Epiphone Jack Casady—Strange Pickup Issue

[MdC64]

This might be a lengthy description of the issue.
I purchased the bass new in September and it’s been great. No problems.
I have been playing the bass all last week and on Friday evening I picked it up and started playing unplugged.
The D string suddenly has a distortion sound—mostly open string and frets 1-5, but is also heard on other frets when plucking over the pickup and between pickup and bridge. Just the D string.
No distortion sound when plugged in, plucking close to the neck and when bass is on its back.
I tapped on G side of pickup while plucking string and the distortion turns to clean. If the string sounds clean, when tapping on pup, the sound turns to distorted. Keep in mind that the bass is unplugged during this trippy behavior.
Pickup height has been fine but I raised and lowered with no change.
I have the hard case and the bass hasn’t been banged or anything like that.
Epiphone has a lifetime warranty so I’m hesitant to take things apart right now. Plus I’m not too sure what to look for.
I’d also have to go through the process of returning, etc. which is a bummer.
I use a little overdrive when playing live and plugged in but it’s weird hearing it unplugged.
All other electronics on the bass work fine.
Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Kdog]

Hmmm, though I have a JC myself, I am probably not the most “wizened” person to answer this, but I am hopeful you get this resolved.

It definitely sounds like their might be some kind of short/loose wiring issue with the pickup for sure. Do you have a local luthier that might be able to check and either make the fix (if it’d be cheap) or confirm a return?

 

[MdC64]

Hmmm, though I have a JC myself, I am probably not the most “wizened” person to answer this, but I am hopeful you get this resolved.

It definitely sounds like their might be some kind of short/loose wiring issue with the pickup for sure. Do you have a local luthier that might be able to check and either make the fix (if it’d be cheap) or confirm a return?

Thanks.
Yes, I do have a real good luthier that would look at it for me. I purchased at Guitar Center and would have to go through them for the return process if I went that route. They would probably have their tech look at it first to confirm, but I’d much rather keep the bass with me and get it looked at/repaired by someone I know and trust.

 

[ctmullins]

You’re hearing distortion when unplugged?

Then it’s not an electrical issue. I suspect you’re hearing something rattling or buzzing mechanically.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Jack Casady may still have his set up specs for that bass on his website. I had a heck of a time with mine until I dialed it in per his specs, then mine. I suggest getting new strings and have a set up performed per his specs and go from there. I don’t have mine anymore because the body was too big for me.

Jack Casady Epiphone Bass | Jack Casady

 

[MdC64]

You’re hearing distortion when unplugged?
Yes.

Then it’s not an electrical issue. I suspect you’re hearing something rattling or buzzing mechanically.

I am finding it very strange especially since the D string changes when I tap the G side of the pickup.
This morning I took the pickup out and the wires are fine.

 

[MdC64]

Jack Casady may still have his set up specs for that bass on his website. I had a heck of a time with mine until I dialed it in per his specs, then mine. I suggest getting new strings and have a set up performed per his specs and go from there. I don’t have mine anymore because the body was too big for me.

Jack Casady Epiphone Bass | Jack Casady

Thanks.
I’ve had the bass since September and used Jack’s specs as well as some Talkbass searches for the set up process.
I have it dialed in just right, at least for me.
When the issue started I checked the tuners, tightened any loose screws, neck relief, string height, the action at the nut and slots, intonation, pickup height, bridge slots. I took the bridge off and inspected it and the bolts. Nothing changed. Nothing is loose. Shook the bass, quiet.
I changed out strings with no success.
Lastly, I moved to the pickup and began tapping and noticed the string sound changing when tapping the G string side.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Thanks.
I’ve had the bass since September and used Jack’s specs as well as some Talkbass searches for the set up process.
I have it dialed in just right, at least for me.
When the issue started I checked the tuners, tightened any loose screws, neck relief, string height, the action at the nut and slots, intonation, pickup height, bridge slots. I took the bridge off and inspected it and the bolts. Nothing changed. Nothing is loose. Shook the bass, quiet.
I changed out strings with no success.
Lastly, I moved to the pickup and began tapping and noticed the string sound changing when tapping the G string side.

It does sound like a bad pickup. If it’s new, then I’d return it or contact Epiphone for a warranty issue.

 

[MdC64]

Thanks for responses. I’m going to continue investigating the issue. Much appreciated.

