Help with shielding?

DefaultM

I did this to my bass, but I intended to do it to all my guitars next as well so I'm going to post in this section.

I got some of that copper shielding tape from Amazon because I thought why not, it can't hurt anything. Well, apparently it can because now it's making more noise than it originally did. 

I've put the tape all inside the cavities, so it's all overlapping and makes contact with the tape I've put on the pickguard. Plugged in and now I'm getting an awful buzz that only goes away if I touch the strings or other metal.
I've read that I'm supposed to ground the copper tape but I'm not sure how to go about it? Do I tape a wire to the existing copper tape and solder it to my other ground on the pot back?

Roland

That will do it. You can also solder the wire to the tape which is a little more secure.

DefaultM

Any idea why its making this buzzing sound in the first place? 
Is it just a case of it will do that if you don't ground it because you're adding in more metal that isn't grounded and its touching components?

ICBM

It sounds to me like the shielding isn't grounded.

You need to make sure there is continuity between the pieces of tape, and between them and the signal ground. In my experience the 'conductive' adhesive isn't enough to guarantee this, and you can't always rely on the contacts between the pots and the guard, or the guard and the body either.

I always solder across the joints - you don't need to make complete seams, one single spot between any two pieces is  enough - and solder a wire to it somewhere which is then taken to the jack ground or the back of the volume pot, whichever is more convenient.

DefaultM

What do you mean by solder across the joints sorry? the joints of tape? I used really small pieces so id say there are at least 50 pieces of tape. They're all overlapping though with no little gaps or anything.

ICBM

DefaultM said:

What do you mean by solder across the joints sorry? the joints of tape? I used really small pieces so id say there are at least 50 pieces of tape. They're all overlapping though with no little gaps or anything.

Yes - one spot of solder across every joint between any two pieces of tape, so there is one definitely continuous conductor and you're not relying on the 'conductive' adhesive. It's going to be a hassle if you've used so may pieces… but that may be part of the problem. At this point it's probably easier to do the soldering rather than replace the tape though.

DefaultM

What an absolute pain in the arse.

I watched a video of 2 guys doing it on youtube and it looked a piece of piss. They didn't mention any sort of grounding or soldering. Wish I'd read up on it rather than just watching a few videos haha.

ICBM

I've had a lot of trouble with the so-called 'conductive' adhesive not making a very good contact in the past, so I always assume I will do the soldering now. It's actually not *that* much of a pain, it takes to the copper very easily. Soldering a wire directly to a good ground makes a difference too.

Gagaryn

This stuff works brilliantly. I planned on soldering the joints but had no need to in the end as when tested there was perfect continuity. And it's good and thick so east to do without using 50 bits!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guitar-Pickup-Copper-Foil-50mm-x20m-Shielding-Screening-Tape-Conductive-Adhesive/122146549921?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

BloodEagle

Just use a continuity meter to test various points of the shielding  - if its good then solder a ground wire onto it somewhere convenient