WHY!? Does it refuse to ground!

[Forcemaster]

I have a Geddy Lee Jazz bass that is giving me some grounding troubles.

There's no hum as such, (apart from the obvious single coil hum) but whenever I touch any metal parts I get that annoying clicking sound out of my amp telling me something's being grounded.

I took off the control cavity and bridge to investigate further, when I physically hold the end of the ground wire the click no longer appears, yet when I place it under the bridge the click reappears! I'm really frustrated with this at the moment. Could be a case of replacing the ground wire?

[slyjoe]

Sounds like the wire is not making good contact with the bridge. If you have an ohmmeter, ensure there is conductivity between the bridge and output jack when the bridge is installed.

[bassmodder]

YOU are grounding to the bass. I think your bass is working fine.

[Forcemaster]

Originally Posted by slyjoe

Sounds like the wire is not making good contact with the bridge. If you have an ohmmeter, ensure there is conductivity between the bridge and output jack when the bridge is installed.

I don't have an ohmmeter unfortunately, but that could well be a possibility. What would be a course of action if this were the case? Replacing the ground wire?

[slyjoe]

Hard for a wire to go "bad". Not so much a replacement - make sure there is enough insulation stripped off at the bridge end. Maybe even ball it up a little to make sure it is always making contact with the bridge. Don't have the wire sitting only in the slot for the hole to the control cavity.

ETA: you can also verify the problem with another wire - with everything installed, wrap a wire around the outside of the output jack and wrap the other end around a part of the bridge. This isn't a real good connection, but at least you can see if it solves the problem.

[Thangfish]

If the ground wire was not making contact with the bridge, touching the bridge with your finger would have *zero* effect.

[Forcemaster]

Originally Posted by Thangfish

If the ground wire was not making contact with the bridge, touching the bridge with your finger would have *zero* effect.

That's true. And I do get the sound when I touch the bridge.

So what is the issue here?! A control cavity problem?

[Thangfish]

Originally Posted by Forcemaster

That's true. And I do get the sound when I touch the bridge.

So what is the issue here?! A control cavity problem?

Don't know. Static electricity, maybe?
If so, I've seen dryer sheets used to lightly wipe around on the ax to dissipate it.
Cable/jack going flaky?
Amp grounded through wall plug, to a ground that is actually connected?
Really don't know. Just shooting in the dark now.

[gbarcus]

I've had a similar issue, and it turned out to be that the amp wasn't grounded (had no ground wire on the plug). So when I touched it, I became the ground. I tried a different amp that I knew had a ground and it worked fine.

[RyreInc]

I've had a similar experience with amps with a lifted ground. Simultaneously touching the bridge/strings and the concrete floor resulted in either a pop and/or an electric shock--you definitely wanted to wear rubber-soled shoes!

[Forcemaster]

This is interesting because I have these problem only occasionally in different places, i've used my amp in different venues and had no issues, but also still had them. This is extremely frustrating!

[Forcemaster]

Another thing worth mentioning is my bridge wire is grounded to the bottom of the control cavity not any of the pots or anything, could this potentially be the problem?

[slyjoe]

Yes, that could cause a poor ground. However, as others have mentioned, it almost sounds like an amp grounding problem.

[Forcemaster]

It does. But unfortunately i've played it through other set-ups in different places and it's still given me the same sound! Going to see about getting it resoldered to somewhere else. Would soldering the bridge wire to the output jack solve my problem?

[slyjoe]

Don't know if it would solve your problems, but IMHO that is a better, more solid ground.

[einer von meane]

Are you still having this problem?

I had something similar happen to me once. Boy, did I feel stupid when I figured it out...

I was sure everything was hooked up right, so sure that I never checked my output jack conections.

Turns out they were backward! DOH!

Things will work but you can get that buzzing sound when you touch anything metal... strings, bridge, etc.

I don't know it that is what's going on with your bass but you might want to double check the simple stuff too.

Later