(Kubicki content) I've been trying to ignore this, but...

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

...my bandmates are bugging me with their comments/complaints on this issue: My Kubicki produces a ground noise which can be reduced (but not eliminated) by turning around until I find the spot in which the bass makes the less noise (something very common with passive basses). I know that a not so big amount of noise is acceptable on live situations since the whole band hides it. I don't have any problem with that, but again, my bandmates are bugging me because between songs the noise is noticeable unless I keep touching my cable's ¼" plug or put the rotary switch in standby position. Besides, the noise becomes VERY loud when I touch the volume/pickup balance knobs. Touching the rotary switch also increases the noise, but not that much. Touching the bass/treble EQ knobs doesn't add any noise.

I appreciate your input on a possible workaround for this problem. Thank you in advance!

[Foamy]

Alvaro, have you gone through and checked the solder joints and checked for broken wires? Maybe you've got a cold solder? Might not hurt to check for broken wires, and retouch suspicious (or all) solder joints if you're comfortable with a soldering iron and ohm meter.
Hmm...OK...first things first....has it always been like this? :-)

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Hmm...OK...first things first....has it always been like this? :-)

I got the bass less than two months ago and yes, it's been like that from the beginning. Again, it wasn't much of a problem for me, but my bandmates have made me pay attention to this issue.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I got the bass less than two months ago and yes, it's been like that from the beginning. Again, it wasn't much of a problem for me, but my bandmates have made me pay attention to this issue.

Hmm...a legit concern, I think. Sometimes I get more-than-usual hum. Shielding helps, but I often sometimes just hit the breaker on my PlanetWaves cable.
I'd say that you should give the circuit a good inspection. Make sure all ground go to the same place, an retouch any solders that look suspicious - easier just to retouch them all.

[M.Wrenn]

Yeah definitely check the solders. The fact that the noise gets louder when you touch the vol/tone nobs points to a wiring issue. Shielding will help the normal passive pickup hum once you figure out the wiring issue.

[DougD]

It's either a bad ground or the bass needs shielding, or both. Also get yourself a good power strip that filters out line noise. They really work, and will cut down a lot of noise.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

I'll follow your advice, guys. Although I'm not good with that soldering stuff, there's a local technician that is very good and a good friend of mine. The only thing that worries me is the probable need of checking grounding at the bridge since, as you know, the Ex Factor's bridge is anything but conventional. I'm pretty sure that it will be something completely new for my friend. Hope he will be able to deal with it.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I'll follow your advice, guys. Although I'm not good with that soldering stuff, there's a local technician that is very good and a good friend of mine. The only thing that worries me is the probable need of checking grounding at the bridge since, as you know, the Ex Factor's bridge is anything but conventional. I'm pretty sure that it will be something completely new for my friend. Hope he will be able to deal with it.

Alvaro, it's easy.
If you can isolate (de-solder) the end of the bridge ground wire (the end that connects to the pots or ground inside the electronics compartment, then you can check it with an ohm meter - one probe on the wire, and one probe on the bridge. Your tech can do that. He'll also know to wiggle it a bit too to be sure that it's in good shape.
!Suerte, amigo!

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

...my bandmates are bugging me with their comments/complaints on this issue: My Kubicki produces a ground noise which can be reduced (but not eliminated) by turning around until I find the spot in which the bass makes the less noise (something very common with passive basses). I know that a not so big amount of noise is acceptable on live situations since the whole band hides it. I don't have any problem with that, but again, my bandmates are bugging me because between songs the noise is noticeable unless I keep touching my cable's ¼" plug or put the rotary switch in standby position. Besides, the noise becomes VERY loud when I touch the volume/pickup balance knobs. Touching the rotary switch also increases the noise, but not that much. Touching the bass/treble EQ knobs doesn't add any noise.

I appreciate your input on a possible workaround for this problem. Thank you in advance!

Here's the deal. There are TWO kinds of hum. The kind of hum that goes away (or gets louder) when you touch things and the kind that changes as you move your bass around (not touching anything). The latter is called "single coil hum" and takes a humbucker to get rid of it.

