Noise when strings/bridge are touched.

Florox · #1 02-12-2010, 02:45 PM

Now, I know this must be a ground issue, and a frequently asked question as well, but I did a search and nothing useful came of it, so how do I get rid of this problem?

I'm trying to wire my bass directly to the jack, if that helps.

Denny Coon · #2 02-12-2010, 02:49 PM

I have the same problem. I just installed active EMG's, two volume 1 tone. Ive installed them in other basses and didnt have this problem?

Florox · #3 02-12-2010, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denny Coon

I have the same problem. I just installed active EMG's, two volume 1 tone. Ive installed them in other basses and didnt have this problem?

Mine are passive Q-Tuners. I first wired them to the tone and volume, but one volume doesn't work, so one pickup is inaudible, and the other that works is 250k, which I think it's stupid to have because I bought the Q-Tuners for their clearness. Thus, I'm attempting to wire them directly to the jack.

moobass · #4 02-13-2010, 02:26 PM

Does your amp have an earth ground connector aka three prong plug? If so do you know for sure your AC outlet you're plugged into is actually earth grounded? A lot of older houses and buildings are not. It's easy to check. Turn off the power to that outlet and pull it out to inspect. If you see a green wire running off to who knows were it's a good chance it's earth grounded. If you don't see a green wire or it is taped up it's not earth grounded. If you're comfortable with do it yourself home wiring (Warning, Dangerous Shock = Death) Go to home depot and get an a earth ground pipe clamp, wire nut, and how ever much green wire you need to get that outlet grounded. Clamp the pipe clamp to a cold water pipe and run that green wire to the outlet. Make sure you have an outlet that accepts an earth ground, if not pick one up at the hardware store. Install. Turn on power. No more hum.

BassLife77 · #5 02-14-2010, 12:01 AM

sometimes buzzing can come from a crap pot. I bought a buzzing bass off CL, replaced the pots and the buzzing stopped. buzzing and humming sucks because it can come from a lot of sources

SVT2PRO-PE#93 · #6 02-14-2010, 12:21 AM

i had a crazy problem like this with my musicman. it was not modified however.
same string touch/ buzz problem (i think, as long as you touched something metal it wasnt there. let go and HMMMMM)
anyways, i took it to a luthier. he said hed check the ground, but chances are the board was bad. ground checked out, ordered a board. it still buzzed. he called ernie ball and they said try putting on a matching input jack. did that...still buzzed. tried a diff pickup, still buzzed. my luthier was stumped, so he shipped it out to ernie ball in ca, and they were stumped!!!! at one point they thought THE PAINT had something to do with it! so they had it for about 2 weeks and came to find it was the metal piece the eq board is held on. they replaced that, all of the electronics were replaced with matching 08 stuff (on an 03 bass) and they shipped it back to me. only charging me for shipping and the eq plate. it took a while, but i was a pretty happy guy to get it fixed on the cheap!!

algernon · #7 02-14-2010, 01:01 AM

It seems that the bridge is connected to the bass ground, IMO (you may check with a ohmmeter between the jack sleeve and bridge or strings). Try to find that wire and disconnect it, that might be the culprit

Regards,
Adrian

Florox · #8 02-14-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by algernon

It seems that the bridge is connected to the bass ground, IMO (you may check with a ohmmeter between the jack sleeve and bridge or strings). Try to find that wire and disconnect it, that might be the culprit

Regards,
Adrian

You mean the cable that is under the bridge? Wouldn't disconnecting it create more hum/noise? Well, it wouldn't hurt to try, so I'll check.

I'll add that the ground cable is connected to the volume/tone pots that I am no longer using, although the pickup's ground cables are connected to them. Would just conecting the pick's ground cables direct to the bridge eliminate this problem?

Update Time: I removed the ground from the bridge, thus my strings, and my bridge, are making no noise when touched. However, there's this noise, the famous "rain", coming from the amp, even when the bass is unplugged, so itc ould be also the amp, yet there is some noise coming from when the bass is plugged in, which is not rain. Could it be that the rest of the ground cable is still plugged to the jack? Would removing it, and connecting the pickup's own ground cables to the jack remove this problem? Do I have to go buy some copper-paper?

algernon · #9 02-14-2010, 01:18 PM

If that's what you want, it would be a good idea to connect the pickup grounds together directly to the jack sleeve and leave everything else out; you'll be able to reconnect them anytime, should you wish to change the setup. I don't know if it will kill the buzz, but worth trying. Also check the cable you're using to plug the bass in the amp, the shielding might have a bad connection to one (or both) jacks. Note that buzz may appear if you play the bass near stuff like CRT displays, CRT tv etc.

Copper shielding it's also a good call, especially if your pickups are single-coil.

Good luck,
Adrian