04-01-2010, 02:26 PM
|
#16 | Semper ubi sub ubi!
Joined: Feb 2009 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,703
| It's possible your bass is picking up some electrical noise in the room. Possible sources would be any motors (air conditioner, fan), flourescent lights, a computer, etc.
Try getting away from everything (take your amp and bass out into the yard if necessary) and see if it still does it. You might just need to add some shielding to the bass pup and controls cavities, which isn't too terribly difficult.
__________________ I dream of a better world where chickens can cross roads without having their motives questioned.
1/2 |
| |
04-01-2010, 09:31 PM
|
#17 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| Well I took it to my guitar guy today. We figured its a ground because when we touched the strings or the bridge with the guitar plugged in, the hum would stop. Let the strings open, and it would hum away. We thought it was a pickup ground, but we plugged another ax in and it did it with that one too. He didn't figure it out, so I'm still sorta lost as to whether its amp or ax related |
| |
04-01-2010, 09:34 PM
|
#18 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| Quote:
Originally Posted by marshall gibson Well I took it to my guitar guy today. We figured its a ground because when we touched the strings or the bridge with the guitar plugged in, the hum would stop. Let the strings open, and it would hum away. We thought it was a pickup ground, but we plugged another ax in and it did it with that one too. He didn't figure it out, so I'm still sorta lost as to whether its amp or ax related | Did you do the knob checks I said you should do? |
| |
04-01-2010, 09:41 PM
|
#19 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| Yea I did and it was worse with the bridge pickup on. Now like I said before, my tone knob at full bright makes it sound even worse |
| |
04-01-2010, 09:49 PM
|
#20 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| Quote:
Originally Posted by marshall gibson Yea I did and it was worse with the bridge pickup on. Now like I said before, my tone knob at full bright makes it sound even worse | When you had the bridge all the way off was it back to the non-plugged in hum, or was it still louder?
That is to say, list the following from least hum to most hum.
Amp: nothing plugged in
Amp: bass plugged in
Bass neck pickup full, no bridge pickup
Bass bridge pickup full, no neck pickup |
| |
04-01-2010, 09:57 PM
|
#21 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| I would say it went like this
Amp: unplugged- minor hum
Amp: plugged in- moderate hum
Bass: full neck, no bridge- moderate, same as above
Bass: full bridge, no neck- heavy hum
I hope I explained that good enough |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:03 PM
|
#22 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| Yeah, perfect.
Now, when you touch the strings in the full neck/no bridge state, what happens to the hum? |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:09 PM
|
#23 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| It stops, or gets very minor. Almost unhearable, if that's a word. Actually, in any state, if the strings are touched, the hum stops |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:11 PM
|
#24 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| Do you remember what type of guitar your guitar guy plugged into your amp? Have you tried your bass on any other amps to see fi the problem persisted? |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:19 PM
|
#25 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| He used a fender p-bass with the same style pickups. And no, I didn't plug into another one. I should have tried that. My bad |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:23 PM
|
#26 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| More and more I get the feeling that the issue you're having is something inherent in the design of your bass (and that particular pickup configuration). It could be reduced by shielding your bass or by getting noiseless pickups.
That being said, considering that this problem goes away when you touch the strings, as long as it isn't distractingly loud at other times I wouldn't worry too much about it. After all, how often do you play your bass when you're not touching the strings? |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:29 PM
|
#27 | forget and not slow down
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: pa Posts: 62
| Lol your right. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it a lot. My biggest reason for going ballistic was cuz it bugged the heck outta me, the amp being new and all. But I'll still play like you said, hands on the strings |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:32 PM
|
#28 | Slappa da bass mon
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 3,226
| Quote:
Originally Posted by thesteve More and more I get the feeling that the issue you're having is something inherent in the design of your bass (and that particular pickup configuration). It could be reduced by shielding your bass or by getting noiseless pickups.
That being said, considering that this problem goes away when you touch the strings, as long as it isn't distractingly loud at other times I wouldn't worry too much about it. After all, how often do you play your bass when you're not touching the strings? | Kinda seems that way. I'm not sure it'd be worth the money to put new pickups in it though. In all honesty if the problem continues I'd get rid of the bass.
If I may... I highly reccomend this bass. You could probably get it for 150-200 and if you sold your current then it would barely cost anything... in fact it'd almost definately be cheaper than new pickups.
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinclair Lewis "Fascism will come wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible." | |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:35 PM
|
#29 | ...
Joined: Apr 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 29,441
| Quote:
Originally Posted by scared2mosh Kinda seems that way. I'm not sure it'd be worth the money to put new pickups in it though. In all honesty if the problem continues I'd get rid of the bass.
If I may... I highly reccomend this bass. You could probably get it for 150-200 and if you sold your current then it would barely cost anything... in fact it'd almost definately be cheaper than new pickups. | My only issue is that this isn't really a "problem". It's part of the design of how single coil instruments are made. Can it be annoying? Sure. If the OP researched shielding he could probably reduce the hum for under $20. |
| |
04-01-2010, 10:38 PM
|
#30 | Slappa da bass mon
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 3,226
| Quote:
Originally Posted by thesteve My only issue is that this isn't really a "problem". It's part of the design of how single coil instruments are made. Can it be annoying? Sure. If the OP researched shielding he could probably reduce the hum for under $20. | Which is probably how much he'd spend upgrading his bass.
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinclair Lewis "Fascism will come wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible." | |
| | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is On | | | All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:34 PM. |