Strange Dean Pace / Piezo Hum

[mr sprocket]

I need some help finding a hum solution. I have a 5 string Dean Pace with the piezo saddle pickups. At home the bass is quiet. When I take it to Church I get a hum.

When I first plug the bass in at Church there is no hum. But when the lights and screens maybe other instruments fire up I Get a hum.

I have tried switching the ground loop, where the bass is plugged in, and the physical location. I can plug my electric or my Washburn AB20 in the same way and get no hum so it is something with this bass.

Strange is that the hum gets louder when I touch strings. You can hear the hum increase as my hands get closer to the strings.

The pickups are wired to a volume pot then output jack.

I have searched here a TB but have not found a thread about the same issues, any ideas?

[Kitsapbass]

check the DB forum - that is a fairly common occurence with those Deans, I'm pretty sure there's a sticky about them.

[phatbass]

It's the earth wire under the bridge which is held in by being clamped between the bridge and the body. I take the bridge off and move the wire and it makes better contact again with the bridge and it fixes the problem. Then a few weeks/months later the hum comes back again and I repeat the process.

I can't figure out a way to make better, permanent contact between the bridge and the earth wire - whatever the bridge is made out of won't take solder and I'm concerned it's made out of some crap metal which may crack if I try to tap a screw hole onto it. I'm resigned to just removing the bridge every so often.

[mr sprocket]

Kitsapbass I posted in there after here. I am still used to coming for answers here first.

phatbass I will try that. I am confused as why the bass does not hum at the house and not at first at Church.

I wonder is adding an acoustic preamp and shielding the chamber are a good idea.

[phatbass]

Originally Posted by mr sprocket

Kitsapbass I posted in there after here. I am still used to coming for answers here first.

phatbass I will try that. I am confused as why the bass does not hum at the house and not at first at Church.

I wonder is adding an acoustic preamp and shielding the chamber are a good idea.

Let me know how it goes.

I'm (eventually) gonna rip out the whole of the electronics, pickup and preamp, and replace 'em with the Ghost system that was used on the original prototype Pace.

[mr sprocket]

I was looking at the ghost system today, still an option.