The kind that changes when you touch things is a grounding/shielding problem. The usual situation is that the hum is loud and goes away or gets quieter when you touch ground. Usually this is the base of the jack (ground for sure), the strings (bridge is supposed to be grounded so this is a test for that) or the metal knobs.

The fact that the noise gets louder instead of softer when you touch certain knobs probably means that the backs of those pots are not grounded like they should be. Thus touching the knob injects noise into the pot.

It very much sounds like you need a good shielding/grounding check. Once you get to the point where touching things doesn't change hum levels, then you can look at hum changes by orientation (are any of your pickups single coils?). Note that to find a null you can not only rotate, but alter the angle of the bass as well (even to unplayable positions) to find the null. The only real answer to a single coil hum is to use humbuckers or move away from the hum source (usually large transformers, dimmers, wiring or the like).

If hum is truly hard to get rid of, you can always use a noise gate to eliminate that between song hum.

Good luck.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by bassbenj

(are any of your pickups single coils?)

According to the manufacturer's specs sheet, the Ex Factor has two Kubicki Humcancelling pickups.

[maturanesa]

change the band

[Natropath]

This sounds like a ground problem, no question.

[jimbilly]

That should be a pretty quiet bass. I've had two, the one I still have hasn't been used in a while, but I don't remember either of them being noticeably noisy.

[Matt Lake]

Hey, try taking the back cover off and lightly pulling on the ground wire running to the bridge. If it pulls out, then the bridge wasn't on it. They aren't really attatched but merely pinned down by screwing down the bridge. Easy fix - release string tension, back out bridge screws, push ground wire back through passage until it comes out on top, tighten down bridge on top of wire. This happenend to a '92 Kubicki / Fender J bass I have.

[jybarry]

Sounds like a simple grounding issue to me.

But I also know that there is a Flecktones song called True North that got it's name because the only way Vic Wooten could get his bass to be quiet was to face true north while recording the track. If he moved off that heading his bass made too much noise. And you can be sure that his electronics and shielding were solid. So, it can happen to anybody. Sometimes you just get unlucky.

[ct.colela]

Personal excuse my English because I use google translator
Hello alvaro am luthier in Brazil and I majored in Kubicki bass
already solved this problem in some Kubicki
try reversing the connectors on the pickups
not reverse the position of the connectors will therefore reverse the blend
a Kubicki bass so when it is noisy without grounding
or when the polarity of the pickups with reversed

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hey! Some news here. Today, I invited my friend the technician to lunch at home and he spent some time checking my Ex Factor. He removed and inspected the circuit board, checked connections/solderings, and even removed the bridge to check the ground wire. Everything is absolutely fine, according to him. This made him scratch his head since the problem is very noticeable and undoubtedly sounds like a typical grounding issue, but again, his tests didn't return any kind of anomaly.

And here's an interesting detail: I had a set of DR Neons installed on my Ex Factor and, when he saw them, he asked himself if that coating would work well as a "grounding" material. We removed the strings and he put his electronic tester to work on one of them. The tester didn't return anything (I don't know what the result should be but, according to him, the tester result showed no effect at all on grounding). I still had the previous set (DR Hi-Beams) and, after putting them on the bass, there was a very noticeable difference when touching the strings. The Hi-Beams helped to solve the problem... but just with my hands on the strings (or touching the 1/4" plug, as I've done before). Of course, I know that all electric guitars/basses behave like that, but such evident noise can't be considered "normal" IMO.

the noise becomes VERY loud when I touch the volume/pickup balance knobs.

Still happening with absolutely no change.

try reversing the connectors on the pickups
not reverse the position of the connectors will therefore reverse the blend
a Kubicki bass so when it is noisy without grounding
or when the polarity of the pickups with reversed

Didn't work.


I know this shouldn't worry me since ground noise is a very common issue, but I think it shouldn't happen -or shouldn't be that noticeable, at least- on such fine (and expensive) instrument like this. My friend says that the only variables left are the potentiometers and the pickups, but I preferred to let you all to know about the situation before going any further. Any suggestion/comment is welcome. Thank you in advance!