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Ibanez Prestige Series - Electric Buzz?

jweiss

jweiss

Jul 5, 2007
562
40
Park City, Utah
www.sci.utah.edu
#1
I'm looking for a new bass and tried a bunch of different ones. I decided on an Ibanez SR1005. I tried a SR1005EFM (maple body) in the store and I really liked it, but 1) I wanted the model with the mahogany body, and 2) the SR1005EFM in the store had an annoying buzz coming through the amp from the bass. So I had the shop order a SR1005EWN.

Well it came in today and it is beautiful, but guess what - it has the same damn annoying buzz! It sounds like a small fly's wings. With all preamp adjustments neutral, the pickup blender knob showed that the buzz was mostly from the neck pickup. It is not altered by grounding/touching the strings. We then pulled two other Ibanez prestige basses off the wall (SR1000EFM, SR1006EFM), and they did the same thing. Then we tried a few other basses (Warwick, MTD) and they were quiet through the same amp/cable.

The shop owner took off the back cover and checked to make sure that the pickup wires were shielded (they were). He said that he has heard this buzzing on all the Prestige basses that have come through the shop, and if it bothers me I should get another brand of bass.

So my first question is: if you have an Ibanez Prestige series bass with the Bartolini pickups and Ibanez(?) preamp, do you get a buzzing through your amp from the neck pickup? Specifically, with these models:

SR1000
SR1005
SR1006
BTB1205
BTB1206

My second question is: What is causing this, and is there any way to eliminate it?

I'm planning to use the bass mostly for jazz so the buzzing is something I can't live with. Besides, it seems ridiculous for a brand new bass of this caliber to have noise issues.

Thanks,

Jeff
 
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#3
Wow, no responses... surely someone out there has an Ibanez Prestige series bass? Do you get any buzzing?

Perhaps this is the wrong forum?

A little more info - the shop owner talked with Ibanez tech support this morning, letting them know that all four of the Ibanez SR100X series basses that he has in his shop have this issue (including the one he ordered for me). They said that they had never heard of this problem before, but would look into it...

In the meantime the shop owner took the back plate off my new SR1005EWM bass and applied shielding to the back of the neck pickup, shortened the wire from the neck pickup to the blend pot, and shielded the wire and the blend pot. This definitely helped, but did not eliminate the problem. At this point he feels that the buzzing is being picked up by the neck pickup itself.

The pickups say Bartolini on them, but he noticed that there was no shielding plate on the back of the pickups like he has seen on other Bartolini pickups.

Anyone??
 
#6
Yah, I have an Ibby prestige 6, and I have to compete with the buzz a little as well. To tell you the truth, I'm actually going to end up replacing the preamp with an audere (even though this bass is a few years old) for the added versatility and to get rid of the buzz.

The Sr1000 series are just so great, you think that they would fix the high pitched hum.

Turn the treb all the way down and it disappears. also, the noise gets drowned out when in a band setting, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

The bass is definately worth the buzz IMO

Greg
 
#7
The SR and BTB series prestige basses use different pickups and preamps. The SR series uses Bartolini custom pickups and an Ibanez pre (used in fieldy's bass with the mid sweep) and the BTB uses bartolini pickups (I don't believe they're custom, but I could be wrong) and a bartolini 3 band pre.

That could be the difference there...

Greg (again)
 
#9
I saw a fellow with a twelve year old SR1006 at GC yesterday, and I was utterly blown away by how good that bass looked. Take "Ibanez" off the peghead, and I would have sworn it was made by a boutique luthier. That said, the guy had a pickup swap done to his bass (EMGs), and he was getting a hiss that was driving him crazy.:hmm:
 
#10
Thanks very much for the additional comments!

Teh Fleaz0rz - good to hear that the Ibanez basses in Salt Lake City are not the only ones with this issue :)
I did notice that it is eliminated by turning down the treble. However I assume the preamp is just cutting those frequencies, rather than it being related specifically to the preamp itself. Other than this issue I agree that the bass is truly wonderful. What year/model is your bass? Any info on the pickups/preamp?

It really does seem like the noise is coming through the neck pickup on mine rather than from the preamp, since turning the blend all the way to the bridge pickup gets rid of the buzz. My understanding is that the signal goes through the blend pot before going to the preamp. It would be interesting to hear from someone with a newer BTB bass, since you point out that they have different pickups/preamp.

onemorebass - thanks for the info. What year is yours? Any info on the pickups/preamp?

Dr. Cheese - I'm glad I'm not the only one who really likes these basses :) The noise that I am getting is really more of a buzz than a hiss. I wonder what his sounded like...

From the feedback here, there certainly seems to be some variability between models/years/pickups/preamps as to whether this problem is present or not... Anyone think that this issue could be due to interference from overhead fluorescent lights? I thought the Bartolini pickups in the Ibanez SR series basses were dual coil (humbuckers), which should drastically reduce or eliminate this type of interference... I'm going to ask the guy at my shop to try the bass with the lights off...

Cheers,

Jeff
 
#11
Hey Jeff,

I believe mine is a late model 2006. It's one of the Bubinga tops, actually it is the bass that was used (by Ibanez) for the promo photos, probably because of the really busy grain... kinda cool.

Link Removed

Getting back to your question, the pickups are Bartolini's and the preamp is an Ibanez... I think? The circut board was marked with UM#-HQ (rev.3)

I hope that helps.

Ken
 
#12
Mine is the '05 limited edition, and I know for a fact that the prestige BTB series does not have this issue. May be because of the pickups, may be because of the preamp, or a combination of both.

