Strange buzz

playerunk · #1 10-16-2011, 03:30 AM

At the soundcheck last night after i plugged my bass in the soundman complained that he gets a 'buzz' from my instrument. Listening only to the amp it wasn't so upsetting but turning on the FOH it was unbearable. Tried the ground lift, direct into the amp, switched cables and changed amps but nothing worked. Only switching to passvie mode made the buzz less noticeable but still present (G&L tribute 2500). The buzz was present even if i touched the strings but dissapeared when i would kill the volume.
In a final attempt one of the crew tried his bass (Warwick dont remember model) and he had no problems..

Is this a shielding issue or something else all together ?

john grey · #2 10-16-2011, 02:44 PM

G&L's a good Bass; is it all original? Was anything changed? Any accidents or unique stuff (like a fall or impact?) Does this issue occur at home?
There's at least 2 or 3 things it could be. However the electronics aren't simplistic so it's sort of surprising because the Q.C. on an active multi pickup system should have caught obvious stuff. If it only does it at a studio there ARE reasons why that might happen (but it would occur with others w / similar active systems).*

* GFCI units in bathrooms, etc

miltong565 · #3 10-17-2011, 01:12 PM

First thing i would do is CHANGE THE BATTERY! secondly, and im not goiing to try and act like i know alot about it, but alot of basses have a wire going from the output jack to underneath the bridge (i assume to earth it) check to see if its broken anywhere along the line. those are the 2 things i would do first anyway, so you dont end up throwing balls of money at it and it turns out you need a new battery :/

playerunk · #4 10-19-2011, 04:05 AM

I bought the bass new several months ago. Nothing changed (except the knobs, the originals didn't have markers) and no accidents. The buzzing has occured before but i always blamed it on bad grounding since all the instruments in the room had some sort of noise.

I'll change the battery and listen more carefully at different locations and with different gear (have to find my VOX AMPlug).

DBCrocky · #5 10-19-2011, 01:17 PM

One thing you might want to look at is shielding the pickup cavities...

Audere Audio Noise and/or Hum FAQ