• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Buzzing!!!!

Ive had this problem for a while now... I have a DBX 166xl Compressor sitting on top of a GK Backline 600 with a GLX 4x10 Cab. Im playing a Fender MIM Deluxe Jazz 4 string through a tuner and a chorus pedal.
4479076c.jpg

For some reason i get buzzing like crazy. Its not to bad but just enough to annoy the tar out of me. When i play i have to hold my hand on my strings and it goes away till i start playing. It goes away if i touch anything metal on my guitar or if i touch my compressor. Any ideas????
 
For some reason i get buzzing like crazy...It goes away if i touch anything metal on my guitar or if i touch my compressor. Any ideas????
It's normal. If it did not go away when you touch the strings or bridge then you'd have a problem. With a JBass it will be minimized if you run both pickups at the same volume, which puts them into humbucking mode.
 
It's normal. If it did not go away when you touch the strings or bridge then you'd have a problem. With a JBass it will be minimized if you run both pickups at the same volume, which puts them into humbucking mode.

Yes i do. The deluxe doesn't have separate volume nobs. Just one nob that has a tick in the middle that it sticks and and you can go one way for one pickup and the other way for another...

I will try all these things and get back to yall.
 
I noticed the same buzzing when i put a furman on my amp, did you have the buzzing before you added the compressor?
A compressor, or any pedal for that matter, could elevate the noise floor of the system and make normal background noise even more obvious. And you should not use any 'power conditioners' on an amp, though a 20 ampere rated power strip is OK.
 
man.....hums can drive me crazy...trying to rectify.

One thing though. ..please excuse the caps: YOU MUST plug straight into the amp, without any effects. Also, make sure nothing else is plugged into the same AC circuit. What is that blue light behind your rig??

Your pedals- I notice they're running on AC power. This can invite ground loop hum.

Also, pay attention to what Bill M. posted above.

In the end- get EVERYTHING else out of the signal chain and see if it still hums.

Also, you didn't tell us if this bass hummed before. I'll still bet a Chinese lunch that it is a grounding issue on the bass. ...based on the fact that when you touch it, it stops.
 
Hi folks,

New kid on the block here looking for a spot of advice. I have hefty humming issue with a bass I recently had made for me. Just a P bass style with a SD quarter pounder but the hum is unbearable. I either go straight to amp (via my Boss tuning pedal) or occasionally thru a ODB-3, but this bass is really p***ing me off. Should I shield the back of the pickguard with copper or solder a grounding wire somewhere? Sorry to hijack your thread, CameronF. :-)
 
Hi folks,

New kid on the block here looking for a spot of advice. I have hefty humming issue with a bass I recently had made for me. Just a P bass style with a SD quarter pounder but the hum is unbearable. I either go straight to amp (via my Boss tuning pedal) or occasionally thru a ODB-3, but this bass is really p***ing me off. Should I shield the back of the pickguard with copper or solder a grounding wire somewhere? Sorry to hijack your thread, CameronF. :-)
Shielding isn't a bad idea, but it's not going to fix something that's just plain AFU. PBass pickups when properly wired are humbucking, so if it hums the wiring may be wrong. And all passive pickups rely on your body as a capacitive noise shunt, which occurs when you touch the bridge or strings. If the noise level doesn't drop drastically when you do so probably the controls ground is not connected via a wire to the bridge as it should be.
 
Shielding isn't a bad idea, but it's not going to fix something that's just plain AFU. PBass pickups when properly wired are humbucking, so if it hums the wiring may be wrong. And all passive pickups rely on your body as a capacitive noise shunt, which occurs when you touch the bridge or strings. If the noise level doesn't drop drastically when you do so probably the controls ground is not connected via a wire to the bridge as it should be.

Hey Bill,
Thanks for the advice. I'll investigate the issue a bit further. There seems to be a click/pop sound when I do touch the strings/bridge/tuners. If I have to solder a grounding wire to the bridge, where does the other end connect to?
:-)