Fender buzzing, any ideas?

[Randy Warren]

my '97 fender american precision deluxe (active) has started making a buzzing sound in the amp, stops when I touch the bridge, the knobs (metal) and the output jack, not the amp or cable, my hwy 1 is dead quite through the same amp/cable and I am sure the '97 was fine until recently. battery is fine, changing makes no difference, I am, guessing a grounding problem, any suggestions? (bridge ground, cavity, pickups?) thanks!

[EighthNotes]

Pickups are not grounded/shielded properly. Ground wire usually goes to bridge, pop the bridge off and check to make sure the wire is making proper contact to the bridge. If that doesn't fix it, shield all cavities.

[GianGian]

There was a shielding tutorial somewhere around here. Search for it, it is a sticky thread.

[RobEmpire]

yea dude probly the most part is grounding.......

[Randy Warren]

thanks, guys, expected it to be a grounding issue, looks like the weekend will be checking out the wiring...

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by EighthNotes

Pickups are not grounded/shielded properly. Ground wire usually goes to bridge, pop the bridge off and check to make sure the wire is making proper contact to the bridge. If that doesn't fix it, shield all cavities.

Actually, the fact that the noise goes away when he touches the bridge proves that the electronics are grounded. I would shield the bass. and since P Pups don't usually hum, if I were lazy, I would do the electronics cavity first and see what effect that had.

[melarson]

Originally Posted by dabbler

Actually, the fact that the noise goes away when he touches the bridge proves that the electronics are grounded. I would shield the bass. and since P Pups don't usually hum, if I were lazy, I would do the electronics cavity first and see what effect that had.

+1 I had the same problem on my first bass, a squire p bass. Shielding fixed it.

[Boombass76]

What strings do you have on it? I had a Fender Jazz that did something similar. It buzzed if I didn't touch the strings or any other metal part on the bass (tuners, bridge, etc.).

It turned out that it was my coated strings that caused the buzzing. I have no idea what the technical explanation is, though.

So, if you have e.g. 'DR Extra Life' or Elixir strings on it, try putting on some regular strings instead. It may be the solution, but I am not sure...

[Randy Warren]

thanks, I am using tapewounds so I cannot stop the buzz by touching the strings, but they have worked fine in the past. From the earlier posts, it seems as though the cavity ground must have come loose, correct?