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Post subject: Bad buzz when not touching strings
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:47 am
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Here's my situation:
- Standard Jazz Bass (with the metal control guard).
- Buzzes badly when I'm not touching anything...so bad that the buzzing is heard over an open string.
- Stops buzzing completely when I touch anything metal, including:
- Tuning pegs
- Strings
- Bridge
- Control guard
- Cable end going into guitar
- Cable end going into amp/pedalboard
- Only the bass is buzzing...other guitars plugged into same setup do not buzz at all.
- Also goes away when I crank the tone to the bass side...that's consistent with others that have the same problem.
- Buzz sounds more like a "NNNNNNNNNNN" than the soft "mmmmmmm" that I'm used to from single-coil hum.
- Touching the strings on and off produces a slight clicking sound.

Any ideas what the problem is? I see this problem mentioned a LOT on various forums, but I have yet to see a definitive answer as to why it is happening and what the solution is.

It can't be simply that I have single-coil pickups. My Strat does not have the problem.

I've seen various people mention "check to ensure the wire to the bridge is connected for ground"...but that has to be connected or why would the buzzing stop when I touch the strings.

Sheilding? If so, why is it happening?

Bad pickups?

Bad wiring?

Ideas? Have you fixed this problem before? If so, how?


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:49 am
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Could be any number of problems

Bad Ground
Cold Solder
Bad Shielding


Might be a good idea to have a tech look at it.

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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:55 pm
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Well, this has to be the most frustrating thing I've experienced in a while.

I brought the bass and pedalboard in to talk to them about it.

At the store, there's no audible difference between touching the strings and not touching the strings. They do admit the bass buzzes a bit more than it should. They also brought up the possibility of the electricity in my house.

So, my questions at this point:

Q: Why would the bass have a drastic difference between touching the strings and not touching the strings at my house and no difference at the store?
A: Well, Jeff. Obviously there's something wrong at your house.
Q: Okay, sure. But then why do I have absolutely no problem with 4 other guitars (including a Stratocaster) and this horrible problem with only the bass?


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:35 pm
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Okay,

I've now tried three different Jazz basses...one with active electronics. They all exhibit the same symptoms:
- Bad buzz at home when I don't touch the strings.
- Quiet at home when I am touching the strings.
- Mild buzz at the store whether or not I'm touching the strings.

Obviously the problem is not just the bass.

I tried a new Schecter bass with humbuckers...slient as can be at home, whether or not I'm touching the strings.

So, there appears to be something about my house that the single-coil pickups of the Fender don't like.

My problem now: I LOVE the tone of the Jazz bass, but the buzz is unbearable when not touching the strings. What can I do? Is sheilding it going to give me a shot?

Thanks for any input!


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:32 pm
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Did you purchase this Bass new from a guitar/music store? Many of the big stores recieve the item and emediately put them on display for sale. In other words, they don't set the instrument up. You may need to take it to a repair shop if available. They can check your Bass out and verify the electronics are within tolerance. This brings up another item. Is this Bass made in the U.S.A., Mexico, or Japan. Only the U.S. made units use standard guage wire and components, the others use metric. You may have something simple like a loose connection somewhere.

Good luck!


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:31 pm
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I mainly suspect the shielding. It seems the newer instruments are getting worse and worse at this. If you have flourescent lights at your home (or neon, such as a beer sign), they will wreak havoc on single coils. Your strat may have better sheilding that the basses - the environment at the store may be generating less interference than at home.

The bass player in our band switched to an Aerodyne and the buzz was noticeable in any setting. We shielded the bass and it's dead quiet now. If you're not familiar or comfortable, take it to a respected luthier. Also, it's important to understand what's going on here; check out this web site:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

It' specific to strats, but the same principles apply.

Hope this helps.


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Post subject: Check for dimmer switches
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:19 am
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Hopefully the guitar can be helped, but I wanted to mention that dimmer switches on lighting can sometimes cause noise in various devices.

Dan

twanger wrote:
I mainly suspect the shielding. It seems the newer instruments are getting worse and worse at this. If you have flourescent lights at your home (or neon, such as a beer sign), they will wreak havoc on single coils. Your strat may have better sheilding that the basses - the environment at the store may be generating less interference than at home.

The bass player in our band switched to an Aerodyne and the buzz was noticeable in any setting. We shielded the bass and it's dead quiet now. If you're not familiar or comfortable, take it to a respected luthier. Also, it's important to understand what's going on here; check out this web site:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

It' specific to strats, but the same principles apply.

Hope this helps.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:43 am
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Location: Michigan
This si common. Try using a ground lift on the amp (a 3 prong to 2 prong). Most times that will take care of the problem.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:17 pm
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Whoah.

DO NOT lift the ground on your amp by using a three-prong to two-prong convertor, EVER. DO get your bass looked at by a competent tech. It probably has a ground problem in the internal wiring. (If it was a shielding problem, it would likely buzz whether you touched the strings or not.)

Find a friend wtih an AC circuit tester and plug it into your home outlets to see if the ground is screwed up in your house. If so, call an electrician.

Also, keep in mind that all single-coils buzz a little. Maybe you're just listening too hard.

There are safe ways to "lift" ground, but defeating it with a $0.98 adapter from the hardware store is not one of them.

I'm surprised a representative of Fender would give this advice.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:36 am
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Ever figure out what the problem was? I got a Marcus Miller 4 string and I have the same problem. I hear the single coil hum, sure, but there is this REAL NASTY hum when i let go of a metal part. There is no way that is normal. But I brought it into a local guitar shop, and the hum didn't seem super noticeable, then again, I'm not sure if he ever let go of the strings when he held it, and I didn't think twice about that for some reason. I thought he knew what he was doing. But this hum can't be right. Either it's the bass, or my house. My Musicman Sterling didn't hum at all though, I know it has humbuckers on it, but still. I think that means my house is fine. It's gotto be the bass.

Graham


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:44 am
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That hapenned to me with mi geddy lee, it also hummmmms! i took it to my technician, and there was nothing wrong with the bass, at the moment i was using a behringer amp, the noise was sometimes very strong, and almost nothing other times, it depended on the place i was plaiyng, but since i bought my new amp, a SWR 350x, GOODBYE NOISE!!! i havent had any more problems about it!.....


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:39 am
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did it buzz only when you didn't touch metal?


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:22 am
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Only when i touched some part of metal in the bass, it would go away!


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:24 am
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Hm. See, that's what's happening to mine, too. But that can't be normal, I don't think. I'm going to take it to a Fender certified tech tomorrow. We'll see what happens. I already have a decent amp (SWR 4004 stack) so I can't go out and get a new one in hopes it'll solve my problem.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:39 am
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ye your absolutly right, i guess i got lucky, but i now, that theres something wrong about the bass, because thats not normal! if you find the answer, let me know please!! thanks and good luck! ;)


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