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jazz bass hum...?

#5
plangentmusic said:
You can get humbuckers but they don't have the same sound. I think pu's that have opposite winding between the neck and bridge pu are the best compromise.
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i don't know that changing the pups would be the answer i just dropped over a grand (college student) on something cause i love the way it sounded, i'm not really looking to change unless there is something out there that is spot on. but i dont know of anything. you?
 
#6
There is nothing you can do to get rid of 60Hz hum without altering your tone. If you want the single coil tone, you have to put up with the hum.

The best thing to do is try to position yourself away from sources of RFI/EMI when you play, and avoid things like fluorescent lights, CRT monitors, large transformers, etc.

On the other hand, some say that humcancelling J pickups can get very close to the single coil tone.

I've also been experimenting with dummy coils. I was going to try actively buffer a dummy coil and single coil pickup to create two sources of 60Hz hum that can destructively interfere, but with no loading against the audible pickup to change it's LCR.
Of course, experimenting with dummy coils requires extensive modification to both the bass and the wiring.
 
#7
line6man said:
There is nothing you can do to get rid of 60Hz hum without altering your tone. If you want the single coil tone, you have to put up with the hum.

The best thing to do is try to position yourself away from sources of RFI/EMI when you play, and avoid things like fluorescent lights, CRT monitors, large transformers, etc.

On the other hand, some say that humcancelling J pickups can get very close to the single coil tone.

I've also been experimenting with dummy coils. I was going to try actively buffer a dummy coil and single coil pickup to create two sources of 60Hz hum that can destructively interfere, but with no loading against the audible pickup to change it's LCR.
Of course, experimenting with dummy coils requires extensive modification to both the bass and the wiring.
Click to expand...

So what about the shielding, will that not make a difference then?
 
#13
Rocky McD said:
You can reduce the noise by running both pickups at full volume but then you loose the advantage of being able to blend tones or using just one pickup. Upgrading to Noiseless pickups is the best option. Shielding all cavities properly will help. Or, trade it for a Precision.
Rocky
Click to expand...

I have a guy who's done work for me and family and friends for years, i'll ask him about the shielding. What do you know about the paint kind?
 
#15
there is a silent single coil system that Suhr Guitars in Cali is putting in their strats and teles (and they are true single coils) and he has said that it would work in a jazz bass just the same. I would look into that.

Single Coils do not have to hum!
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#16
Single coil pickups hum, that's a fact of life. But they have a sound that is hard to get with humbucking pickups. There are a few things you can do:

1) Do a good shielding job on your control cavity, with copper foil etc.
2) Orient yourself correctly (turn slightly and you'll find a direction that hums less).
3) Don't stand near noisy electronics. CRT monitors are the worst.
4) Play with both pickups on all the way (balance equal). Then your pickups will act as one big humbucker and should not hum.
 
#18
Some things that help for me;
1.Keep the pickups at the same volume will help with the 60cycle hum.
2. Rolling off the tone control helps as it rolls off some of the highs were the hum resides most noticeably.
3. Depending on the brand or quality of the bass a good set of CTS pots and good quality jack could help (not to mention a good quality soldering job). It's a really cheap way to upgrade your bass anyway depending on the quality of what already in there.
4. The quality of the pickups that could be be suspect and might make a nice upgrade anyway. EMG makes some good J pickups that are dead quite though none of them sound quite like a true passive single coil. If you have a Fender American Standard or the like you may not get rid of the hum by changing the pickups but it's shocking what a pair of Fralin's will do for your tone compared to the stock pickups.
5. Good quality cables with decent shielding can make a big difference in what you perceive as your instrument humming. I had been playing guitarist who thought he knew it all but used the cheapest cables known to man. He had so much buzz it drove sound men crazy and no matter how many times he was proven it was his cables he would just get more of the same. I make my own cables using good stuff from Mogami and Neutrik for way cheaper that you can buy at GC but you can get good cables of the shelf without spending a mint.

Already mentioned was shielding but I don't like the way it affects the tone so I don't bother doing it on my basses anymore. I play in all kinds of conditions (near neon lighting, electronics etc.) and hum just hasn't been a major issues after I've done some or all of the above to the various Jazz basses I've owned. As already mentioned hum, to some degree, is the nature of the beast with passive instruments.
 
#19
rmars said:
Some things that help for me;
1.Keep the pickups at the same volume will help with the 60cycle hum.
2. Rolling off the tone control helps as it rolls off some of the highs were the hum resides most noticeably.
3. Depending on the brand or quality of the bass a good set of CTS pots and good quality jack could help (not to mention a good quality soldering job). It's a really cheap way to upgrade your bass anyway depending on the quality of what already in there.
4. The quality of the pickups that could be be suspect and might make a nice upgrade anyway. EMG makes some good J pickups that are dead quite though none of them sound quite like a true passive single coil. If you have a Fender American Standard or the like you may not get rid of the hum by changing the pickups but it's shocking what a pair of Fralin's will do for your tone compared to the stock pickups.
5. Good quality cables with decent shielding can make a big difference in what you perceive as your instrument humming. I had been playing guitarist who thought he knew it all but used the cheapest cables known to man. He had so much buzz it drove sound men crazy and no matter how many times he was proven it was his cables he would just get more of the same. I make my own cables using good stuff from Mogami and Neutrik for way cheaper that you can buy at GC but you can get good cables of the shelf without spending a mint.
.
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A lot of people say this, but keeping the pu blend the same negates much of the J's appeal.

And rolling off highs..well, that's just hiding. If you need highs, you need highs.

I've never heard a cable making a difference unless you're used to using total crap cables.
 
#20
bassben12 said:
Got a jazz bass for christmas (i know because i bought it) i was wondering what, if anything, you guys do with your passive jazz basses to get rid of the hum? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Perhaps you have one of the jazz basses where the neck and bridge pickups are not reverse wound. Most jazz basses will be quiet when the volumes for both pickups are equal.
 

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