Nordstrand NP4 pickup static niose problem

[goolimari]

Hi All,

I just had a pair of Nordstrand NP4 (p-bass) pickups installed on my Fender P-bass..

I play fingerstyle directly , and even a slight brush of the pickup magnet heads with my finger tips while playing seems to produce a static buzz kinda noise..i try not to touch the pickup but while playing the G string, my fingers brush agains the pickup heads sometimes..

is the static buzz normal ? this does not happen on my MIA 60th Anniversary Fender P-bass which has the vintage 62 RI pickups..they are completely noiseless, even when i touch the pickup heads directly with my finger tips.. but touching the Nordstrand pickup magnet produces a pretty audible static buzz

is the noise got to do with the pickups or should i just reduce the height of the pickups so that my finger tips do not touch them..

any inputs would be helpful...

-regards

gooli

[goolimari]

okay..

i did a little bit of research and looks like i have a pickup grounding issue..

i just had brand new Thomastik Jazz flats installed and a set up done..i am hesitant to take off the strings to get grounding done..also, i have already spent a LOT and thining of making another trip to the repair shop makes me cringe..

a suggestion made by many to reduce the polepice noise is to apply nailpoish over the polepieces...


does this work..?

more importantly, will it affect the tone?... these are $ 120 Nordstrands, and i'd hate to put anything on it if it will compromise the tone even by0.01%!

help me!

[jz0h4d]

Lots of Fender pickups do this . Just cover the pole pieces with black electrical tape.

[Carey]

Hi Gooli,

Nail polish will probably work for you, and it's probably the easiest and lowest cost solution. It won't affect the sound at all. The best way to solve the problem would be to ground the pole pieces with copper foil. This is not done here at the shop because it's not traditional and it's not always necessary. Most basses never have the problem you are describing.

The polish will likely solve the problem and won't hurt the pickups other than making them look a little funny.

If you have any other issues or questions please feel free to drop us a line at the shop.