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Buzz on a newly assembled bass....

T

tonynoriega

Jun 26, 2004
637
45
Tampa, Florida
www.
#1
I just finished assembling a bass - no-name P body with an '89 MIJ Jazz neck - I bought a set of Duncan P pickups/harness (all wired together). The pickguard has some shielding......a 1" strip running from the plug-in to the top pot. There IS a grounding wire routed to the bridge and making good contact.

I'm getting a buzzing. If I touch my hand to one of the pots, it mostly goes away.......anyone know what I did wrong???

Thanks in advance for your advice. Tony
 
#3
TrooperFarva said:
Is there shielding in the contral cavity? Does the buzzing also go away when you touch the strings? Are the pots grounded?
Click to expand...

There is no shielding in the cavity - just the strip on the underside of the pickguard. The buzzing does NOT go away when I touch the strings.....only when I touch the knob(s). I'm a novice here and don't know if the pots are grounded.....I assumed that the pickguard metalic strip was the grounding mechanism?

Thanks! Tony
 
#4
It sounds like you didn't run a ground wire from the bridge to the pot. When you touch the strings you become the ground eliminating the buzz. Also, because p-bass pickups are hum-cancelling sheilding isn't essential. It will help a little, but is generally more effective if you also have a jazz pickup which is a true single coil.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see your sentence about there being a ground wire to the bridge. Still, the most likely cause of this buzz is grounding. Double check all of the ground wires and if necessary run an extra ground between the two pots. Sometimes this helps.
 
#5
bassmanrocke said:
It sounds like you didn't run a ground wire from the bridge to the pot. When you touch the strings you become the ground eliminating the buzz. Also, because p-bass pickups are hum-cancelling sheilding isn't essential. It will help a little, but is generally more effective if you also have a jazz pickup which is a true single coil.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see your sentence about there being a ground wire to the bridge. Still, the most likely cause of this buzz is grounding. Double check all of the ground wires and if necessary run an extra ground between the two pots. Sometimes this helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will do a test, running a ground between the two pots, before I solder it on. I appreciate your input.
 

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