coated string and grounding!?

varunkapahi · #1 05-09-2010, 10:29 AM

really have to ask all you guys who play with coated strings...
i got myself a set of coated DR strings sometime back but they were totally unusable to me as i realized that the bass would'nt get grounded when i'd touch the strings and therefore the noise wont go away! am talking about the noise due to electromagnetic interference which goes away when you ground the bass by touching it yourself.
i know shielding helps but the noise still remains to a certain extent and its really gets terrible while recording or gigging! so really what do you do, how do you get around it? is this noise not present with active basses due to some reason, am asking because i have only had passive basses. however i do see these coated strings on a lot of passive basses too. really i cant live with it.. there must be a solution. which until now for me has been keep the in contact with the strings at all times

J. Crawford · #2 05-09-2010, 10:30 AM

My P bass is unshielded with Hot Pink DRs and I have no problem at all.

Darkstrike · #3 05-09-2010, 10:39 AM

The ballends aren't coated... Then again, a well shielded bass shouldn't need bridge grounding anyway.

varunkapahi · #4 05-09-2010, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Crawford

My P bass is unshielded with Hot Pink DRs and I have no problem at all.

could it have something to do with the electrical wiring or the electricity? because it really low at some places and very high at others

varunkapahi · #5 05-09-2010, 12:42 PM

varunkapahi · #6 05-10-2010, 09:53 AM

no clue anyone?

wideyes · #7 05-10-2010, 12:12 PM

... and does the noise go away when you touch the bridge?

Brubass · #8 05-10-2010, 12:24 PM

I had very bad noise on my MIM J with Elixir coated strings. Some of the noise dissipated when I touched the strings - so it seems like the coating doesn't get in the way of grounding. After I shielded the control cavity and PUPs, I have no noise at all - whether holding the the strings or not. I subsequently got a MIM P and had the same issue. Shielding, again, completely solved the problem.

I do think there are environmental influences (cleanliness of the power source, amount of EMI in the air, etc.) that all contribute/cause the hum - since the hum I was getting did vary based on where I was and what I plugged into. But proper shielding completely eliminated all problems for me.

varunkapahi · #9 05-12-2010, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wideyes

... and does the noise go away when you touch the bridge?

on uncoated strings, yes. on coated strings, no

bigtexashonk · #10 05-12-2010, 10:33 AM

I had the very same problem on a Geddy Jazz. Removed the Black Beauties and end of problem.

fretlessguy · #11 05-13-2010, 04:42 AM

I have encountered that problem before using tapewounds. It used a grounding system which included the strings.

metallibass95 · #12 05-13-2010, 08:28 PM

have the bass looked at, mine did the same thing and im pretty sure the strings would have nothing to do with that.

EagleMoon · #13 05-13-2010, 08:39 PM

I ran into this problem with Elixir strings and a Spector Legend I had at one point. Hummed and buzzed like nobody's business and finally figured out it was the strings.

Hellbastard · #14 05-13-2010, 09:31 PM

Shielding does help a lot, I have a fretless SX with rotosound Trubass and the hum and noise was really loud. After shielding there's no noise coming out of the bass and I still use the Rotosound strings.

Burlington · #15 05-13-2010, 09:41 PM

your bass is not grounded properly.

whatitstrue · #16 05-13-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

am talking about the noise due to electromagnetic interference which goes away when you ground the bass by touching it yourself.
i know shielding helps but the noise still remains to a certain extent and its really gets terrible while recording or gigging! so really what do you do, how do you get around it? is this noise not present with active basses due to some reason, am asking because i have only had passive basses.

Its not so much as active vs. passive it's more likely single coil vs. split coil or hb.

I've used the Black beauities for a while on both passive and active basses, never had any problems. I also did a continuity check on them before and had ground continuity on the black Beauities. Its just a coating on the strings not some sort of electrical sheilding. Sounds more like a grounding issue in the bass, cheap electronics or both. A good sheilding never hurts though.

bertbassplayer · #17 05-13-2010, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burlington

your bass is not grounded properly.

+1, if your bass is using ... well... you (e.g. you touching the strings) to ground itself, then it's not wired correctly and you have a grounding issue.

ZolkoW · #18 05-14-2010, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

on uncoated strings, yes. on coated strings, no

very strange, because if your bridge wasn't grounded, touching it wouldn't help with uncoated strings, either.

I had some problems with Elixirs, but it was mostly the rooms grounding issue. shielding helped a lot, I don't have any issues sinse that.
and I have a passive P with completely shielded pickups (all sides at factory, not just 5, as a cavity in the body could be), and even on that I need to ground the bridge, otherwise it would hum.
I know, that EMG says they don't need grounded bridge, but I don't have them, so I can't comment on this.

jculp99 · #19 05-14-2010, 07:08 AM

When you go wireless do you still have these issues? Doesn't seem like you should.

ErikW · #20 05-14-2010, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burlington

your bass is not grounded properly.

^this