 

[JohnnyBottom]

take pickguard off. see if related, especially if pickguard touching pickup

 

[littlebun]

This might be a lengthy description of the issue.
I purchased the bass new in September and it’s been great. No problems.
I have been playing the bass all last week and on Friday evening I picked it up and started playing unplugged.
The D string suddenly has a distortion sound—mostly open string and frets 1-5, but is also heard on other frets when plucking over the pickup and between pickup and bridge. Just the D string.
No distortion sound when plugged in, plucking close to the neck and when bass is on its back.
I tapped on G side of pickup while plucking string and the distortion turns to clean. If the string sounds clean, when tapping on pup, the sound turns to distorted. Keep in mind that the bass is unplugged during this trippy behavior.
Pickup height has been fine but I raised and lowered with no change.
I have the hard case and the bass hasn’t been banged or anything like that.
Epiphone has a lifetime warranty so I’m hesitant to take things apart right now. Plus I’m not too sure what to look for.
I’d also have to go through the process of returning, etc. which is a bummer.
I use a little overdrive when playing live and plugged in but it’s weird hearing it unplugged.
All other electronics on the bass work fine.
Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I had a odd sounding D on one of my basses, that was fixed by turning the D bridge saddle screw until the saddle was moved all the way forward o. I then adjusted the D saddle screw backwards moving it back to the regular position. This worked on a set of rounds.

 

[KidAmnesia]

Does it still "distort" when you plug it?

Buzzing sounds on an unplugged instrument are mechanical vibrations. It must be either something that resonates at a certain frequency and rattles against something else, or there's something wrong with that D string or with something attached to it mechanically. But for sure it's not an electronics problem.

Does it distort just with the open D string or also when fretting anywhere on that string?

If tapping the g side pf the pu makes itnstop, my first suspect would be the spring on that side of the pu.

 

[MdC64]

take pickguard off. see if related, especially if pickguard touching pickup

Tried…no luck. Thanks.

Edit: @JohnnyBottom I went back and was feeling around the body of the bass while plucking and when touching the pickguard, the distortion mellowed like when touching the pickup. I took the pickguard off again and so far so good but will continue to troubleshoot. I’m glad it’s not the actual pickup malfunctioning after all (at least I hope). Thanks.

 

[MdC64]

Does it still "distort" when you plug it?

Buzzing sounds on an unplugged instrument are mechanical vibrations. It must be either something that resonates at a certain frequency and rattles against something else, or there's something wrong with that D string or with something attached to it mechanically. But for sure it's not an electronics problem.

Does it distort just with the open D string or also when fretting anywhere on that string?

If tapping the g side pf the pu makes itnstop, my first suspect would be the spring on that side of the pu.

No distortion when plugged in.

I tried a couple different D strings and no change.

Open D and fretting all along the fretboard.

I took out the pickup and the wires/solder looked good. The Casady pup is sealed underneath so I can’t see much more.
I adjusted the pickup height screws but no change.
I’ll look closer at the springs.

I appreciate your response.

 

[MdC64]

I had a odd sounding D on one of my basses, that was fixed by turning the D bridge saddle screw until the saddle was moved all the way forward o. I then adjusted the D saddle screw backwards moving it back to the regular position. This worked on a set of rounds.

Thanks. Tried…no change.

 

[SDC1-ClickClack]

Before I bought my pre-owned JCB 20th Anniversary edition, a good friend kindly loaned me his black JCB so I could try it out and see if I liked the neck, body, and tone. When playing his JCB unplugged, I kept hearing a subtle but distracting high "overtone" on certain notes. I was never able to pinpoint the cause, although I knew that it obviously had to be something physically vibrating in response to certain acoustic frequencies.

His JCB had been modified to add a pair of Dark Star pickups with their own separate jack and volume & tone knobs, plus a mini-toggle switch to control which pickups were currently selected. Unfortunately, I could never determine whether the audible vibration tone was related to those additions, or to any of the standard OEM hardware, or even to the strings themselves. Nothing seemed to be loose.

There is a Jack Casady Bass Players Club thread here on TB. You may want to post your question about this elusive distorted acoustic sound in that lengthy thread to see if any of our fellow JCB owners have encountered similar issues. It might be useful for you or someone else to apply light stabilizing pressure against the pickup cover, pickup ring, pickguard, and other hardware elements one at a time while playing, to see whether that instantly silences or reduces the sound you are hearing when playing acoustically. I would also recommend confirming that the jack is screwed in tightly, as I ended up having mine replaced after it kept becoming loose far too easily.

Good luck!

 

[mellowgerman]

I see you mention adjusting pickup height, but what if you remove the pickup, turn it upside down, and look closely at the springs? Maybe those are vibrating.

 

[Engle]

If it's making the sound when not plugged in, something is rattling. It's a matter of finding what it is. You may need another person to press on various parts (of the bass) while you play.

 

[rickdog]

I was sure @JohnnyBottom had nailed it - because I've had that exact problem on mine. But you took the pickguard entirely off and it's still happening?

Since it happens with the open D string, you have a hand free to try touching/pressing various items on the bass while plucking with the other hand. You could also try leaning down close to the body and listening to try to locate the source.

I think I've seen comments over on the JACK CASADY BASS PLAYERS CLUB! about the mounting screws for the pickup ring being a little... sketchy. Like they don't all hold the ring down very securely. Maybe?

 

[MdC64]

I see you mention adjusting pickup height, but what if you remove the pickup, turn it upside down, and look closely at the springs? Maybe those are vibrating.

Thanks. I’ll take a look at the springs.