Pickups louder when I touch the jack

[dirtychinchilla]

Hi,

I've just installed some Seymour Duncan SPB-3s in my Fender P bass. They sound great! However, I noticed earlier that if I touch the actual jack that is attached to the lead, the pickups suddenly get louder. My wiring is fine although I guess it could be a grounding issue...this is the only problem I have with it though so that seems quite odd.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Jono

[dirtychinchilla]

I've just discovered, also, that if I rotate the jack in it's socket, sometimes the pickups will get louder that way as well....very strange!

[rojo412]

Grounding or a bad solder, if I had to venture a guess.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by dirtychinchilla

My wiring is fine although I guess it could be a grounding issue...

If it's a ground issue, then your wiring is not fine! Check for a missing ground, or that the hot and ground are mixed up at the jack. Also, if you jack doesn't have a ground wire running to it, and instead is relying on the aluminum foil shield, solder a ground wire. Both pots and the jack should be grounded together.

The reason a rotating jack changes the signal is because it has twisted and one of it's tabs is shorting out of something, probably conductive paint, or is making a bad connection by bending a wire.