Excissive hiss?

saustindavis · #1 01-10-2012, 10:40 AM

While sitting on hold waiting to talk to the VA I thought I'd post a question about my rig. I have a Schecter Riot-5, which is active as I'm sure most of your assumed, running to my Acoustic B200H/B115. I really love the tone I get, but notice a pretty significant hiss when I'm not playing. I'm sure it's there when I'm playing also, but I can't hear it. I tried rolling off some highs on the bass itself, and it seemed to get quieter (the hiss), but it was still present. I tried rolling off some highs on the amp, and the same thing happened. I wondered about a dead battery, but I removed it and tested it (on my tongue, but still...) and it seemed to have plenty of juice. I know that's not exactly scientific, but I've felt a dead battery and this one was fine. I wasn't running through any pedals, just a monster cable from the bass to the head, so I'm perplexed. Any ideas or suggestions? Don't say get another bass or amp, because that's not an option...

Jay2U · #2 01-10-2012, 10:57 AM

First of all, to my opinion, it's not possible to 'taste' the difference between 9 and 6 Volt. For the pre-amp it may make difference. I don't think, however, that the hiss is being caused by a low battery. A trick to 'load' a battery for at least a short while, is by warming it up to some 105 deg. F, but don't overheat it. The best thing to do would be to try the bass on another amp. If I would have a similar problem, I'd go over to the local music store and connect it to one of the amps they have on display. If it then still hisses, you can be pretty sure it's the pre-amp in the bass. If not, your amp is hissing.

Broadstbully22 · #3 01-10-2012, 11:07 AM

What he said,or you have a wire messed up. I recently had the same issue, tried my bass on different amps and it kept hissing, finally I found out my instrument cable had a bad wire, bought a new one, problem solved.

chadds · #4 01-10-2012, 01:05 PM

You're going to have excessive hiss if your ex sees your new squeeze holding your bass case at the gig.

India_Sierra · #5 01-10-2012, 01:15 PM

Could it be a shielding issue inside the bass?

saustindavis · #6 01-10-2012, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadds

You're going to have excessive hiss if your ex sees your new squeeze holding your bass case at the gig.

I don't get this...

Jay2U · #7 01-10-2012, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by India_Sierra

Could it be a shielding issue inside the bass?

Not very likely. Lack of shielding usually brings humm. Bad cables, switches, pots and/or connections normally bring a crackling noise. A constant hissing (also called white noise), which can be heard if not playing, almost certainly comes from an amplifying component. A bad opamp may be the cause, as well as a leaking capacitor or a bad resistor in the (pre-)amplifier circuit. My Ibby produced a hardly noticeable hiss when it was still active. I removed the pre-amp, as it gives me more head room and a slightly better sound. I do remember from decades ago, that I once had a battery which produced noise in a small radio transmitter. I think, however, that this was a very rare case.

krstko · #8 01-10-2012, 02:35 PM

I had hissing because my high freq speaker was blown o.O

DBCrocky · #9 01-10-2012, 02:40 PM

I know you said don't get a new bass, but my experience is that most hiss is the bass. I hate hiss because I like a lot of high end in my tone. Without changing the bass, you may have to change out the preamp/pickups.

Now, if you don't hear the hiss so much when you're playing, you can use a noise gate to silence your bass when you're not playing.

Jay2U · #10 01-10-2012, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBCrocky

...Now, if you don't hear the hiss so much when you're playing, you can use a noise gate to silence your bass when you're not playing.

A noise gate is also a good idea to find out whether it comes from your bass.

chadds · #11 01-10-2012, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saustindavis

I don't get this...

You will

saustindavis · #12 01-13-2012, 12:08 AM

I think I figured out it's coming from my amp. I muted my bass with a Boss TU-2 and it was still hissing. I turned off the horn, problem solved. Kinda sucks because I like that slight aggressiveness from having the horn. I compensated by boosting the highs on my bass and amp. Not as aggressive as before, but you can't really hear the difference in the mix.