Hum: Cable, Pre-Amp, or P/Us?

[Sufenta]

I just put in a J-Retro into my Cote Continuum with Fralin pickups. The sound from the J-Retro is incredible!, but I notice that when I move away from my amp (using a Monster 20') I get a progressively louder hum. When I move back to within 5' or so the hum pretty much goes away. Of course the hum is much more noticeable when the treble or mids are cranked up. Any ideas?

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Sounds like 60-cycle (magnetostriction) hum. It's the pickups (and the reason humbuckers were invented). A ground lift or noisegate will help.

 

[Sufenta]

Thanks. So should HB/HC pickups like Nordies completely eliminate that 60sec. hum? That would give me the perfect excuse to drop a set of those in.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Any humbucking pickup will take care of 60-cycle hum, yep. You can also lift the ground (just be careful not to shock yourself). Lots of DIs have ground-lifts built in. Is it that bad? Jazz basses are infamous for having hum but that doesn't stop people from loving them. Lots of guitars (Telecasters, Strats in position 1, 3 and 5) hum, too, but most people don't care much, unless they are recording (in which case you can control it, anyway).

 

[Sufenta]

You can also lift the ground (just be careful not to shock yourself). Is it that bad?

How do you lift the ground? I'm used to having a ground lift on the line out of my amps, but apart from that, how is it done? And, yes, its pretty noticeable since I put in the J-Retro, but as I said, within about 3-5' of my amp it goes almost completely away. Its annoying enough to make me reach for another bass. My only other active bass, SR4, is dead quiet, and all of my other passives are quiet.