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62RI Stack-knob earth buzz - please help

bob atherton

bob atherton

Mar 8, 2005
307
116
69
#1
I have just started playing in a new band and last night was making my selection for the most appropriate bass that I should be using with the new group. I have four basses and I ran through a few of the numbers that we play one each to see which was the most suitable.

When I plugged in my 62RI stack-knob jazz there was a bad earth buzz coming from the amp. There is no buzz at all with the other basses. I don’t ever remember the stack-knob having any buzz in the past. I don’t really know where to start looking to diagnose why it is buzzing and how to fix it.

It is the sort of buzz that when one touches any metal part of the bass or the strings the buzz goes away. Any help would be very welcome, thanks.

FWIW, I am torn between using my 2000 MIA Jazz, ash/maple or my MM Sterling with the new band. The band is rock/funk.
 
#4
jazz basses do have a bit of hum unless you run them with both pickups fully on (they hum cancel that way). if you touch the strings and it goes away, that is completely normal-it means that the bridge ground wire is intact.

what kind of basses are your other ones? and do they have humbucking pickups in them.
 
#5
John, I know what you mean but this is much more of a higher pitched buzz. My other Jazz, a standard one from 2000, I believe has single coil pups in it, I think, though never 100% sure about these things..!

Even with both the pups full on there is still this buzz..?
 
#6
bob atherton said:
John, I know what you mean but this is much more of a higher pitched buzz. My other Jazz, a standard one from 2000, I believe has single coil pups in it, I think, though never 100% sure about these things..!

Even with both the pups full on there is still this buzz..?
Click to expand...

Does it still buzz with both pickups full on? If it does, there is someting abnormal happening. Have you tried a different cable? Is the output jack loose (either the cable plug loose in the jack or the jack loose to the control plate?) What about the input jack in your amp? Are there any light dimmers on the electrical circuit or in the general area, for that matter?
 
#7
bob atherton said:
John, I know what you mean but this is much more of a higher pitched buzz. My other Jazz, a standard one from 2000, I believe has single coil pups in it, I think, though never 100% sure about these things..!

Even with both the pups full on there is still this buzz..?
Click to expand...

if it has the buzz with both pickups full on, then you have a wiring issue.
 
#9
just look at this diagram and make sure that everything is wired exactly like it ( & check all the solder connections):

62_jazz_bass_wiring.jpg
 
#12
Randyt said:
My 62P RI did the same thing and within the first two weeks of me playing it ...I had completed a full cavity copper shielding...No hum / buzz etc. after that...I love it for gigging!
Click to expand...

Yup. When hum goes away when you touch ground (strings, jack body, control plate, etc.) that means it's a shielding problem. If the bass is shielded (copper or conductive paint) make sure the ground wire to the shield has not come loose! If there is no shielding then it needs it.

Sometimes Fender shielding leaves something to be desired. Copper shielding always fixes it.
 
#13
62' Reissues' pickup and control cavities are not shielded. There are plates under the pickups and in the control cavity, but they really don't do the job adequately. The basses are, however, supposed to be historically accurate.

I just did a copper foil shield job in my 62' Reissue for just this reason - when you aren't touching the strings, the bass would buzz to varying degrees depending upon the environment (varying presence of fluorescent lights, proximity to tv monitors, etc...). After the shield job, those buzzes are probably 99% gone when I'm not touching the strings!

Basically, what is happening is that the human body is an excellent antenna & whatever environmental noise you pick up is getting fed into the guitar's pickups. By doing a more comprehensive shield job behind & to the sides of the pickups, as well as the entire control cavity - you create a sort-of Faraday Cage around the pickups and electronics which blocks most (if not all) of the noise your body is generating.

See the following thread for instructions, or take it to a good repairman.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/jazz-shielding-pictorial-big-images-warning-159191/
 

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