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Post subject: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 6:11 am
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I have an '82ish? Bullet Bass Deluxe USA Long Scale that was my first bass and I play the sh*t out of it.

Lately I have noticed the volume pot is acting strange.

It's quiet until from about 1-5, then from 5-8 it has a distinct hum and from 8- max it gets dead quiet again.

I've heard someone mention a tone cap.

Is that something that starts leaking or could possibly lend to what I'm hearing?

I've tried spraying the pot and it's nice & quiet until I hit that range. And it doesn't sound like just a scratchy pot.

Ideas?

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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 6:38 am
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If you are shure you spray the pot the right way with GOOD contact cleaner with lubricant ( many are cheap and useless ) I will replace the pot .


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:34 am
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Bad ground wiring is one possible cause for your bass to hum.

Remove the pickguard and check if the ground wires are soldered properly. Improper cavity shielding is another major factor causing the 60-cycle buzz.


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:42 am
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chromeface wrote:
Bad ground wiring is one possible cause for your bass to hum.

Remove the pickguard and check if the ground wires are soldered properly. Improper cavity shielding is another major factor causing the 60-cycle buzz.



swerve write ;

" It's quiet until from about 1-5, then from 5-8 it has a distinct hum and from 8- max it gets dead quiet again.

Sound to me pot is "open contact " between 5-8

Hum ; you"ll ear it from 1 to 8


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:48 am
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The hum is caused by a faulty wire.


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:59 am
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chromeface wrote:
The hum is caused by a faulty wire.



Hum is caused by open circuit ; wire , pots, wiring in pickups ...........


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 4:14 am
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I guess I'll take it apart and re-solder the ground.
There is no shield on the pick guard.
Would aluminum foil tape (of the duct variety) help if I placed some on the under side of the pick guard?
It will give me a chance to see if there is a capacitor wired to the pot as well since no one seems to know.

I'd like to keep the original pots in it if I could but not at the expense of having it humming.

I know the obvious fix. Crank it up.

Thanks.

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1978 Fretless Precision, 1982 Bullet Bass USA,
1989 MIJ '54 Re-issue Strat


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:49 am
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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:05 am
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Thank's for photos , but pots photos show half of the wiring . Better photos please

Aluminium shield have nothing to help what your pot do ( what you write )


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:20 pm
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If the tone control itself actually changes tone when you turn it then the cap is not suspect. That is a very simple part....either it works always, or it is bad forever. Now on the other hand the pot itself is a moving part and can have bad spots. I would just replace the pot and call it a day. Granted a new cap cost a couple of cents it might not be a bad idea to replace that while you are at it just for good measure.

Now if aside from this problem you have excessive hum issues doing the shielding can help but you need to research how to do it right. Just putting aluminum foil in the cavity will do nothing or can actually make it worse acting like a noise "antenna"..there is a procedure that requires rewiring to eliminate ground loops and other grounding/shielding concerns including the pick guard. As well aluminum foil is not the best choice if you want the maximum effectiveness for your efforts.

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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:45 am
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ebaysux wrote:
If the tone control itself actually changes tone when you turn it then the cap is not suspect. That is a very simple part....either it works always, or it is bad forever. Now on the other hand the pot itself is a moving part and can have bad spots. I would just replace the pot and call it a day. Granted a new cap cost a couple of cents it might not be a bad idea to replace that while you are at it just for good measure.

Now if aside from this problem you have excessive hum issues doing the shielding can help but you need to research how to do it right. Just putting aluminum foil in the cavity will do nothing or can actually make it worse acting like a noise "antenna"..there is a procedure that requires rewiring to eliminate ground loops and other grounding/shielding concerns including the pick guard. As well aluminum foil is not the best choice if you want the maximum effectiveness for your efforts.



+1


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:57 am
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While in there I also dropped in an eye dropper of WD-40 down the shaft of the pots.

Took the opportunity to adjust the pick-ups a little closer to the strings and I think I got a tiny bit more bottom end.

I have full volume range with no discernible cracking or unwanted noise.

I have full tone control.

Something worked cause she's quiet as a church mouse now. Except when I crank it up!!!


Thanks for the tips all.

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1978 Fretless Precision, 1982 Bullet Bass USA,
1989 MIJ '54 Re-issue Strat


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:07 am
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swerve wrote:
While in there I also dropped in an eye dropper of WD-40 down the shaft of the pots.

Took the opportunity to adjust the pick-ups a little closer to the strings and I think I got a tiny bit more bottom end.

I have full volume range with no discernible cracking or unwanted noise.

I have full tone control.

Something worked cause she's quiet as a church mouse now. Except when I crank it up!!!


Thanks for the tips all.


Then you probably had dirt/debris in the pot and that was causing a grounding problem there. However the problem with WD-40 is that it is not really designed for this purpose so the problem could return. Best to use something like this which I swear by and use it anytime I have access to pots during a build or repair.... It also gets rid of any "static" noise you can hear while turning the pots if dirt is the problem....

Image

You don't have to use this particular brand which I can get because I have a business account with the distributor, but you want a spray that is called tuner wash, tuner cleaner, contact cleaner etc. The stuff blows the dirt out while cleaning and lubricating the pot but dries in seconds. Unlike WD that will end up attracting dirt and keep it there. You can get tuner cleaner/wash online or at places like Radio Shack. That said, at least for now the WD worked for you and you seem to have isolated the problem. Enjoy the bass.

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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:40 am
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May 20 I wrote ;

" I f you are shire you spray the pot the right way with GOOD contact cleaner with lubricant ( many are cheap and useless ) I will replace the pot ."

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As I read you did not clean it carefully . :(
WD may work if very very small drop and if you are lucky . I don't recommend it.


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Post subject: Re: Bullet Bass noise
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:28 am
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DEOXIT spray is good for pots. There's a good tutorial on cleaning scratchy pots here. http://www.ehow.com/how_6364203_clean-electric-guitar-pot.html

So the first answer you got was correct.

Also as stated ceramic caps like the one you have there are stable forever and do not leak.

Since it has the hum canceling split pickup design this instrument would not benefit as much from a shielding job as a single coil bass like a Jazz Bass, Musicmaster Bass or 51 style P-Bass. Shielding is superfluous on Bullets because of the humbucking effect of the split coil pickup design.

I would not use aluminum tape for shielding projects because I can't solder to it. I use copper sheets cut to fit the back of the pickguard on instruments like this one where the pickguard surrounds the pickup. I use copper tape to do the pickup cavities and control cavities. I get the copper tape and sheets from Guitar Parts Resource online. Overlap the copper tape from the control and pickup cavities over the lip of the cavities so it makes contact with the back of the pickguard or metal control plate if it has one. Solder a groundwire to the copper tape in the control cavity. On this instrument if you overlapped the copper from the control and pickup cavities properly and put copper sheeting on the back of the pickguard then when the pickguard is reinstalled the ground circuit will run all the way to the pickup cavity. But like I said, on your Bullet shielding is probably going to provide little to no improvement in hum and probably isn't really appropriate.

Pots need exercise. Sometimes just rotating one a hundred times will do wonders even without a shot of spray. Any spray cleaner should go into the pot, not onto the instrument. Chemicals in it are bad for the finish and pickguards.

Bullets are cool basses! Enjoy it!


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