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Boss NS-2 and new bass...do I need an ISP

theholeinthings

theholeinthings

Dec 1, 2012
69
11
Carbondale, Illinois
#1
I just got an 80s Fender Jazz Bass Special with the P/J pups and I really like the sounds I can get having both pups, but when I use both pups together or just the jazz pup it gets a little bit noisey when I'm not playing. It isn't really bad until I turn on my dirt pedals but it gets pretty squeally even when I turn on my Fuzzrocious Demon which is set to an always on low drive. It gets especially bad if I turn on my Rat Tail, Grey Stache, or Heliotropic. I'm already running all of my dirt pedals in a Boss NS-2 chain to help with the noise but it doesn't help if I want to use the jazz pickup soloed or with the precision pup. Just to clarify, my noise problem is not an issue if I use just the precision pup. So the noise is the result of a noisey jazz pup. I don't really wanna have to switch out the pup unless I absolutely have to.

Anyways, I wanted to know if the ISP Decimator or G String would help with my problem? I don't really wanna spend the $$$ on a G String so I'm hoping the Decimator will work. If the Decimator would work, or even the G String, how would you guys run them to combatant noisey pickups and varied amounts of dirt? My current rig is as follows: Fender Jazz Bass Special > Tuner > NS-2 (with chain as follows: Demon > Rat Tail > Grey Stache > Heliotropic) > DD-3 > GK 800RB. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!
 
#2
The jazz pickup is single coil which is why it's noisy when soloed. I assume blending the two together fixes the noise issues, right?

The way you have your NS-2 set up is the way I have my Decimator G-String set up so I'm not sure what the issue is. I've heard the NS-2 is a terrible tone suck anyway, so I'd recommend moving over to an ISP pedal. I don't think the Decimator will do what you want it to do - needs to be the G String to have the external loop capability so you can set the threshold based on your clean bass tone. I go into my compressor before the G String which helps I think. I have no noise no matter what pickup I am on (although my jazz pups are also noisy when soloed - I can only hear the noise while playing). I have massive amounts of gain dialed up in my pedals and it's completely quiet in between notes.

The G String is a revelation - I'd like to upgrade to the 2 soon.
 
#3
I'm pretty sure it was still noisey when I used both pups but I will have to double check tomorrow. I know for a fact it was quite when I used just the precision pup though. I'm also going to try hooking up the NS-2 at the front of my chain and end of my chain with no loop and see if that does anything for the pup noise. It probably won't though. Also, everybody talks about the tone suck of the NS-2 but I honestly don't notice it. Why wouldn't the Decimator work? I know it doesn't have the loop but I figure it has got to be more effective than the NS-2 due to the price tag and overall praise on here.
 

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