Help me diagnose hum/hiss issue and decide what to do

[MMiller28]

I recently moved into my (our) first house, which allows me to play at much higher volumes after living in apartments for the past 12 years. With my increases to the Gain and Volume knobs has come a nasty high-pitched hum, almost a hiss, that occurs with my two Fender Jazz basses. My Precision and Stingray do not produce the sound.

The video gives a pretty good representation of the issue. You'll notice that the sound goes away when the bridge pickup is turned down. I was under the impression that single coil hum goes away when both pickups are all the way on.

The noise does not go away when I touch the strings or bridge. It intensifies when I touch the pole pieces in either pickup.

The bass is not shielded at all, though from what I've read on here, that only helps with the problem and doesn't eliminate it. I want it gone. Are humcancelling pickups the only answer, or is there a cheaper way that will preserve the current tone?

You may need to turn your volume up

 

[Badwater]

It doesn't sound to bad. Single coils will have a hum that's congruent with your AC power. Types of lights like fluorescent lights with powerful ballast can make the hum louder. I'm sure you had the house inspected by a pro before you bought it. I would check the grounding of the AC outlets with a common AC outlet tester just to make sure the wiring of the house is up to code.

Other than that, that type of hum is common with single coils. If your amp and bass don't have that same level of hum in another location, it could be your house.

 

[Reedt2000]

What else is in the room with you? I've heard TVs, computer monitors, certain light fixtures, and other devices cause interference like that. Even cell phones do wierd things if they are too close to your pickups. If you reposition the bass can you find spots where it goes away? Try strapping it on and slowly rotating to see if you can find a position where the noise doesn't happen. That may even let you narrow down the cause.

 

[Rabidhamster]

That sounds like an outdoor lighting ballast to me, but could be a monitor, PC fan, PC power supply, bathroom fan, or A/C unit. turn off everything in the area, inside and out. If there is a street lamp outside, move the amp somewhere else. If the neighbor has a Neon beer sign in their house the other side of that wall, go shut their power off too.
Some houses have wiring that are prone to hum as well, unfortunately. It'd be nice if it were limited to older houses, and often it is, but not always.

 

[MMiller28]

Ok, so I've tried everything suggested so far. Nothing eliminates the noise that appears in the video...Except moving the amp upstairs from the basement. Unfortunately, that is not a long term solution. The house is a ranch and we need the ground-floor rooms. I'm now even getting the noise with my Precision. I tried different basses with different cables. Some cables are quieter than others when there is no bass plugged in. When I connect any non-humbucker bass to any cable, I get the same sound. I've tried disconnecting the security system, which has sensors in the basement. I've tried shielding the municipal water-use transmitters (we have transmitters connected to our basement water system that send the meter info to city officials as they drive by to save them time). The problem is clearly our basement. I ordered an outlet tester to see if the outlets are properly grounded - they all are. There are no radio towers, etc. anywhere nearby. The house was built four years ago. I am completely at a loss and getting very upset.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I have a similar problem here at home & I just don't buy guitars or basses with single coil pickups anymore.
If I turn absolutely everything off, then it's fine, but as I turn things on, it just continues to get worse.

Stranger still, even with everything off, my kitchen is still noisy, and it's where I used to keep my big amp+head rig.
(yes, I even turned off power to the refrigerator & microwave)

add: I should have knocked on something wooden before mentioning this, because now I'm unable to get the NBC broadcast on my OTA antenna.
It will go out for periods, but usually it's fine 30 minutes later. Not tonight though, it's been down solid all evening.

 

[Reedt2000]

The noise is the same regardless of where in the basement you are and which way your bass is facing? I wonder if something like this might be the answer, it gets good reviews and is pretty affordable.

Furman Professional SS-6B Surge protector

 

[BassLife77]

its picking up something in the basement. maybe the electric/gas meters, water heater, or something else. a single coil pickup can act like a big AM antenna.

 

[MMiller28]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm really starting to think it's something in the basement that I, unfortunately, can't turn off because it is essential to the rest of the house.

I was just playing around with things a bit more, and noticed something interesting - though I don't know what it means. I have two amps plugged in in the room - my bass amp and a 5W guitar amp. The guitar amp currently has a cable plugged into the input, but no guitar on the other end. When I had my Jazz plugged into the bass amp (amp on) and I stepped on the unused end of the cable that is plugged into the guitar amp, everything went silent. No idea what that means, but obviously it means something! My first thought is grounding of outlets, but like I said above, I tested all the outlets and they are properly grounded.