The same is true for my neck pickup though, the higher freq. sound is more prevalent with just the front bucker soloed.

I'm swapping the preamps for added versatility, and because audere preamps are just amazing, I don't know if it'll cut the sound, but if it does, I'll be sure to tell you.

Greg
 
#14
Ken (onemorebass) - thanks very much for that info. Your bass looks exactly like mine, except mine is a 5 string and has a walnut top (color is very similar though). From Ibanez's descriptions, it also appears to have the same pickups and preamp. Ever try it near any fluorescent overhead lights?

Greg (Teh Fleaz0rz) - I will be very interested to hear what effect your new preamp has on the buzzing, please do let me know.

smidgely - I see you are in Salt Lake City. If you are ever near Guitar Czar on 33rd south, stop in and ask Eric about this issue. He has three SRs on the wall that all exhibit it (plus the one I ordered).

I asked Eric to try the bass with the fluorescent lights off to see if that has an effect. He will also be talking again with Ibanez on Monday. I'll report back...

Cheers,

Jeff
 
#15
Ok here's an update.

Eric at Guitar Czar spoke at length with the Ibanez folks yesterday morning. They are aware of this problem, as others have reported it, but do not yet know the cause or how to fix it. Not everyone has this issue. This could be due to the environment in which they play (e.g., gig setting versus at home, or fluorescent lights versus incandescent). Eric is going to try replacing the neck pickup on my bass with a new one from Bartolini, since he is fairly convinced that it is the pickup itself that is the source of the problem. Ibanez said "great, let us know what you find out!" :)

I took the bass home yesterday and guess what - it's quiet as a mouse through my amp at home!

I think this is somehow related to interference from the fluorescent lights in the guitar shop. Thing is, humbucker (dual coil) pickups are designed to eliminate this type of interference. Eric said that one possible cause could be differences in the number of winds on the paired coils in the pickup, which would reduce the effectiveness of their hum-cancelling design.

Anyhow, I'm very happy that the bass is quiet at my house. I still will work to get this fixed, and hopefully this will help other Prestige owners. Since this problem exists on all the SR Prestige basses in Eric's store, it is quite possible that Bartolini shipped Ibanez a batch of pickups that all had the same issue.

Cheers,

Jeff
 
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#16
I also experience a very noticeable buzz on my BTB1205 purchased new in May 2007. If I rotate the treble control all the way off then it's silent, but then the sound isn't as crisp as I want. Thanks for the post; now that I know this isn't just me, I can take the bass in for repair! -Byron
 
#17
A little update:

My repair shop sent the neck pickup back to Ibanez so they could check it. They said it was "to spec" and there was nothing wrong with it.

So it sounds like the only fix is to replace the pickup(s).

As I have used the bass on gigs, the noise has become more of a problem since it is especially bad around stage lights.

The replacement Bartolini pickup is the "RT" model (4.06 in x 1.17 in, 16 in top radius).
 
#18
jweiss said:
I'm looking for a new bass and tried a bunch of different ones. I decided on an Ibanez SR1005. I tried a SR1005EFM (maple body) in the store and I really liked it, but 1) I wanted the model with the mahogany body, and 2) the SR1005EFM in the store had an annoying buzz coming through the amp from the bass. So I had the shop order a SR1005EWN.

Well it came in today and it is beautiful, but guess what - it has the same damn annoying buzz! It sounds like a small fly's wings. With all preamp adjustments neutral, the pickup blender knob showed that the buzz was mostly from the neck pickup. It is not altered by grounding/touching the strings. We then pulled two other Ibanez prestige basses off the wall (SR1000EFM, SR1006EFM), and they did the same thing. Then we tried a few other basses (Warwick, MTD) and they were quiet through the same amp/cable.

The shop owner took off the back cover and checked to make sure that the pickup wires were shielded (they were). He said that he has heard this buzzing on all the Prestige basses that have come through the shop, and if it bothers me I should get another brand of bass.

So my first question is: if you have an Ibanez Prestige series bass with the Bartolini pickups and Ibanez(?) preamp, do you get a buzzing through your amp from the neck pickup? Specifically, with these models:

SR1000
SR1005
SR1006
BTB1205
BTB1206

My second question is: What is causing this, and is there any way to eliminate it?

I'm planning to use the bass mostly for jazz so the buzzing is something I can't live with. Besides, it seems ridiculous for a brand new bass of this caliber to have noise issues.

Thanks,

Jeff
Click to expand...
I had the SR1000 a while back. I changed out the pre-amp, to a Bart NTBT pre-amp, It made a big difference.
 
#20
jweiss said:
Hey thanks for that info. Can you be more specific - how did it make a difference - reducing buzzing from the neck pickup or something else?

What year is your bass? Which pickups and preamp does it have?

Cheers,

Jeff
Click to expand...
I'd get a little buzz from the pick-ups { sounded like bad grounding}. Once I changed the the Pre-amp, no more buzzing at all. Also the tones, that I got out of it stock pre-amp were nice, but after I swapped out the pre-amp, with the Bartolini. Wow, more crisper highs , the lows were nice , & clear. Also great mids. Basically any tone that you want ,you can dial in. The only reason I sold the bass was to upgrade. Which after all was said & done, I wish I would of kept that bass. It was the same bass that you have , except it was the maple neck-thru. Another good thing about the Bart pre-amp, is with a pull of the volume switch you can go passive. I hope this helps.
Let me know if you need any help.
Rick
 

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