The LEGEND of aluminum shields. Myth or Fact??

[@SashaIvantic]

Update! After a brilliant comment from Keith Little (below) about the thickness of the plate I went back and measured the plate with a digital caliper. It's 0.35mm thick. I lowered the pickups by at least that amount, recorded with the same settings and got the same result. So somehow this plate really is boosting output. Anybody know why?

[@ianwatts3635]

Maybe the extra rigidity of the pickguard reduces unsympathetic or ‘wasteful’ vibrations?

[@MrSimonscuba]

It's adding a shield so it's essentially not picking up electrical interference. I've noticed the same effect with any anodized pickguards.

[@wklsddcl]

Hey Sasha, those are very cool results.. Now I wonder if using shielding paint or shielding tape would have the same effect or is there "Mojo" in the Aluminum plate? or even just a straight Aluminum pick guard. Thanks again love your channel

[@SashaIvantic]

@@wklsddcl Thanks, Keith! I've heard people say aluminum pickguards alter the tone quite a bit and they either love it or hate it. Another topic to shoot a video on 😄

[@AaronEjetsiak]

Great video! One thing I learned is to measure from the pickup pole piece to the bottom of the string when adjusting pickup height, hope this helps, I know this comment is pretty late haha. Best wishes for 2023 and beyond!

[@wklsddcl]

Hey Sasha great video. The reason the sound is louder is because of the additional height the aluminum shield gives to the pick guard thus also raising the pickups. So you measure the pickup height relative to the guard and not to the string. So you have 3 millimeters on the base side for with and with out the shield. But with the shield the pick up is slighting closer to the string which gives you more output on the pick up. Now it would be interesting to measure the pickups relative to the strings and then with the shield and see if there was still a noticeable change.

[@SashaIvantic]

Dude that is BRILLIANT! Thanks for this insight. I will measure the thickness of the shield and lower the pickups by that amount. I shot this video yesterday so the settings on the amp are unchanged. I'll report back tomorrow!

[@ianwatts3635]

Yes. I must admit my first thought watching this video was whether Sasha was measuring the pickup height relative to the strings or to the pick guard. 😂

[@SashaIvantic]

I couldn't wait until tomorrow. Update posted in the pinned comment!

[@faborwick5887]

I'm not exactly sure about that,it doesn't increase the volume enough to notice by ear that it's louder

[@kalkidasofficial]

Ok, I was quiet during your use of a power tool for the pickguard installation but I jumped out of my seat when you used the power tool to adjust the pickup high 😱🤯

[@SashaIvantic]

All went well 😂😂

[@iburley_]

This kind of thing *really* excites me. I'm not the type to buy something new and then immediately rip it to bits and do a load of modifications right off the bat, but I love the option to just slowly introduce small changes over time to squeeze out a little extra something each time. Really lets your instrument grow with you.

[@mooseymoose]

The aluminum helps keep the magic smoke contained more betterer.

[@TheForce_Productions]

I'd say that it's not louder but more bassy, and i would confirm this by the wave graph on your laptop's screen; by chance (or not), similar effect you get with those metal base plates added to single coils.

[@robertthomas906]

I think with Stevie Ray Vaughan his guitar tech installed what is called dummy coils in the cavity of his guitars to reduce hum while retaining the single coil tone.

[@fjvbeach4680]

Nope , VanZandt handwound pickups - single coil - very well shielded . A pre cbs strat had that metal plate too .

[@maynardmadsen8712]

Nicely done! Had already planned on putting an anodized pickguard on my strat. Now I’m really excited to do it!

[@benfrancis1747]

I came for the title of the video and stayed for the Electronic screw removal device

[@SashaIvantic]

That thing is glorious

[@theovanzon]

@@SashaIvantic I want one😀!

[@rafaeldemoraessantos7773]

I assume it is because the shield ressonates the string vibrations and being closer to the pups, amplifies the capture.

[@kdakan]

I loved your tone it's warm and round, not shrill. But you should try to see the difference if any with the frequency analyzer on your daw (logic pro has it on the channel eq plugin that comes with it). I wonder how much noise the aluminum shield would reduce, so I would like to hear heavy distortion as well. My main problem with single pickups is the noise it makes when using heavy distortion.

[@TheAmphibic]

i got one on my 81 hardtail (70s style 3 bolt and headstock) and love the sound will also put one on my 70s reissue ..... I suspect it's one of the reasons why i always thought 60's Strats sound fab ;)

[@iancurrie8844]

I love that middle pickup!

