Marcus Miller 4 MIJ crackling pickguard

Youre a Lakland endorser, just get a Lakland rendition.

Do you mean crackling as in electrical popping, or the pickguard itself breaking under you touch?

 

I had the same thing happen to my L2500, except it was the rear preamp cover that I touched & it crackled. After about a year of it driving me nuts and me trying to look for a loose wire (none found) and then just dealing with it ("I'll have it fixed one day...)...I couldn't take it anymore.

Problem in my bass was the tin-foil shielding that I installed in 1997, was starting to peel away and was touching one of the hot connections (I'm guessing) in the control cavity. And every time I touched the screws or even just the cover itself, I'd get these random static pops.

got rid of all the shielding tape that I installed...problem went away.

Most likely there is some sort of shielding issue there...

 

This is a VERY common thing with these. I have owned 3 or 4 MM's and they all do it. It is something to do with the grounding and the preamp I believe. It is static building up and just being discharged when you touch it. I just got used to it over time, but I can understand how it annoys you. Sadly, I don't remember how to fix it. I true tech would be able to tell you.

Post this question or search in the repair forum and you should get a good answer.

Peace,
Chris

 

Ever think of posting it @marcusmiller.com

 

My MIJ Fender VI did this too when I was living on the 3rd floor of a dry building. Since moving to a basement apartment it hasn't.

I expect that shielding the pick-guard and connecting its shield to ground would solve the crackling noise caused by electrostatic discharge.

Either that, or avoid polyester pick-guards...

 

Use a dryer sheet to get rid of the static.

 

I actually think that was one persons solution. Good call!!

 

Take the pickguard off and shield the underside of it with self-adhesive copper foil, which can be found at stained-glass shops for about $4 per 12"x12" sheet. Make sure that the shielding goes underneath the pots so that they are grounded to the shielding. I recommend doing the entire underside of the pickguard, though I've heard some people say that you don't have to do the whole thing.

I did this to my CIJ Precision, which had the same problem with crackling noise due to static electricity building up on the pickguard, and the problem has been totally eliminated. I did the entire underside of my pickguard, just to be safe.

Good luck.

 

It's funny that this is happening to the MM series, I just purchased a Ken Smith Design Proto-J 5 string a month ago, and the crackling is there as well. If I'm not mistaken, these two basses have similar designs and electronics. The crackling definitely gets distracting, especially for those of us who like to slap/pop. This thread has been really enlightening.

 

Very true......I did the same thing on my Nordy VJ5 and it worked perfect. Very important that it is shielded properly though.

Any other crackling due to pots etc.....I would also suggest always keeping a oil free contact cleaner around to use in the control cavity. They were great also.....

 

I bet you my bottom dollar that a good shielding job completely removes the issue.

If you want a guide actually done specifically for the MM 4 string, PM me your e-mail, I'll gladly send a PDF. I use this guide for a shielding reference, the fellow happens to have done it on a MM 4 string in this guide.

I had a similar issue with my EBMM StingRay classic, and apparently Les Pauls have the issue commonly as well, it is static electricity build up. My Stingray also picked up a crazy amount of outside noise so that is why I shielded it, it also removed the static pop.

Seriously, that is a great sounding bass and less than $10 in material will make you fall in love all over again.