Jazz Bass recording advice

makaky · #1 06-26-2008, 08:49 AM

Im starting an album recording in two weeks an im a bit worried about the noise i get when i turn down the neck pickup.

During some song i want a bit more attack and definition. As we all know when both pick ups are full its hum canceling but i want that Jazzbass bridge pick-up sound for some parts.

How do you guys work with that ?

BuffaloBass · #2 06-26-2008, 09:18 AM

I used my pickup heights ( I use AERO alnico5 and they are very sensitive to height), to dial in my wide open sound, and then use location of my right hand for variation. I dont know how anyone else does it.

DocBop · #3 06-26-2008, 09:50 AM

Have all the cavities shielded, good wiring, work more on get tone with your hands, and if you start recording a lot may have to get a quiet bass for studio use. But a good studio you should have less of an issue, lighting and grounding issues should be addressed in the studio's design.

fretlessrock · #4 06-26-2008, 03:55 PM

Put both volumes on 10, and then roll the neck off just a bit. See if that is quiet enough and gives you that extra definition. The turn it back up and roll of the bridge a bit. That first little bit of travel makes a lot of difference.

Because of the way that the pickups load against each other, it is normal to have the tone circuit dump some extra highs when both pots are open. I have noticed this on traditional single coil Jbasses, as well as on my Read J with Bartolini CB stacks. I used to have a Lull M5 with humbucking J pickups and it was similar but the preamp buffers fixed a lot of the uneven response.

I would not worry too much about hum unless you are recording the bass in a very exposed way, or if it is really horrible. A good shielding job will fix it, but don't be surprised if you notice a difference in tone after it is done.

Get the tone right and just play.

makaky · #5 06-30-2008, 07:43 AM

Thanx for the tip guys.

So far my best option i to play with the pickups height. The bridge i alot closer to the strings and the neck is almost at the pickguard level now. I cant get that very nice define sound without the hum.

groovy !!!

btw, i had had all the wiring and shielding done on my JB, i ended up with the same hum. I guess single coil hum is a fact of life on an old JB