Newbie Head/Cab and Bass question

[frenchy750]

Hello,

I am a 56 year old bass guitar *absolute beginner* with a question.

I recently scored a new (to me) rig for a ridiculously cheap amount of money... Hooray for FB Marketplace! The gear consists of a GK Legacy 500 head, SWR Goliath III and SWR Son of Bertha cabinets.

My bass is an Ibanez Soundgear with active Bartolinis.

My issue is there is a loud hiss coming from the cabinets whenever the bass is plugged in with the active switch on. The cabs are silent when nothing is plugged in. Trimming the horn volume cleans up the hiss, but I like the way the bass sounds with the horns dialed up a little bit.

IS there anything I can do to clean up the hiss but keep the high end?

 

[frenchy750]

Does the hiss go away when your turn your bass’s volume knob down?

Yes.

 

[frenchy750]

Monster rig. Some amps, and some GKs including the Legacy 500 which I also own, have a subtle hiss when they're on, but it's low enough to not be a deal breaker at all. It's very low level, and does not increase as you turn the amp up. So if the amp is functioning normally....likely must be the bass if it's as loud as you say. I agree, try another bass first, and go from there.

I am fairly sure it is mostly the bass. If there is any hiss when nothing is plugged into the amp, it is barely noticeable. When I turn the volume up on the bass, the hiss becomes annoyingly apparent.

 

[EricOnTheBass]

Yes.

Maybe try a fresh battery

 

[Redbrangus]

I am fairly sure it is mostly the bass. If there is any hiss when nothing is plugged into the amp, it is barely noticeable. When I turn the volume up on the bass, the hiss becomes annoyingly apparent.

It definitely sounds like it's the bass. Boosting the 'treble' (HF) control on the instrument likely emphasizes this -- conversely, cutting the HF is likely to reduce it. Are you boosting the treble control?

 

[frenchy750]

It definitely sounds like it's the bass. Boosting the 'treble' (HF) control on the instrument likely emphasizes this -- conversely, cutting the HF is likely to reduce it. Are you boosting the treble control?

Yes. Why does that make so much hiss and static instead of just boosting the high frequencies?

 

[frenchy750]

Maybe try a fresh battery

Will do.

 

[Runnerman]

Don't underestimate the potential for a bad cord as well. I've been bit before.

 

[frenchy750]

Don't underestimate the potential for a bad cord as well. I've been bit before.

I bought a brand new cord to try… should be here today.

 

[Redbrangus]

Yes. Why does that make so much hiss and static instead of just boosting the high frequencies?

The hiss is emanating from the bass's internal preamp and is entirely HF information -- increasing the HF control does indeed boost the highs, including the hiss. Turning down the HF knob on the amp would reduce this somewhat. IMHO, there's not much useful information in a bass signal up at 10kHz and above, where the hiss is, so turning down the high EQ on either the bass or the amp wouldn't bother me too much... YMMV.

Also, a fresh battery might help if you haven't already tried that.

Edit: If your bass has a passive pickup option, using that will probably reduce the amount of hiss too.

 

[frenchy750]

The hiss is emanating from the bass's internal preamp and is entirely HF information -- increasing the HF control does indeed boost the highs, including the hiss. Turning down the HF knob on the amp would reduce this somewhat. IMHO, there's not much useful information in a bass signal up at 10kHz and above, where the hiss is, so turning down the high EQ on either the bass or the amp wouldn't bother me too much... YMMV.

Also, a fresh battery might help if you haven't already tried that.

Edit: If your bass has a passive pickup option, using that will probably reduce the amount of hiss too.

Is there a better preamp available or am I completely overthinking this?

 

[Redbrangus]

Well, there probably ARE better preamps than the one in your Soundgear bass, but I don't know if they'd fit the necessary form factor... nor could I say whether they'd exhibit less hiss than the one you have. It might be a question better posed in another sub-forum, like Pickups and Electronics.

You did try a fresh battery, yes? And your bass doesn't have a passive mode, right?

 

[frenchy750]

Well, there probably ARE better preamps than the one in your Soundgear bass, but I don't know if they'd fit the necessary form factor... nor could I say whether they'd exhibit less hiss than the one you have. It might be a question better posed in another sub-forum, like Pickups and Electronics.

You did try a fresh battery, yes? And your bass doesn't have a passive mode, right?

Did try a new battery. No change.

Passive mode stops the majority of the problem.

I guess I’m just surprised that this bass has controls that make it so noisy through this amp.

 

[pbass2]

I guess I’m just surprised that this bass has controls that make it so noisy through this amp.

Even my Sadowsky which has arguably a "high-end" preamp will hiss if I crank the treble boost a ton. But it also sounds totally ugly and unusable boosted that much so it's not a problem. Not a sound I would ever torture anyone with in a mix!
Boosting highs very dramatically anywhere in an audio signal path will almost always reveal noise(whether originating from that device or somewhere else in the chain). Even the classic high-end studio mic pres will reveal noise if you crank the highs too much.

 

[ctmullins]

Even my Sadowsky which has arguably a "high-end" preamp will hiss if I crank the treble boost a ton. But it also sounds totally ugly and unusable boosted that much so it's not a problem. Not a sound I would ever torture anyone with in a mix!
Boosting highs very dramatically anywhere in an audio signal path will almost always reveal noise(whether originating from that device or somewhere else in the chain). Even the classic high-end studio mic pres will reveal noise if you crank the highs too much.

Yep. It's just like - you wouldn't crank the treble control on your stereo all the way up, would you?