I have two big singles in my bass, along with a J. East preamp - they sound fantastic but they are highly microphonic - any touch of the pickup cover can be heard in the amp. I've never seen this before on higher-end pickups - any suggestions?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Microphonic Nordstrand Big Singles - how to fix???
- Thread starter LowBarryLow
- Start date
Most likely is that you are having External Microphonics problems. Not a problem with the pickup itself, but in the way it's fitted to the bass. The whole pickup is too loose in its mounting, so that it wiggles slightly when you touch it. That causes thumps in the amp. A quick test for this is to hold the pickup firmly with one hand while tapping on it with the other. If the thumping quiets down when you hold it still, that's your problem.
The fix is to tighten up the springs or foam under them. They should feel almost rigid when you tap on them.
You can also mount them solidly if you like. Figure out and measure the height that you like them at. Cut and fit some small wood blocks to fit under the pickups in place of the foam/springs. Tighten the pickups down on top of the wood blocks. That will eliminate finger tapping noise completely.
The problem could also be that the coils are loose inside the housing. But I'd be surprised to see that. Cary builds good pickups.
Last edited:
I had thought of that - I just remounted them - very tight - zero wiggle .
Nordstrand just got back to me and said "yeah, that's the way those are - you need wax potted pickups" - which kind ticks me off... I may try wax potting them myself!
Nordstrand just got back to me and said "yeah, that's the way those are - you need wax potted pickups" - which kind ticks me off... I may try wax potting them myself!
MfEuTnAkL
Commercial User
Hi Barry:
the only email I answered today regarding microphonic pickups decidedly did not express "that's the way those are" and we *do* wax pot our pickups. I asked for an audio or video with audio sample so we can properly diagnose the issue and make accurate advisement.
How did you route the gray wire from your BigSingles? Joined and grounded with the black wire, or does your East preamp ask for it as an isolated ground?
Is your bass properly grounded and shielded? You are using single coil pups, so shielding is definitely non-trivial.
Let me know if this helps or hit me up at [email protected] for further questions and concerns.
Cheers,
Nick
My mistake - the email I got was from the folks at Bestbass Gear - I just double checked. My mistake - apologies.
I will take a look at the grounding & whatnot. That really was what I was hoping to hear, honestly. I do love how they sound, fwiw (outside of the noise of my fingers!)
MfEuTnAkL
Commercial User
Make sure you use a multimeter to verify you have good continuity from lots of random points on your shielded surfaces and from all grounded bits. Check for cold solder joints and verify your bridge ground wire hasn't pulled out somewhere and broken the connection.
If you don't have shielding, I fully recommend doing a shielding job with conducting adhesive copper foil. $30 worth of foil will do several instruments.
-N
Man, you are right about that!
I’ve done shielding on a few Fenders with the foil tape. I mean cavities, under pickups, under the pickguards, even the little tunnels for the bridge pup wires (wrapped foil around a small ink pin tube), the works. I still have a roll nearly the size of my arm left!
I'm all shielded up - I learned to do that decades ago - particularly with Passive instruments. 60 Cy hum is no fun!
