Ground wire from bridge needed?

When you let go of the strings you should get very anoying buzz.

 

The answer is yes and no. If you have passive pickups, then YES! Otherwise you will get a buzz when you let go of the strings.

If you have active pickups (no, an onboard preamp doesnt make them active, were talking EMG's) then no, you dont need it.

 

Switching out EMGs for some Nordstrands tomorrow. I've been shielding today to ensure that I don't need that bridge ground. While I also got myself an outlet tester to keep in the case, I'd rather be safe than dead.

In other news, the Cold Heat soldering iron isn't all that great.

 

hey i have a wire going to the bridge but i still get the anoying buzz when i let go of the strings? i do not mean to hi-jack the thread but could i get a few pointers on what to check out now for?

 

bump

 

Possible loose/cold solder ground wire somewhere. If you have a multimeter, check the continuity between the outside of the output jack and bridge. Should be 0 ohms.

 

It could be shielding that's required, or just a case of where the other end of that wire is connected.

 

Actually, the bridge ground wire is what stops the buzzing when you are touching the strings.
If you're experiencing excessive buzz, either your bass isn't shielded well or your A/C power source isn't grounded properly.

Single coil pickups are more prone to buzz by nature.

 

If you have a buzz when you have fingers on the strings, then your bass is probably not well grounded, if at all, but when fingers let go of strings/hardware and buzz starts, is not possible to fix, that's the evil ghost in the room ...

D.Don

 

Dimmers can be the culprit. Bad dimmers generate a lot of electro-magnetic interference, particularly when not on max.

 

You have a jazz bass, it is normal for your pickups to hum when they are soloed or both are not full on at the same time. When both volume are full, the hum should be cancelled.

 

even when both the volumes are at max or equal my bass hums when i am not touching any hardware on it, as soon as i do the hum goes away. so would shielding the bass fix this issue?
btw, this happens every venue i have played at

 

Doh, I read "Drummers can be the culprit" ....

say no more..

D.Don

 

True dat! Bad drummers generate a lot of interference.

 

bump!

 

well? some one please help

 

I just played a gig like this. The amp buzzed a little at the rehearsal house, but they had dimmers in their ceiling. They turned them off, the buzz went away. They turned on the usual fluorescents, and the buzz came back, but not as bad.

Get to the gig the next night, and we go through sound check - buzzing like crazy. Sound guy (for the club) tells me to reverse my ground. Did (I put my amp's powercord into a 3 to 2 prong adapter and flipped it around since the amp (Ashdown) doesn't have a polarity reverse switch), and the buzz was still there. I told him, "I'll bet your lights are on dimmers" -they were. Told him I can't do anything about it. Turns out the lighting was running on the same circuit that my amp was plugged into.

You might want to consider getting a polarity reverse direct box - http://elderly.com//accessories/items/DBGL.htm. That's on my list to get at some point in the future.

Z

 

Since you're in New Delhi - thought you'd like to know that our fiddle player (a Celtic Rock group) is a guy named Bob Banerjee - born in Punjab and emigrated here when he was a child. Most awesome fiddle player I know...toured with Gaelic Storm for a year and half.

His joke is that he plays a lot with country bands, so he's the only Indian among the Cowboys.

Hope the ground reverse helps. Shiedling/grounding is a pain in the rear - really depends on the workmanship, so sometimes a luthier (or someone really good with electronics) is the only solution.

Z

 

I have fully active EMG's with no ground wire from the bridge. I play on large stages with loads of lamps and wireless connections, and electromagnetic interference.

I never get any buzzing in any way.