Hiss after electronics upgrade

[FSFromTX]

Hello fellow forum users,

This is a duplicate post from another portion of the forum, but this one looked to be a more appropriate place. Sorry for the double post...

Recently, I did a rebuild of my bass including changing out the preamp for an Audere 3ZB, Installing Nordstrand pickups (P/J), and completely shielding the cavity and pickups.

Now I seem to get a hiss from the bass. The hiss is present pretty much all the time, but I can make it less noticable if I turn the gain and master way down on my amp. I have another bass (acoustic) that does not hiss with my combo, so I don't suspect the amp. It also hisses with other gear (Bass Pod, Tascam)

I believe I have everything grounded properly (star config)without any loops and other than the hiss, everything is very quiet (no hum). The hiss is not affected by rolling off treble or on any one pickup.

Any thoughts on what could cause this?

Thanks

[luknfur]

FWIW:

don't know much about the Audere except that it seems the main variation with it is selectable Z mode - and that can be the source of your hiss.

So does it do as much in all 3 modes?

If it does then I'd speculate either something in the environment is not conduscive or a ground issue.

FAQ Dimento's Trouble Shooting Guide has more info that may be of some use.

[DavidRavenMoon]

I'd contact Audere about it. They make high quality stuff. Shouldn't be hissing. A certain amount of noise is inevitable, but you shouldn't really even hear it.

I'd check the wiring too. Note that Audere separates the pickup common from ground because they have a balanced DC coupled input. If you wire them together you will get noise.

http://www.audereaudio.com/FAQ_JZ3_JZ5D.htm#ground

Can I connect my Pickup Ground wires to the Cavity Ground?
Pickups can have 2 or 3 wires.
• Every pickup has at least 2 wires, we call them Hot and Common. Common must be connected to our board at the screw connector as shown in the installation instructions.
• If you have a 3rd wire and it is a braided shield that wraps around the pair of wires, this is a Ground wire and can be connected to the Cavity Ground.

Most common installation problems
• Trapping a wire or not getting the battery in the right place (do not force fit during installation)
• Connecting the pickup common to the ground (causes DISTORTION and drains battery)
• Not connecting the pickup common to the connector (causes DISTORTION)
• Not connecting the ground wire to the bridge (causes increased HUM while playing)