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Buzzing J-Retro 01

DCFanatic

DCFanatic

Feb 19, 2012
46
48
Ontario, Canada
#1
Hi All,

I recently picked up a used Lakland 44-60 with a J Retro 01 installed and Nordstrand NJ4SE hum-cancelling pickups.

When I play any notes on this bass I get a weird & annoying buzzing that accompanies the note. When the note dies off, the buzzing stops. When my hands aren't touching the bass, there is no noise either, just when a note is played. Any suggestions here?

I have to use a parametric EQ at all times, set at the 7.0kHz mark with a high Q value to narrow down the pesky buzzing frequency. Anyway, this sucks because I can't just plug and play into any amp.

In the sound file attached, the first two notes are played with the parametric eq applied, then what follows is the sound without the EQ and you should notice the buzzing.

Thanks!
 

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#2
Have you checked any of the standard problem spots?

- Fresh battery
- Pickup height correct (not too high)
- No bad connections in the wiring

Might want to contact East and see what they think too. When I've had this issue with my own DIY preamps it has typically been a component or soldering problem in the preamp itself.
 
#4
Slater said:
What that sounds like, in the attached recording, is a signal that's too hot for the input of your amplification/recording device.
Click to expand...
John East's pre-amps do have adjustable gains for each pickup (at least my Uni-Pre does), so that could very well be the issue. If the J-Retro also has adjustable gains, it would be pretty easy to test and find out if this is the problem Just a twist of a screwdriver on the user-adjustable gains.
 
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#5
Thanks for the advice so far. I've played with the pickup height and I have the gain set as low as possible on the pre-amp.

I confirmed that the signal is not too hot and I've tried plugging the bass into a few different amps, my HX STOMP and direct into my XR18 mixer. The buzzing still happens regardless of the combo.
 

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