Noise, how quiet should it be?

[groov'ster]

I've never concerned myself too much with noise when playing live because my setup is always quiet. Only occasionally would I be responsible for a buzz or low hum, I'd flip a switch and it would be gone.

However a gig last night got me to really thinking about this.

We had two guitars: 1 was mic'd on a MesaBoogie head. 2 was plugged straight to the board Acoustic.

keyboard: straight to the board.

Drums: mic'd

Me: bass into effects board out to Aggie 500 out of the Ag's DI to the board.

Simple PA system with two subs.

It seemed like no matter how I tried to run ME i was the ONLY one that brought noise into the mix. It wasn't bad and when playing was never heard.

I've considered maybe it was the channel on the board or some other issue but I do think it is me.

Should I expect me to be just as quiet as everyone else or are we bass players just different?

[TimmyP]

You should be pretty much silent. It could be that your bass is picking up noise. It could be that something is funky with the amp OR your DI does not have good isolation and you are getting a ground loop (I had this problem using a Radial Pro48 with a particular Behringer head - no troubles with any other amp in the same venue).

[ugly_bassplayer]

Ground loop.

[groov'ster]

Thanks for the comments. I wondered if everyone thought I was nuts.

I will say this also. I took my Sadowsky outboard pre/DI and plugged it straight into the snake and me into the DI. I bypassed everything in my usual signal chain, the noise still persisted (low freq hum). Once again when I start playing the noise is covered with no issues. Even when I'm not playing the noise is still not at a level to be distracting HOWEVER I and the other band members notice it.

Ugly...Any suggestions on where / how to eliminate ground loop issues. PS I will be researching this more. I cant rely on our volunteer soundman to do it.

Thanks

[ugly_bassplayer]

Solving a ground loop problem can be quite complicated due to the multitude of things that can cause it.
But using a isolation transformer can easily solve your problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_...electricity%29

[walterw]

what kind of bass, and how was it set? (single coil jazz pickups by themselves or paired with P pickups will hum regardless of what you do downstream with the signal).

if the hum goes away when you turn the bass's volume off, then the bass itself is the source.

[groov'ster]

Originally Posted by walterw

what kind of bass, and how was it set? (single coil jazz pickups by themselves or paired with P pickups will hum regardless of what you do downstream with the signal).

if the hum goes away when you turn the bass's volume off, then the bass itself is the source.

Thanks again for the help. I now understand what a ground loop is. And I think this would be a big part of the issue. Is a church gym used for youth service.

Just fyi....my bass is a 09 Lakland DJ5, loaded with Nordstrand split-coils, J-East onboard preamp.

The noise is even present when my bass is unplugged but is a little louder when I am plugged in.

The only thing that eliminates the noise is when the bass channel is muted. So that leads me to the amp - line.

Are there any inline devices that would eliminate this providing it is a ground loop. WHen searching for answers some popped up in google but I have no experience with them.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by groov'ster

The only thing that eliminates the noise is when the bass channel is muted. So that leads me to the amp - line.

Are there any inline devices that would eliminate this providing it is a ground loop. WHen searching for answers some popped up in google but I have no experience with them.

if the amp itself hums, but stops humming when the mic cable is unhooked from its DI out, then yeah, ground loop.

ground lift switch on the DI out of the amp?

if not, maybe use a 1/4" out from the amp (effects send, whatever) into a DI box that itself has a ground-lift.

[JackANSI]

Originally Posted by walterw

if the amp itself hums, but stops humming when the mic cable is unhooked from its DI out, then yeah, ground loop.

ground lift switch on the DI out of the amp?

if not, maybe use a 1/4" out from the amp (effects send, whatever) into a DI box that itself has a ground-lift.

Or mic your bass cab..

[groov'ster]

Got it figured out. It is definitely a ground loop problem from the bldg wiring. Because of other issues they have an electrician coming in to fix problems.

Thanks guys. Now if I could just get somebody to rewire my hands and mind in a days time to make me a super player that would be awesome!!!!