Shielded jack wiring question

Started by beedoola, July 01, 2013, 08:01:53 PM

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beedoola

I'm wiring two circuits in one enclosure - Wampler Slostortion (without boost) and MXR Micro Amp. Should I shield just the Input jack - which goes into the SLO, and the circuit out Into the Micro amp, or should I use regular hookup wire running from one bypass switch to the next and use the shielded wire for the Micro Amp Output which goes to the Output Jack?

GibsonGM

Good question!  It's really a case of "what you can get away with". I've done them with NO shielding (most everything I build other than amps, actually), and had fine results.   But, there's no guarantee that you'd have the same luck.  The benefit of NOT shielding is the bulk of the wire and the (minor) hassle.

There is no harm in shielding all the input wires, as long as for EACH run, you only have one end of the shield connected to ground.  This includes from jack to any switches, and from switches to input of board.    Things that will make a difference are how long each run is, what do the wires pass over (power supply stuff?), and at what angle - right angles being the best way to run wires over each other.   Kind of a trial and error thing. I'd at least shield from jack to switch, and it won't hurt to shield the whole input line.

As for output - by that time, you're probably amplified enough that you won't get much noise on that line.  Most of the 'problems' encountered are by picking up crap on the input line, which is then amplified by your circuit.
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