Grounding issue?

[jondog]

Hi, I've got a BC Rich Warlock Widow w/ double p pickups. If I plug it in and turn everything up it's silent, but as soon as a I touch the strings there is a buzz. Is this a grounding issue? I was thinking about removing the bridge and confirming that the ground wire is contacting the bridge. Good plan or . . . ?

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Nope, the ground is fine. The fact the hum goes away when you touch metal means the bass requires shielding. If the ground was off the noise would get louder when you touch metal. Give the bass a proper shielding job and the hum will stop.

 

[quickfix]

He said it hums when he touches the strings.

The bridge ground is ok or there would've been no change when you touched the strings. There is still a grounding issue however. A wire or solder connection has come loose or not making appropriate contact.

First thing to do though before you open her up is to try another guitar cable or cord.
If the problem is still there try another guitar. If the problem is still there...fix your amp.
If the problem goes away with another guitar then it truly is your bass that's wonky and needs some work.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

He said it hums when he touches the strings.

The bridge ground is ok or there would've been no change when you touched the strings. There is still a grounding issue however. A wire or solder connection has come loose or not making appropriate contact.

First thing to do though before you open her up is to try another guitar cable or cord.
If the problem is still there try another guitar. If the problem is still there...fix your amp.
If the problem goes away with another guitar then it truly is your bass that's wonky and needs some work.

Bah... good call. Early morning posting.

Thanks for the correction.

I would still check the bridge ground, it is usually the culprit in these situations.

 

[quickfix]

Well?

 

[jondog]

I opened it up and thought I found the problem when the wiring on the tone knob didn't match my Basslines diagram. When I wired it correctly it seemed silent, then when I played it it turned out that the tone knob now worked backwards, so what I thought had worked was only the tone turned all the way down to eliminate hum. So, now I'm thinking about replacing the tone knob. If that doesn't work I may try wiring pickups directly to the output to see if they hum on their own.