Guitar Nerds Anonymous

That looks great. I’m not sure why, but I see a lot of negative comments about a wood finish. Personally I prefer them over most painted finishes. The natural colour and grain just look amazing.

I highly prefer natural wood finishes too.

So while the Squier Strat is in bits, I've decided to sort out the fret sprout and the 60-cycle hum issue as well. The former I'm fine with, though it'll be a pain because there's quite a bit. With the latter, I've bought paint and an aluminium shield plate. Has anyone done this before? The paint has come with some instructions and a bit of copper tape too, but I must have read it fully 20 times and I can't work out what I'm supposed to do with it. The copper tape, not the paint. I'm guessing it wants me to make a connection between the shielding paint and the aluminium plate - that sound about right?

This guy:

https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/shielding-a-guitar/

Seems to use little bits of tape to go round the top of the cavities to make contact with the shielding plate. Maybe it's that. I've run a little of the paint over the top in the past and it seemed to work ok

Nice one. Yeah, I think that's what the instructions are telling me to do with the tape, but it's written by someone whose intent appears to be to confuse the reader. But I might just run a bit of paint over the top like you suggest. Cheers.

All seems to make sense except when it says:

"Once the paint dries, I screw a ground wire down into the shielding paint, and connect the entire cage to ground."

The what now?

the 'cage' is the area that has been shielded - a faraday cage? - and it all needs to be grounded too, I think a wire to the bridge is most common, and easy to hide under most scratchplates.

Yeah, the cage bit is the bit I understood. Wiring something is out of my lane, unfortunately. Presume that entails wielding a soldering iron.

Maybe this (top left connector into the wood)? This is the wiring from my Les Paul - it's really messy, but I screwed into the wood with a little connector wiring thing (that definitely touched the paint), that then goes onto one of the grounds of the wiring.

I believe in doing so you've grounded the paint 'faraday cage' that you've put on. I'm absolutely not an expert at this though, I did it because my old tutor did the same when he painted one of my previous guitars for me.

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Where does the yellow wire go? To the bridge? And do you solder it to said bridge?

Like I say, this is way out of my comfort zone. That and I don't have a soldering iron.

The yellow goes to any of the other points on your wiring diagram that end up going to ground. It could go to the bridge on its own, or join onto anything that ends up at the bridge as well. I think that the blobs on top of the pots end up going to the bridge to be ground, so into one of those should be ok.

If anyone thinks that's wrong, please correct me before I spread my ignorance too far! my understanding of this is not that hot.

And do you solder it to said bridge?

On a Les Paul it touches one of the bridge posts that go into the body via a little hole that a wire gets stuffed down.

On a strat the ground is usually to the claw on the trem isn't it? Do you have any wires already attached to the claw?

Do you have any wires already attached to the claw?

Yeah, there's a black wire that goes from the volume pot through the body to the trem block claw.

Yeah, there's a black wire that goes from the volume pot through the body to the trem block claw.

That's your bridge grounded, if you run the wire from the screw in the wood (through the paint) to the same pot connection as that one, your faraday cage will then be grounded. You'll need a soldering iron though

You'll need a soldering iron though

Drat. * fires up Toolstation*

or just put a screw through that wire into a painted bit as well, to bodge it, right?, then it'll all link up to the claw.

Bodge? Or efficiency and resourcefulness?

I'll give that a whirl. If I cock it up, I can always get a soldering iron and start ruining the inside of the cavity with bits of solder trying to fix it.

Best thing of all the things that are like this thing. https://youtu.be/wcBEOcPtlYk

Last night I learned never to put a fret-rocker on a guitar neck that you were happy with, ignorance really is bliss.

I was only planning to do a set-up and wax the rosewood bits, but one unscheduled level, crown and polish later, and at least it has very shiny frets. And it plays better. I’m starting to question Martin’s quality control, tbh, the frets were all over the shop and you could drive a bus under the action.

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Which Martin is that? Looks lush. I've been lusting after a Martin for a while now and it's a rabbit hole of different models.

This is what happens when you start tinkering. I was only going to change a decal, now I'm shielding and filing the fret sprout. I refuse to look at levelling, etc. as it was only refretted just before the pandemic.

Edit: That nut looks like it needs some help.

It’s a 000-15M with burst finish. All mahogany (well, the top is sapele).

That nut looks like it needs some help.

You spotted it. Yeah, I managed to knock a chunk out with the levelling beam 😳. Still works fine, but I’ll replace it when I get a chance.

Ouch. Lovely looking thing though. I like the dark stain.

Pedal nerds, which version is this? It’s up for cheeps on a local FB ad. I can’t find pics of any other version with the the two bumps covering screws on the top. Any ideas?

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Am buying it anyway. Obvs.