Clicking noise when finger touches pickup pole

Muckaluck · #1 09-30-2010, 03:15 PM

Hi everyone,

I just did my first pickup install. I took everything out of my squier precision and put in new pots, a new jack, a new capacitor and new bill lawrence pickups.

Everything sounds great except when my finger touches the pole pieces on the D & G pickup it makes a clicking sound. It does not do this on the E & G pickup.

Any idea what could be causing this?

LiamPodmore · #2 09-30-2010, 03:19 PM

Its just normal as far as i know, it happened on my old squier, on my ibanez, and it cant on my main bass as the poles arent exposed.

Liam

maturanesa · #3 09-30-2010, 04:54 PM

you can cover the poles with some tape to eliminate that

precision punk · #4 09-30-2010, 05:03 PM

Try lowering the pickup height or play a little behind them.

Chrisk-K · #5 09-30-2010, 06:26 PM

That's normal.

TGLbass · #6 09-30-2010, 09:33 PM

Cover with tape? HA! That's a good one!

FromTheBassMent · #7 09-30-2010, 09:45 PM

There's an old joke about a guy who goes to the doctor and says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." Doctor says, "Stop doing that!"

The problem is not the pickup. It's your technique. Keep your plucking hand away from the pole pieces. Problem solved.

Hawaii Islander · #8 09-30-2010, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGLbass

Cover with tape? HA! That's a good one!

What's so funny about the suggestion? No worse than having a pickup cover that covers the poles. Basslines are a good example http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...kup?sku=300315

TGLbass · #9 10-01-2010, 02:46 PM

Can I put chrome tape on the pole pieces or how about duct tape? Maybe some electric tape? Will any of these ( even if they seem exagerated) possibly obstruct the magnetic field between the string and the pole piece? I think so.

C.Linton · #10 10-01-2010, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGLbass

Can I put chrome tape on the pole pieces or how about duct tape? Maybe some electric tape? Will any of these ( even if they seem exagerated) possibly obstruct the magnetic field between the string and the pole piece? I think so.

It shouldn't, not unless the tape has some sort of metallic component. The chrome tape I would stay away from as a precaution. I've seen some use electrical tape.

Bloodhammer · #11 10-01-2010, 03:51 PM

Anything non-metallic will not effect the magnetic field.

cloclo · #12 10-01-2010, 04:09 PM

use gaffer tape
it is strong and won't come of so easily
it won't interfere with the magnetic field whatsoever

i use it but only for avoiding that the strings can touch the magnetic poles of the pickup when i dig in really hard which gives this really loud click through the front of house when gigging

maybe the click is because of this:
basses for newbies (SX batch build thread)

(about 3/4rd of the page down, he talks about connecting the poles to the shielding by wrapping a piece of shielding-foil around the foam that's supporting the pickup)

i'm just giving possibilities why you might get that click ...

cheerio!

Muckaluck · #13 10-01-2010, 09:52 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I opened it up again tonight and rewired it according to the wiring schematic that Bill Lawrence posts on his site (Before, I had just duplicated the wiring from the existing setup). Bill's schematic shows grounding both the tone and volume pots. Since I only have one wire going to the bridge to ground that is soldered to the volume pot, I ran a wire from the tone pot and soldered it to the exposed part on the ground wire. This solves the problem, but only if I have one hand on the strings/bridge. If I take my hands off the strings and touch the poles on the D & G pickup, I get that click and a buzzing until I remove my finger.

For all intents and purposes this is an acceptable solution for me. There are no points in any song I can think of where I would completely have my hands off the strings and be touching the poles on that pickup. It's just weird to me that only one pickup would do this and the other would be completely silent.

If anyone has any other comments feel free to chime in.

bassbenj · #14 10-01-2010, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muckaluck

Thanks for all the replies. I opened it up again tonight and rewired it according to the wiring schematic that Bill Lawrence posts on his site (Before, I had just duplicated the wiring from the existing setup). Bill's schematic shows grounding both the tone and volume pots. Since I only have one wire going to the bridge to ground that is soldered to the volume pot, I ran a wire from the tone pot and soldered it to the exposed part on the ground wire. This solves the problem, but only if I have one hand on the strings/bridge. If I take my hands off the strings and touch the poles on the D & G pickup, I get that click and a buzzing until I remove my finger.

For all intents and purposes this is an acceptable solution for me. There are no points in any song I can think of where I would completely have my hands off the strings and be touching the poles on that pickup. It's just weird to me that only one pickup would do this and the other would be completely silent.

If anyone has any other comments feel free to chime in.

Usually this problem has to do with the pole pieces (magnets) on the pickup not being grounded. Hence when you touch them you inject hum right into the center of the coil! I'm having a problem with this on my G&L Tribute right now. The answer is to ground the pole pieces. Often easier said than done! There is some instruction on how to do that somewhere on the net. (Stew-mac site?) Basically you run a strip of copper foil with the conductive glue down the underside of the pole pieces and ground the strip.

I have no idea why so many pickup makers don't bother to ground the exposed poles...

idoru · #15 10-02-2010, 05:44 PM

Easiest fix to this is to use clear nail polish. Take off the pickup covers, then drop a goodly amount on each pole. It will self-level, and even in the hands of a heavy player should be good for at least 6 months. It has a secondary benefit, in that there's now less exposure to your sweaty fingers, so the poles will stay looking clean for longer.

c-

bssist · #16 10-03-2010, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by idoru

Easiest fix to this is to use clear nail polish. Take off the pickup covers, then drop a goodly amount on each pole. It will self-level, and even in the hands of a heavy player should be good for at least 6 months. It has a secondary benefit, in that there's now less exposure to your sweaty fingers, so the poles will stay looking clean for longer.

c-

I have used this one, it works great. I have also used electrical tape. When I dig in I used to hit the pole with the string. I have also used clear epoxy to cover the whole surface of the pickup. That protects it from damage caused by agressive thumping and popping.