself but if I fail I'm gonna take it to the shop LOL.

Get some graphite and mix it with cellulose lacquer until it's the consistency of whipped cream, then add some toluene until it's the consistency of double cream. Brush it on your cavity working it into all the corners. Let it dry then repeat the process. Let the second coat dry, then screw a solder tag onto it and tack a wire from there to the pot casings. Run some vinyl tape around it where there is a risk of any signal pin touching it as this will cause a partial earth short.

That idea of your GJ, is a good one. You sometimes have the same problem with springs which is why i use silicone tubing instead.

If you use the three or five position slider switch, you may want to make sure that the metal part of the slide do not touch the pickguard. You may ground out your pickups.

What About a fully aluminum body? Is there any special grounding I will need to do for this? It will also have an aluminum pickguard.


Originally Posted by big_blackWhat About a fully aluminum body? Is there any special grounding I will need to do for this? It will also have an aluminum pickguard.

This sounds interesting. I think you probably won't need any special grounding but I would think you will get a very bright sound. Also I would like to point out a few things to you.

1. Aluminum does not solder well.

2. Aluminum tends to form some type of white powdery substance on its surfare over time, which is aluminum oxide. It is not a good conducting material. You have to clean the surfare before you do any soldering or fasten any electrical connection to it.

3. Be careful when put your hardwares together. When aluminum comes in contact with any ferrous metal, like steel or iron, they have what we called a galvanic reaction if there is any moisture present. It is some type of corrosion that will eat up the aluminum. You may need special coating on your screws and insulation on any steel part that comes in contact with the body or your guitar will fall into crumps in a few years because there is always moisture in the air.

If you still want to build a guitar like that, please let us know how it sounds after you build it. I really want to know.


Originally Posted by AmateurThis sounds interesting. I think you probably won't need any special grounding but I would think you will get a very bright sound. Also I would like to point out a few things to you.

1. Aluminum does not solder well.

2. Aluminum tends to form some type of white powdery substance on its surfare over time, which is aluminum oxide. It is not a good conducting material. You have to clean the surfare before you do any soldering or fasten any electrical connection to it.

3. Be careful when put your hardwares together. When aluminum comes in contact with any ferrous metal, like steel or iron, they have what we called a galvanic reaction if there is any moisture present. It is some type of corrosion that will eat up the aluminum. You may need special coating on your screws and insulation on any steel part that comes in contact with the body or your guitar will fall into crumps in a few years because there is always moisture in the air.

If you still want to build a guitar like that, please let us know how it sounds after you build it. I really want to know.It's being built by the same shop that did the limited aluminum Strat and Tele runs in the 90's. It is made out of some kind of alloy, presumable to prevent the oxidation you talked about. I was told they don't need to be finished, maybe just buffed out so you get a good shine.

I'm familiar with aluminum as a guitar material, it is really not bright like you would think. I used to have a Kramer aluminum necked...my buddy has a Travis Bean. It has a tone unlike any other material I have played. It has a dark low-end like mahogany, but the top end is very quot;presentquot; at the same time. It hard to describe, but sound is supposed to travel more quot;truequot; through aluminum. You can feel that it resonates more than wood.

I was concerned about the ability to solder to aluminum. Maybe I can just screw a contact to the inner frame and solder to that.


Originally Posted by big_blackIt is made out of some kind of alloy, presumable to prevent the oxidation you talked about. I was told they don't need to be finished, maybe just buffed out so you get a good shine.

Aluminum is an element. If it is an alloy, it is not aluminum anymore. Just like iron, its alloys are different grades of steel. I am curious exactly what material it is because aluminum can mix up with quite a few other materials to form different alloys. I have to agree it will sound dark if it is some what hollow. Are those solid body guitars?


Originally Posted by AmateurAluminum is an element. If it is an alloy, it is not aluminum anymore. Just like iron, its alloys are different grades of steel. I am curious exactly what material it is because aluminum can mix up with quite a few other materials to form different alloys. I have to agree it will sound dark if it is some what hollow. Are those solid body guitars?

Well, I don't think any aluminum guitar is pure aluminum, they must all be some kind of alloy. The guitar is hollow, with a frame built inside, 1/16quot; top, back, and sides so it is light. This is an example of the Strats they built. You can see the frame inside. Tney also did some cool anodized finishes.


Originally Posted by AmateurAluminum is an element. If it is an alloy, it is not aluminum anymore. Just like iron, its alloys are different grades of steel. I am curious exactly what material it is because aluminum can mix up with quite a few other materials to form different alloys. I have to agree it will sound dark if it is some what hollow. Are those solid body guitars?

Cool. Another scientist and thinker to play with. Pleased to meet you Amateur; An irony in that name I think...

Most Aluminium in normal use is alloyed with other material as the raw element is not much use.

It's not a question of aluminium sounding quot;betterquot; because it's more quot;resonantquot;; this isn't a recipe for sounding better, just different. quot;Resonantquot; is a misleading term.

The Harley-Davidson Strats were made from cast duralumin and these were an acquired taste, sounding very like an electric dobro.