Jackson PC-1 shielding question

[adampone]

been lurking, but 1st time posting. I've poked around and have not seen anything about this, so forgive me if I still missed it....


has anyone shielded the electronics cavity of a PC-1? I'm looking at shielding tape, but no matter how it is shielded, my concern is with the sustainer circuity. since parts of the knob and 2 switches will all be connected via the shielding, should there be a concern for anything shorting out or causing any problems?


I've had these questions in to the designer and to Jackson CS for a few weeks, but am still waiting on an answer. so in the meantime, I thought I'd just ask to see if anyone else has done it and as to the results.


also, does anyone know the specs of the molex connectors that connects the pickups to the pins on the board? and... has anyone changes pickups? and... has anyone thrown in a push/pul pot to split the pickups?


thanks guys!

[SixstringKing]

rjohnstone should be chiming in here shortly I would assume. He's the local expert on all that is sustainer related. The only thing that I've done to mine is change the pickups in my production model.

[adampone]

how's you manage that? did you splice into the wire to use the connectors or did you solder it straigt to the pins.

always been a Duncan guy, but the DiMarzios in the PC-1 seem to do well for what they are. might leave them in there, but am curious about the options in case I do opt to switch.

[rjohnstone]

Someone call?
No shielding is required. It's already painted in shielding paint.
You also run the risk of shorting the board if you're not careful when you put in the copper tape. That would be one expensive fuck up.
Jackson doesn't exactly do a clean job of wiring this beast up either.
I'm surprised at the number of guitars I've seen with bare wires fraying from over stressed connectors. The route is too shallow on many I've seen.

I have a pic I took of one that was horrible. How it made it past QC is beyond me.


Here ya go...


Take a look at the leads on the right side of the board... the red lead on the send side is ready to break off.
This left JCMI this way!!!!



The rest of it ain't exactly a work of art either. Sloppy sloppy sloppy.


Swapping pickups is easy.
Simply splice in the connector or head down to an electronics supply store and buy a bag full PCB connectors and make your own.

[adampone]

That's awesome. Thanks.

See, I don't know why Jackaon CS couldn't just tell me that. They did finally reply today and actually said it'd be fine to use shielding tape and that putting in more shielding is always a good idea. Nothing at all about existing shielding paint. I've never used shielding paint, so i didn't recognize it.

And just simple PCB connectors. See, I was taking the code of the side and trying to hunt down some special moles connector. LOL. Double thanks.

Not to push my luck rjohnstone, but have you ever put a push/pull pot in one? Would the pickup go to the push/pull and the output from the push/pull and a run from the pickup ground then go to the board?

Thanks again!

[Xyrium]

So, I'm going to toss in an opinion here. I fully shielded a Charvel Model 3 cavity with aluminum tape. I grounded it back to the input jack, and ensured continuity throughout the grounding structure and tape, again, going back to the jack. After it was done, there was zero difference in sound. If there was a difference, I bet it wasn't even measurable.

This said, some will swear by it, some don't realize it's placebo, and well, in your case, I honestly wouldn't mess with it since it's done for you already.

Again, just my opinion.

Edit: Oh and BTW, welcome to the board, and nice guitar!

[vklobucar]

What PC1 guitars with sloppy soldering? No way! LOL!!!!

You mean that some of us spend more time repairing them than playing them!!! LOL!

[adampone]

hey Xyrium, thanks for the welcome. I've shielded a few in years past with copper conductive shielding tape. in one instance, it was the back of a Strat pickguard and it did help. what first got me thinking about it for the PC1 was that it had a buzz. I ran it down and it was a shielding issue... which I've read a lot of threads (including this one) that comment about the wiring job done before it leaves the shop. after running the needed ground wire, the buzz was resolved, but I began to listen so closely that I can see where the placebo comment comes in.

incidentally, mine would fall into the "wiring issue" category. I found it best to run new wires to the output jack and am considering running new wires to and from the battery compartment. (any thoughts from others with PC1s that can comment on that?).

another part of the grounding issue is that when I would close up the cavity, the metal cover would push down on the wires to the board just enough to start a grounding buzz. I resolved that by a single strip of copper grounding tape from the grounding screw up to the top edge of the cavity so that the metal cover is all part of the same group.

however.... aside from all that, the guitar has definitely met my expectations. I have an original Kramer Sustainer and find the sustainer in that to take a bit of work. the PC1 sustainer really surprised me and I can see myself using it a lot more than I expected.

[rjohnstone]

The battery box is poorly designed too. It's an off the shelf part from Gotoh and not designed very well.
REPLACE the leads with heavier gauge wire and add slack to accommodate the hinge swing.
It's not a question of IF they will break off, but WHEN.
The battery leads on my first PC1 snapped off after two battery changes.

[adampone]

very cool. thanks for the insight!

[SixstringKing]

Someone call?
No shielding is required. It's already painted in shielding paint.
You also run the risk of shorting the board if you're not careful when you put in the copper tape. That would be one expensive fuck up.
Jackson doesn't exactly do a clean job of wiring this beast up either.
I'm surprised at the number of guitars I've seen with bare wires fraying from over stressed connectors. The route is too shallow on many I've seen.

I have a pic I took of one that was horrible. How it made it past QC is beyond me.


Here ya go...


Take a look at the leads on the right side of the board... the red lead on the send side is ready to break off.
This left JCMI this way!!!!



The rest of it ain't exactly a work of art either. Sloppy sloppy sloppy.


Swapping pickups is easy.
Simply splice in the connector or head down to an electronics supply store and buy a bag full PCB connectors and make your own.

Judging from the routing for the covers and a different trem spring cover, this is a CS PC1?

What gauge wire should be used when replacing?

[rjohnstone]

Judging from the routing for the covers and a different trem spring cover, this is a CS PC1?

What gauge wire should be used when replacing?

Nope... just your typical Au Natural PC1... all stock.

As for wire gauge... I used 18 gauge. I believe the box is wired with 20 or 22.

[SixstringKing]

Nope... just your typical Au Natural PC1... all stock.

As for wire gauge... I used 18 gauge. I believe the box is wired with 20 or 22.

My stock one has clear all over and my CS has it all over except where the plates sit, only reason I asked. Kinda interesting how things are sometimes different from one guitar to the next. Hmmm??
Thanks for the info Rick! Always helpful!

[adampone]

upon re-visiting those pics, I think I can even solder better than that. lol!