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Dang Noisy Jaguar!!!

#21
Orpheus55 said:
I'd likely have been better off staying old school and getting a standard J-bass again, as it seems Fender doesn't do active very well.
Click to expand...

Fender is interested in the bottom line... they use the cheapest parts they can get for all their lower cost instruments. The preamp in the Marcus Miller bass is also not very good. Miller's real bass has a Bartolini preamp... Fender could have used those as well.

Geddy Lee complained about the quality of the tuners on his signature bass... he said they wouldn't stay in tune.

And many of the low end pickups are not made anything like the real ones... they have molded plastic bobbins and use steel poles and ceramic magnets. That's not bad in itself, but it's not how the originals were made, and they wont sound the same.

This is not to say Fender doesn't make any good instruments. But people shouldn't expect boutique quality from them.

Best thing you can probably do with a Jaguar is rip out all the electronics and put in some high quality after market pickups and preamp. It's a sweet looking bass... I want one myself!
 
#22
DavidRavenMoon said:
Fender is interested in the bottom line... they use the cheapest parts they can get for all their lower cost instruments. The preamp in the Marcus Miller bass is also not very good. Miller's real bass has a Bartolini preamp... Fender could have used those as well.

Geddy Lee complained about the quality of the tuners on his signature bass... he said they wouldn't stay in tune.

And many of the low end pickups are not made anything like the real ones... they have molded plastic bobbins and use steel poles and ceramic magnets. That's not bad in itself, but it's not how the originals were made, and they wont sound the same.

This is not to say Fender doesn't make any good instruments. But people shouldn't expect boutique quality from them.

Best thing you can probably do with a Jaguar is rip out all the electronics and put in some high quality after market pickups and preamp. It's a sweet looking bass... I want one myself!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the sound advice; I put some bassline vintage pups in, and did the shielding things as well, and it's fine now. Read your profile; great background. I've been playing since the 60's too and still love it.
 
#24
I don't recall any pictures, but I did participate in a discussion about this back in May of '07 after I bought mine. At that time (not sure if they still are), the cavities were coated with conductive paint and the pickguard had shielding on the back of it. The problem was the cavities were not connected (electrically). The generally accepted fix back then was to run some copper (or other conductive tape) from cavity to cavity while said tape also made contact with the pickguard shielding. You might pop the pickguard on yours and have a look, if you haven't done so already.
 
#26
Orpheus55 said:
I was being facetious; it was a big expenditure for me. I'd likely have been better off staying old school and getting a standard J-bass again, as it seems Fender doesn't do active very well. My ATK700 is dead quiet, by contrast. I will go through all the fixes so geenrously posted here and will hopefully impart some constructive material in the end. Thanks, everyone. By the way, Fender has been understanding:o and has promised to work with me on any repairs or exchanges going forward.
Click to expand...

Turning the preamp switch off makes the jag a passive bass, just like a regular J bass. The ATK is going to be quieter because it doesn't have single coil pups. The best fix I've heard is to make a copper loop slightly bigger than the channel where the wires run to the top switches so that when you screw down the pickguard, the copper loop touched the pickguard back to the sheilded control cavity. Several people have reported this fixing their problem and it's very easy to do. Hope that helps your problem.
 
#28
rllefebv said:
Sorry... I guess the proper thing would have been to post here... I love these basses!!

Mine did the same thing... Very easy shielding fix. All of the cavities are shielded with graphite paint straight from the factory, the guard is also very well shielded. All that is missing, is that the cavity paint never comes in contact with the pickguard, (think 'Farraday Cage'). I put several small strips of conductive copper shielding tape connecting the cavities, which were then able to contact the pickguard. Instant quiet, (well, as quiet as you'd expect from a well shielded J)... I used a bit of extra tape just above the pre-amp for good measure...

One very big symptom that I found... Even with the battery out so that there was zero signal when the preamp was switched on, I was getting a huge hum... That was totally removed with this little bit of added shielding... I did lay the tape so that there was good contact between each cavity, (preamp controls, pickup switches, control pots) and their respective covers... You can get the shielding tape in 3/4" width at well stocked electrical shops, or the 2" width from StewMac.

Hope this helps.

-robert
Click to expand...

Added the pic for good measure...

-robert
 

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#31
WOW!!!

I've owned my Jag for a couple years now, and just dealt with the noise/hum issue. (actually, I didn't use the bass much, so it wasn't much of an issue)

Just did this "mod". Ordered some copper foil sheets off ebay, and I was extremely happy to see I didn't even need to take the strings off. Just a bunch of small screws, a pair of scissors, and cut pieces pretty much like the pic above - making sure to get each cavity connected, and then I also connected each cavity to the pickguard, and covered up the preamp area with copper foil as well (assuming that copper does a better shielding job than the aluminum (?) foil on there from the factory).

