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New guy with an active bass

Rickenbassist

Rickenbassist

Jul 17, 2010
145
7
43
Coventry, RI USA
www.instagram.com
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#1
hey guys I'm new here, this being my first post and I figured I drop my first post here and get some opinions about options. I'm generally a Rickenbacker guy as I own a couple 4003 basses, but I just recently purchased a used Yamaha RBX-375 5 string. The bass is awesome, its easy to play and it sounds great, but for one sdmall issue. It buzzes/hums when you remove your hands from the strings. Is this because its active? would shielding it help? If so where can I get the stuff? Lastly, what would upgraded the pots do to it? Any help would be great, thanks guys


-nol
 
#3
Since the pots are integral to the operation of the preamp, changing their value would probably make it unusable. Changing to higher quality pots may be impossible if they are mounted on a pcb or difficult if they have pigtail wires and you can't find a type that's compatible for fit.

mech

If the pots don't have problems, I'd use it as is.
 
#4
Rickenbassist said:
hey guys I'm new here, this being my first post and I figured I drop my first post here and get some opinions about options. I'm generally a Rickenbacker guy as I own a couple 4003 basses, but I just recently purchased a used Yamaha RBX-375 5 string. The bass is awesome, its easy to play and it sounds great, but for one sdmall issue. It buzzes/hums when you remove your hands from the strings. Is this because its active? would shielding it help? If so where can I get the stuff? Lastly, what would upgraded the pots do to it? Any help would be great, thanks guys
Click to expand...

Glad you've joined the RBX375 gang. :D

If the bass buzzes when you remove your hands from the strings, it normally doesn't have anything to do with either the shielding, the active preamp or the battery. The strings and bridge aren't properly grounded. Remove the strings and dismount the bridge, then see if there's a thin wire soldered or hanging onto the bridge.

If there is such a wire, it should be jammed between the bridge and the wood, electrically connecting the wire and the bridge/strings. Alternatively, it'll be soldered onto the bridge. The other end of the wire should be soldered onto a common ground point - usually that's either the casing of any of the pots or the ground (shortest, or "sleeve") lug on the output jack. If the wire isn't there, you'll have to find a way to get it there - probably by drilling a thin corridor from the bridge to the electronics compartment - but as far as I know it should be there.

Upgrading the pots won't help you any because the preamplifier inside is active and tuned to use those exact pot values. If the pots are scratchy, try cleaning them - if that doesn't help, try to find replacement ones with the same value and taper.

Hope this helps.
 
#5
wow thanks for the fast replies guys. I haven't shielded it yet because I don't know where to get the stuff. Any takers on where I can get it? And yes I've got a fresh battery in there.

the buzz isn't all that loudly, I just noticed it the other day while I had headphones on. When I play through the active setting of my amp you can't hear it at all. But the next time I change my strings I'll definitely take the bridge off and take a look under there for the ground. Actually I don't even think I have to do that if I just take the control plate off and look for it to see if its connected to a common ground.
 
#9
Rickenbassist....the buzz isn't all that loudly, I just noticed it the other day while I had headphones on. When I play through the active setting of my amp you can't hear it at all.
Click to expand...

If you happen to be close to a computer or other digital device, this may be normal.

I have also used the aluminum duct tape with good success for shielding. The adhesive is not conductive so the overlapping seams need to be burnished well with something like the rounded end of a screw driver handle.

For copper foil, this was posted yesterday.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=678906&highlight=slug+snail

mech
 
#10
ok so there's a bit of conflict that I'm reading here. do I need to solder or do i not need to? some are saying yes, some are saying no. can it actually be as easy as over lapping the tape and smoothing out the strips to get solid conductivity or do I have to go through the motions of soldering the tape as well? I would imagine that if I had to solder the tape, the tape would burn. Are there any pics of this process?
 
#11
Solder is for copper only. Aluminum will not solder.

The copper tape won't melt and it only needs to be spot soldered to make sure the strips are connected electrically. This gives the best results.

With aluminum, which won't take solder, the overlapping seams need to be pressed hard to break through the adhesive and make electrical contact.

The aluminum, if it has good connections, is as good as the copper for all practical purposes.

mech
 

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