PJ 1/4 Pounder buzz

[John Webb]

I installed a P and J -1/4 lbers in my SX. Is there any way around the humming/buzzing? Is it because they are not the same impedance or something else?

I am not an electronics guy.......I asked SD if I could use them toghether and got no answer.

Any help?

thx
jpw

[Marton]

Did you shield the bass ?

[line6man]

IIRC, The Quarter Pounder Jazz pickup is a single coil, and thus the bass is always going to have the 60Hz hum when the J is used.

FWIW, an impedance mismatch would not cause you buzzing noises.

[mremic01]

I've got that too, even with shielding. You need to put a humbucking J pickup in there if you want to get rid of it. I wish SD made a humbucking version of the QP jazz.

[Arvin]

I have a similar setup: Quarter Pounder Jazz, but with the SPB-1 Vintage P-bass pickup. It buzzed like all getout until I shielded the body cavities. Now it's much, much quieter.

I'd recommend shielding.

[mikeddd]

Shield that SX for sure! I just shielded mine (there's a very recent thread in this forum about it) and the difference is incredible.

[John Webb]

I shielded every cavity......and made sure there was continuity throughout. I disconnected the P pickup and it is quiet now, Wish I could hook it back up w/o the buzz. I just want a little neck in the mix.

[mikeddd]

Possibly the solder connections from the P pup were bad? Try resoldering.

[62bass]

The problem is in the single coil J QP pickup, not the P pickup, which is humbucking. When you solo the P pickup there should be no hum. When you add the J pickup, hum will be introduced. If yours does that, then everything is normal and the only solution is to replace the J pickup with a humbucking type. Shielding is not the answer unless there is hum being caused mainly by lack of shielding. I've shielded basses with a PJ setup before and it had minimal effect on reducing hum. Replacing the J pickup did have a major effect on eliminating hum. Sometimes rewiring the bass and shortening all the usually way too long pickup leads and other over long wires can help a bit.

It is possible that something else is causing the excessive noise but check out that J pickup first. Every PJ I've ever played that had a single coil J in it, had noise when the J pickup was dialed in.

Most basses I've seen lately, even the cheap ones, have decent shielding. That wasn't the case back when I started playing. But, even back then J pickups were noisy and P pickups were quiet.

You could get a hot and overwound humbucking J type pickup custom made for you, but it won't sound exactly like the QP. It might sound worse or better depending on your taste.

[line6man]

Originally Posted by 62bass

The problem is in the single coil J QP pickup, not the P pickup, which is humbucking. When you solo the P pickup there should be no hum. When you add the J pickup, hum will be introduced. If yours does that, then everything is normal and the only solution is to replace the J pickup with a humbucking type. Shielding is not the answer unless there is hum being caused mainly by lack of shielding. I've shielded basses with a PJ setup before and it had minimal effect on reducing hum. Replacing the J pickup did have a major effect on eliminating hum. Sometimes rewiring the bass and shortening all the usually way too long pickup leads and other over long wires can help a bit.

It is possible that something else is causing the excessive noise but check out that J pickup first. Every PJ I've ever played that had a single coil J in it, had noise when the J pickup was dialed in.

Most basses I've seen lately, even the cheap ones, have decent shielding. That wasn't the case back when I started playing. But, even back then J pickups were noisy and P pickups were quiet.

You could get a hot and overwound humbucking J type pickup custom made for you, but it won't sound exactly like the QP. It might sound worse or better depending on your taste.

+1 to all of this.

Except, personally, I would rather stick with the single coil J than to sacrifice my tone with a humcancelling J.
That's just me though.

[John Webb]

So who makes a good humbucker bridge J PU? I could always sell the 1/4 lbers.

I still have the original SX P PU.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by John Webb

So who makes a good humbucker bridge J PU? I could always sell the 1/4 lbers.

I still have the original SX P PU.

The Bill Lawrence J45 is a good one and not too expensive. But it's not as raw sounding as the QP. Seymour Duncan makes some hum cancelling J pickups too.

Edit to add-keep the QP P pickup. It's not the problem.

[John Webb]

I replaced the 1/4 lb in the bridge with a SD Hot Stack.

The difference is absolutely incredible. The tone I want is there and all the noise is gone!

When I turn the 1/4 lb in the neck position full on the bass sounds like my Hot Rod P only fretless........imagine that!

Thanks for all the help fellas.