[@dugbert5]

Aluminum is weakly magnetic in presence of an external magnetic field. In the absence of an applied external magnetic field, aluminum is not magnetic. Also, search eddy currents and Bill Lawrence.

[@bernardmacseoin1113]

Test such as these are just what guitarists need to improve their core tone in small inexpensive practical ways. If this was a pedal boasting such claim it would sell. 'Nough said, Cheers! 👍

[@JohnAdams-xc5yk]

I had a 1964 Fender I think it was called a music master it had an aluminium plate under the pickguard I think it was for grounding

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

It won't help your tone, or output, what it will do is a better job at blocking RF signals so around neon and a noisy environment your classic single coils won't turn to hum. Leo Fender originally had a Metal pickguard on the guitar, but due to cost and a slight unwanted noise like the switch clacking it eventually ended up becoming just a shield thin metal layer that eventually became a conductive metallic sticker on the back. Personally, I like metal pickguards, second would be leather embossed with one of the shields behind.

[@jameshalbert181]

"I'm glad this is my guitar and not someone else's" if you use a drill to set the pickup height we are too😁 great vid I have an aluminum guard for my Tele in the mail if it blows my mind I'll be getting one for my Strat

[@Tonetwisters]

They work. Cut out buzz. "That WAS you buzzhin!"

[@skullstjohn]

Did it help reduce 60 cycle hum?

[@seanmckenna228]

Never knew anything about this. Very interesting.

[@rowanmurphy5239]

What pickups are they?

[@moosey62]

Sounded nicer without! Interesting video mate. Thanks.

[@carlosg4537]

Beautiful stratocaster!

[@benfrancis1747]

Would earthing the shielding give different results? I’m curious

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

The shield is grounded to the pots so it is earthed, same goes for when you use an adonized pickguard your common ground is the pot housing.

[@benfrancis1747]

@@nocturnal101ravenous6 Ah yes you're right. Makes sense

[@martgryfny]

Dylan Talks Tone have some videos mentioning Eddy current, which occurs when using aluminum. I have totally no idea if this is actually responsible for increase in output but he showed that aluminum in fact can behave differently than ie. copper. It affects magnetic field, so maybe that's the reason. The other theory is that you have just created first powershield in human history.

[@DiegoLeanza]

wow what a difference ! great video :)

[@neilbeni7744]

Seems less twangy.. which I like ...

[@BuddyBlues]

Wizardry

[@raglanroadworks]

I just put an anodized gold plate on my strat and can confirm it's now much sexier :)

[@SashaIvantic]

😂

[@edphillips8578]

Well the reasoning is in the name the piece of metal is given, a shield, but shield from what? If you understand the principles of what a pickup does and how it works then the use of a shield is something that improves its general purpose. A pickup is just a microphone, it changes one form of energy to another, this princple of exchange is called magnetic induction. Magnetic inductance is the exchange from mechanical energy by way of vibrating metal strings into a small amount of electrical alternating current, this is achieved by the use of magnets. Normally you have two poles on a magnet; north and south. As you know the magnetic field continually goes from pole to pole on a standard magnet so with the metal strings vibrating this disturbs those magnetic fields and as the coil(s) of copper wire that surrounds the magnets are enduced with this small amount of AC power. However, single coils are very basic in their design and application and not really well shielded from most forms of noise like mains supply, radio frequencies and electro-magnetic interference. Now to the Aluminum shield, there's something in Electronics called the "Faraday Cage", this is a principle of at best reducing electrical noise within a device by enveloping a metal cage around the electronic circuit. For one example if you had a metal box for an effects pedal, often manufacturers have the whole box earthed to a negative polarity so that this decreases any unwanted noise because the box itself acts like a Faraday Cage. As a pickup can't fully be caged (this would completely stop any sound being produced) the presence of a large shield that has a negative polarity fixed in a relative positioned withing the magnetic field from thr magnets is used to reduce some of this noise, by doing this it activily improves the affectiveness of how the pickup(s) operate natural, this natual phenomena of boeng louder is highlighted in your video. Case in question, Fender uses a form of conductive paint on some of their Amercian made guitars, this conductive paint acts exactly like the aluminum shield in your video and produces a natual dampening effect of unwanted EMI noise given off by the pickups, giving the impressing of louder pickups because they have less interference to deal with

[@SashaIvantic]

Fantastic!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. Means a lot!

[@nonethelessbysignificantvi197]

Mmmm.

[@gregggyf]

Good Evening, Just to confirm.... NO GLUING OF THE SHIELD TO THE PICKGUARD IS NECESSARY? Thank you.

[@SashaIvantic]

Yes, correct

[@gregggyf]

Thank you very much.@@SashaIvantic