- All metals have continuity to the output Jack (including strings)
- All cavities are shielded with copper tape (including under the scratch plate!) with continuity to the output Jack
- All pots have continuity to the output Jack
- I’m using humbucking pickups into a Darkglass Tone Capsule.
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Buzzing that goes when I touch the strings‽
- Thread starter kyral210
- Start date
Google is your friend
(because it seems like TB people haven't been)
Understanding Guitar Grounding And Common Mistakes | Fralin Pickups
(because it seems like TB people haven't been)
Understanding Guitar Grounding And Common Mistakes | Fralin Pickups
First, I appreciate the link and gave it a good read.
the problem is I know all this. I know about good grounding and have already tested all pots and grounding for continuity to Earth, which it has at every point.
Found an interesting review on SW. Check what James from Staten Island NY had to say about the Tone Capsule:
Darkglass Tone Capsule Bass Preamp System Reviews | Sweetwater
Do you have access to an AM radio you can tune between stations? That can make a great tool to locate rqdiated noise, both inside and outside a dwelling. For outside a building, sometimes a car/truck AM radio will work, if you can get it to lock onto a weak station.
If you can record the noise into a DAW and then do a spectrum analysis of it, that might help narrow things down. Certain types of noise do leave their signatures.
You say you have continuity to earth... good. Have you checked the building's grounding rod and the clamp securing the braid from the main AC panel? Neutral and hot are not reversed? The ground screw on the outlet really is connected to ground, as opposed to just being jumpered to neutral? (That's called a "bootleg ground".) Typical outlet testers may not flag that situation.
Apologies in advance if you already know this stuff.
Darkglass Tone Capsule Bass Preamp System Reviews | Sweetwater
Do you have access to an AM radio you can tune between stations? That can make a great tool to locate rqdiated noise, both inside and outside a dwelling. For outside a building, sometimes a car/truck AM radio will work, if you can get it to lock onto a weak station.
If you can record the noise into a DAW and then do a spectrum analysis of it, that might help narrow things down. Certain types of noise do leave their signatures.
You say you have continuity to earth... good. Have you checked the building's grounding rod and the clamp securing the braid from the main AC panel? Neutral and hot are not reversed? The ground screw on the outlet really is connected to ground, as opposed to just being jumpered to neutral? (That's called a "bootleg ground".) Typical outlet testers may not flag that situation.
Apologies in advance if you already know this stuff.
You just helped me uncover a boneheaded grounding mistake I just made, thank you!
I removed the pickups to see if I could add foam to raise them, and screwed up the foil under the front pickup. I remembered the Lobster video about shielding issues with the Guild Starfire I, so I thought I would line the cavity with copper tape and shield + ground at the same time. So, I ended up with two screws for each pickup cover going into the same copper, creating a loop. I’ve since reopened the cavities and removed copper that could touch the pickups except for the one (original) screw so I have shielding but no ground loop. But… it didn’t seem to help, and I’ve noticed my other bass has just as big a grounding issue. So basically, I probably need to take both to a luthier and find out if both need work, or if both have an expected level of hum and I should just keep a finger touching metal.
You cannot create loops with grounding. Let me explain.
Yes, a loop of wire can pickup RF noise. But that loop shunts all signals to ground. Any interference is removed.
A ground loop can occur when there are two or more separate paths to earth (e.g., your effects power and your amp power). The ground lift on your DI serves to break the connection between these two grounds, so lifts a section and breaks the loop. therefore you cannot have a ground loop in your bass because there is only one path to earth.
Any fluorescent lights in your vicinity? How about lights on dimmer switches? That's nearly always been the culprit for my buzzing issues (in my old house anyhow). I turn off the lights (or put them on full if they are on a dimmer) and the buzz subsides. Also see if you face a different direction, if the buzzing changes. I think it's probably some kind of local interference, which seems pretty common in my experience. But I'm no expert.
I think part of the problem was my rig.
Onboard EQ > compression > preamp with gain > amp sim > cab sim > compression.
I turned the amp sim off and the buzzing was less. There’s know there is more to it as my humbucker guitar was deadly silent through the rig and yet my humbucking bass buzzed… but now I can live with it.
Actually, I prefer the non amp sim version. As all compressions and the bass preamp have blends, I preserve some of that clean signal and get closer to parallel processing. I know it’s not, but it’s closer without the amp sim.
Onboard EQ > compression > preamp with gain > amp sim > cab sim > compression.
I turned the amp sim off and the buzzing was less. There’s know there is more to it as my humbucker guitar was deadly silent through the rig and yet my humbucking bass buzzed… but now I can live with it.
Actually, I prefer the non amp sim version. As all compressions and the bass preamp have blends, I preserve some of that clean signal and get closer to parallel processing. I know it’s not, but it’s closer without the amp sim.
