Noisy Jazz pickups

[Scott549]

I just picked up a 90's Fender Standard Jazz bass. The pickups are very noisy compared to my 2006 Precision. Any advice on this? Is this normal? It looks like I may need to replace the pickups. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[maturanesa]

P is humcanceller so there is no noise. Jazz Basses produces hum when one of the pickups is solo. When both are at full they are normally quiet like a P.

[Jjones32]

Single coils buzz you can deal with the buzzing, or replace the pups with noiseless 'single coils.' They aren't really single coils they're actually stacked humbuckers, they won't sound quite the same as real single coils and won't sound quite the same though.

[levis76]

The buzzing can be minimized to almost nothing, in some rare cases it can be completely eliminated. Just do a search in Hardware, Setup, and Repair. There are lots of postings on how to deal with it. Copper tape shielding, replacing cheap wiring, checking for cold/excessive solder joints, and ensuring good quality parts throughout (pots, p'ups, input jack). Good luck.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by Scott549

I just picked up a 90's Fender Standard Jazz bass. The pickups are very noisy compared to my 2006 Precision. Any advice on this? Is this normal? It looks like I may need to replace the pickups. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Depends what you mean by "noisy".

There are two kinds of hum. There is the hum that can be shielded and eliminated. This is the hum that goes away when you touch the strings or jack body (ground). The other is "single coil" hum which is normal for Jazz basses without "humbucking" pickups (also called "noiseless" or "stacked coil"). With single coil hum, it will go away when both pickups are set at the same volume level. It comes back if you turn one pickup off.

This tells you what to do to get rid of the hum.

1. Shield the bass electronics

2. Buy a set of "noiseless" pickups. [Note: the tone of "noiseless" pickups either stacked coil or side by side coil, is not quite the same as single coil pickups. Choose wisely.]

[Funkinthetrunk]

Single coil will make some kind of noise when 1 pickup is soloed...no matter how much shielding you throw in. Deal with it or go the hum canceling route.

[Scott549]

Originally Posted by bassbenj

Depends what you mean by "noisy".

There are two kinds of hum. There is the hum that can be shielded and eliminated. This is the hum that goes away when you touch the strings or jack body (ground). The other is "single coil" hum which is normal for Jazz basses without "humbucking" pickups (also called "noiseless" or "stacked coil"). With single coil hum, it will go away when both pickups are set at the same volume level. It comes back if you turn one pickup off.

This tells you what to do to get rid of the hum.

1. Shield the bass electronics

2. Buy a set of "noiseless" pickups.

I have about the same level of noise with either pickup, or both, turned up. A friend suggested a new wiring harness. Do you think that would help?

[plangentmusic]

There are sets of passive pu's that use opposite wiring. They're not totally silent (as they claim) like a HB, but they are better than standard J's.

[mikezimmerman]

Originally Posted by Scott549

I have about the same level of noise with either pickup, or both, turned up. A friend suggested a new wiring harness. Do you think that would help?

I seem to recall that the early MIM's had the same size pickups in both the neck and bridge positions. I believe that means they were actually the same pickups in both positions, and if they were, then they wouldn't be hum-cancelling with both pickups on.

In short, I think a wiring harness replacement is not going to help the hum. Only a pickup replacement will do that.

[Scott549]

Would it work to just replace one of the pickups with an Ultra Jazz? Would I get the noise cancellation then? Would there be any problem with balance (presumably higher output with the Ultra Jazz)?

[Scott549]

In case anyone's interested, I decided to replace them both. They are both the small size, so I ordered two neck-sized pickups, an Ultra Jazz for the bridge and a Model J for the neck. After I get them installed I'll report on how it worked.

[maturanesa]

Originally Posted by Scott549

In case anyone's interested, I decided to replace them both. They are both the small size, so I ordered two neck-sized pickups, an Ultra Jazz for the bridge and a Model J for the neck. After I get them installed I'll report on how it worked.

ultra jazz is hotter than model J, i would go with model j set or an ultra j set

[RedLeg]

http://www.suhrguitars.com/pickups.aspx#bpssc
Suhr guitars makes a true silent single coil system for their strats and teles. They say it will work with a jazz bass.

[Zooberwerx]

I'm experiencing the same "typical" J single coil hum when rolled off towards the bridge pup. I'm also too cheap to swap anything out so I found a way to cheat the system. I leave the pups blended 50 / 50 (no noise) and then drop the neck pup by a few mm's and raise the bridge pup as tolerance allows. The imbalance doesn't impair the overall volume, comes close to mimicing the ever-popular 30/70 split, and retains the single coil character.

Riis

[Scott549]

Originally Posted by maturanesa

ultra jazz is hotter than model J, i would go with model j set or an ultra j set

The bridge pickup with those sets will not fit my bass -- I have the rare 1995 MIM that has two of the narrower size pickups. With the help of one of the people at Best Bass Gear, I decided on this method. He says the bridge pickup will be quieter if you use two of the same pickups. So I'm hoping this will balance the volume, and I'll get the choice of the two.