Noise reduction/shielding with P90's

I've got an old SG Special with original P90's

They sound great but they buzz like crazy!

This is a '67 with the pick guard mounted dog ears (adjustable height).

Is shielding the back of the pickguard and the body cavity going to help control the buzz? I would think it would.

Problem is, if it is only a marginal improvement, I don't want to screw up a nice vintage instrument.

On the other hand if it will help tame the buzz, I'd love to make this axe more playable.

I'm thinking conductive paint in the cavity, and foil on the back of the pickguard.

The control cavity seems to be pretty well shielded already. Could probably use foil on the back of the cover (may be there already, I can't remember).

Anyone with experience on this?

Scott

 

Good advice.

I'm rethinking the conductive paint idea.

I used copper mesh to shield a Strat a few years back. I've just got it tacked down. It looks like crap, but it works, and if I took it out you would never know it was there.

I'm not that worried about a little foil on the back of the guard, but I could see someone getting upset about not being able to see the finish in the pickup cavity.

 

Chiba,

I was thinking about that. I wonder how much it would effect the tone?

Replacement covers are a good idea, then I can always go back. I think I'll do that first and see how it works.

 

So....

I tried the new cover with copper foil idea, and.....

I think it works! I played a house party last night and used the SG quite a bit. It was much more quiet than the last gig. I'm sure the power was probably cleaner in the house. The true test will be Nov 5 when we play the same club again.

I'll update then, but I'm encouraged!

Anyone else thinking of making this mod, it was pretty straightforward, and I it can be reversed easily. Basically all I did was line the inside of the cover with adhesive-backed copper foil (foil and covers from WD music). I overlapped a little over one side, tacked a wire to it and grounded the shield. I had to modify the depth of the covers with a dremel as they were too deep, but otherwise it was pretty easy.

 

Thought I'd close this one out...

I played the SG Special quite a bit in a club on Wednesday night. Actually I ended up playing it a lot more than I originally intended to, since my JV Strat wasn't feeling right on some stuff, and it just sounded SO GOOD!

A few disconnects; this was the first time that we played a new club and it's a lot newer contstruction than the place where I had the serious noise issues so I assume the power is cleaner, also no flourescent lights real close, but it was pretty quiet. Certainly not noiseless, but very manageable. Nice and thick, my drummer loved it!

I would recommend this fix.