Mostly. But creeps in if say popping and slapping.
But yes, practically gone. Especially when touching the bridge.
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But yes, practically gone. Especially when touching the bridge.
That is likely a shielding issue, I’ve seen it a few times on Laklands, including mine. The control and pickup cavities are painted with conducive paint for shielding, but I bet the cavities and connected together. A multimeter can confirm this. This can be fixed by running a wire from each cavity so they are all joined to the same ground. When the cavities aren’t connected, the Bass acts as an antenna picking up noise. I went the extra mile and shielded my DJ5 with copper. Lakland need to up their game in regards to this poor shielding.
I've had that same problem on a few J style basses. A thorough copper foil shielding job (connecting all cavities together with wire or foil) solved it every time.
I put copper shielding on my 44-01 that has Nordstrand Big Singles pups in it. Made a big difference. Copper shielding also went into both cavities of my new 44-02.
Not much...a few bucks for a roll of copper foil from Amazon, and an hour or two on a quiet evening. It's pretty easy to DIY.
Last question. In the jazz basses, do I put the shielding in the pup cavities, or just where the pots are?
It’s best to do the pickup cavities too and screw or solder a small wire from each pickup cavity to the control cavity, that way they all have a common ground connection, and that makes the shield from outside interference. I find the single coil pickups to be very quiet on my DJ5.
If I do this work, or even pay to have it done, does it void any warranty? This is a brand new bass. Sucks to have silly issues like this.
Yeah it’s unacceptable in my book. Maybe check with the place you bought it from regarding warranty.
I'd call or email Lakland directly and ask to see if that would void the warranty. I've called Lakland directly several times and talked to a guy named Brian, he was very helpful and easy to get on the phone. I have a 44-02 and the front pickup died, he mailed me a new one and I was able to put it in and avoid sending the bass back for warranty repair. The Skylines only have 2 year warranty anyways, I believe
Thanks guys. I've actually talked to Brian a few times even before getting my bass. I was also going to get a 44-64 pending the results of this DJ5. Now I'm not so sure. I'm sure he's tired of hearing from me, but I will totally reach out to him.
I'm hopeful all will be fine.
I'm hopeful all will be fine.
Slight development: only posting this because it drives me nuts to see when people have issues and there's no follow up.
So I tightened the output jack as it seemed loose. I lost all output. No sound. I then loosened it again slightly. My cable now slides in and out a little more effortlessly and there's now less buzz. Is this not a shielding issue, but rather a grounding or connection issue?
So I tightened the output jack as it seemed loose. I lost all output. No sound. I then loosened it again slightly. My cable now slides in and out a little more effortlessly and there's now less buzz. Is this not a shielding issue, but rather a grounding or connection issue?
Could be. Noise when you let go of the strings is usually a shielding issue. A check with a multimeter for continuity between the pickup and control cavities and the bridge/strings and control plate is the way to confirm.
I wonder if part of the output Jack made contact with the shielding paint inside the control cavity when you tightened it. Sometimes when you tighten the Jack in a jazz bass, the Jack can swivel slightly and the legs of the Jack inside can bump into the wall of the control cavity causing a short.
I will still take it in for sure to have this checked out.
Makes sense. As I twisted head of the cable while completely inserted into the jack it made noises similar to turning a dirty pot.
As it stands, the issue is tolerable. Not resolved, but gig-able.
I'm curious about this though. I've been reading other posts on here from years past and folks seem to have had similar issues. Some claim they spoke with Lakland and they replied that the pickups they designed are meant to mimic a vintage sound: hum, buzz, and all. If this is truly Laklands desired outcome, then wouldn't all of us have the same issue, more more or less? Are most Lakland jazz basses noisy?
The loose Jack could have been the entire issue. Also, tightening it, without getting inside to ensure the Jack doesn’t twist, almost always leads to problems. I speak from my own learning experiences.
I hope all gets resolved in a timely manner.