Took very little time, no chance to really mess up, and the results? Dead quiet! Crazy!

I cranked the preamp up to 10 on both dials, and had the volume up on the amp - only a slight hum audible (and if I had actually played a note, I would have put myself into the other room I had the volume up so loud).

In passive mode, the thing is even more quiet. And putting the pickups in humbucking mode makes it sound as if it's off when not playing a note. It's like a new bass to me!
 
#34
ashtray said:
Just did this "mod". Ordered some copper foil sheets off ebay, and I was extremely happy to see I didn't even need to take the strings off. Just a bunch of small screws, a pair of scissors, and cut pieces pretty much like the pic above - making sure to get each cavity connected, and then I also connected each cavity to the pickguard, and covered up the preamp area with copper foil as well (assuming that copper does a better shielding job than the aluminum (?) foil on there from the factory).

Took very little time, no chance to really mess up, and the results? Dead quiet! Crazy!

In passive mode, the thing is even more quiet. And putting the pickups in humbucking mode makes it sound as if it's off when not playing a note. It's like a new bass to me!
Click to expand...

Ordered a Jag. I HATE, I mean HATE 60 cycle hum. My apartment also has wiring that makes any passive bass roar. I'm going to need to do this mod for sure. Not too experienced with this stuff so I need to get it all straight.

1st: What did you need the screws for?

2nd: Will this do the trick and is it enough? http://cgi.ebay.com/Conductive-Copp...ries?hash=item439a462627&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

3rd: Can someone just clarify (possibly in simple steps like in an idiots guide) exactly what has to be done? I'm not sure I comletely understand. Do I just bunch up the foil, stick it in each compartment, and then tape up the pickguard so it makes contact with all the pieces I bunched up? Any clarifications appreciated. :)

Thanks for the help.
 
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#35
Sorry - my post was a little vague. Here's the step by step:

1. Remove the screws holding on the plastic pickguard, as well as the screws holding on the metal covers for the 3 other areas where there are switches.
2. Remove the pickguard (you can leave the strings tuned up and everything).
3. On the back side of the pickguard, cover the area that goes over the preamp and wiring with copper foil tape. Just peel the backing off the tape and stick it on the underside of the pickguard.
4. Cut little pieces of copper foil tape.
5. Lift up on the metal control cavities and put a piece of copper foil tape from the inside of the cavity out to the body, under where the pickguard would cover. (make sure you're using a double sided conductivity tape, otherwise fold the corner over on the tape to make sure you have a good contact)
6. On the underside of the pickguard, use pieces of copper foil tape to connect all the cavities together. Just peel and stick it to the back of the pickguard. When you're done, most of the underside of the pickguard should be covered in copper.
7. Screw it back together. Make sure the foil tape from the cavities are making contact with the tape on the underside of the pickguard.

Enjoy!
 
#37
It's just about a month. Got my noisy Jaguar. Got a new question too.

1st, it seems the OP never posted back regarding whether he was cured or not.

2nd, my problem is like his and I was wondering if the cure will work. It's definitely a grounding thing... when I touch the strings all is kinda OK, if I let go it's, well, ridiculous. The hum is louder than an open E.

My question, in short. Should I apply the cure, or is this a wiring problem? Once I start fotsin (I never typed that word before) with the copper tape I won't feel so good about returning it if I have to. Oh yeah, aside from the buzzing crap this thing looks and sounds amazing. Gonna go post in the other thread now. Please respond and let me know if I should start unscrewing things. Thanks.
 
#39
Joe Nerve said:
It's just about a month. Got my noisy Jaguar. Got a new question too.

1st, it seems the OP never posted back regarding whether he was cured or not.

2nd, my problem is like his and I was wondering if the cure will work. It's definitely a grounding thing... when I touch the strings all is kinda OK, if I let go it's, well, ridiculous. The hum is louder than an open E.

My question, in short. Should I apply the cure, or is this a wiring problem? Once I start fotsin (I never typed that word before) with the copper tape I won't feel so good about returning it if I have to. Oh yeah, aside from the buzzing crap this thing looks and sounds amazing. Gonna go post in the other thread now. Please respond and let me know if I should start unscrewing things. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sorry. Just want to make sure my question doesn't get overlooked. And I'll add to the above post that I think the electronics actually sound pretty cool. Old school vintage, plus some punchy to almost sizzly new school stuff happenin here.
 

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