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Noise when I tilt the bass?

If the OP has turned off all devices & there was no change, then it's outside of her control.


I was hoping to avoid it

Just find that sweet spot to play where the noise is the least.
I could make it quiet in here by turning off all my EMI emitting devices, but instead I just aim my headstock in such a way that the noise is nullified.
but that's only if I am favoring one pickup, because with both full on it's silent
 
I already discussed it in detail here, which I guess you haven't read.

I already discussed it in detail here, which I guess you haven't read.
I just RE-read all of your posts to be sure I didn't miss anything.
I agree with everything you said.
I am also fully on board with your first post suggesting EMI.

I simply was trying to help the OP understand that there can be a difference between having the same problem and having the same symptoms.
If he has the same problem as you, your fix should also be his fix.
If he has the same symptoms as you, it could be due to a different problem, in which case your fix might be his fix, and then again it might not be.

None of us, since we are not on site to properly diagnose the symptom and discover the problem, can only offer suggestions of what may have worked for us in our particular situation.

If the problem turned out to be a faulty power supply in an LED bulb for instance, but the OP "fixed" the problem by shielding his bass, then he's good to go with that bass. However, the next unshielded bass might exhibit the same symptom, because he has not removed the source of the noise.

Just saying man. Got no beef with ya. Don't want one.:thumbsup:
 
A faulty power supply in a LED bulb would have not been a problem when the power was removed at the main breaker, which I suggested.

In that case, anything under her control would have been off, except anything running on batteries, like a laptop, and that handy battery-powered amp.
 
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A faulty power supply in a LED bulb would have not been a problem when the power was removed at the main breaker, which I suggested.

In that case, anything under her control would have been off, except anything running on batteries, like a laptop, and that handy battery-powered amp.
What I posted was supposed to be an example of fixing a symptom rather than a problem.
Note that I said, "for instance."

I originally used a CFL in the example but changed it to LED.
I should have stuck with CFL originally so as not to further confuse things.
Or maybe I should have used an aquarium heater in my example.

This was not meant to be an indictment of anything you said.
 
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All the "for instances" under the OP's control were eliminated in the main breaker step.
(oops, I didn't mention battery-powered devices, but I will in my next post)

The noise could very well be induced from an adjacent dwelling, upstairs, downstairs, etc. (out of the OP's control), but if the bass is shielded, guess what...

OTOH, if you've turned off all possible EMI emitting devices in your own home, you could then go knocking on the door of everyone living next door & ask them to turn off their devices also, LOL!

but make sure to do it unit by unit, to narrow down which one the problem is emanating from
therein lies the rub, because you're not going to help them find which device is the source, unless you're really tight with them

In the end it might be RFI from a radio broadcast or telecommunication tower.

A well-shielded instrument won't care.


kind of off-topic, but related,

I think one of the folks who live next door to us turns something on at night that interferes with my TV reception, but I finally found a location for our OTA antenna that works 24/7.
 
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I’ve tried using both a battery amp and a headphone amp with everything in the house unplugged and turned off, to the same result, so it’s definitely not coming from my outlet or my pedals or any of my own appliances.

I got to thinking about the main breaker troubleshooting idea & I forgot to tell you to also turn off any battery-powered devices, except your little amp, of course.

Also, if you're operating any UPSs, turn those off. (They should make noise when you turn off the power)
also any laptop computers, tablets, & your cellphone

Flip that breaker, because that will turn off your refrigerator (the compressor has mad EMI).

When I was troubleshooting my similar problem, I put my amp right by my UPS (because I don't have a battery powered amp) & it was noisy as the dickens, all due to the EMI from the UPS.
I solved that problem by feeding the amp with my longest power cord & had the UPS in another room.
 
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Worthy of mention, perhaps- I’ve observed this noise on all three of my electric instruments, each a sub-$300 trick equipped with some sort of humbucker(s), over two battery amps, my Rumble 25, and my looper’s headphone output. It occurs everywhere in my apartment even with all other electronic devices unplugged and off, and was also present (in greatly varying degrees of intensity) outside two towns over, as I discovered wandering the streets with my SUB and a battery amp.

I am unfortunately no longer in possession of my PJ to evaluate whether the noise is worse on a single coil. I distinctly recall the PJ being *extremely* noisy, but that was relative to the much higher-output SUB which simply didn’t require the volume to be turned as high to be heard, so...

I dunno, man. Leprechauns?

- -^@
 
Roamed around another town some with the headphone amp looking like a perfect fool. The pickup was very chatty and had some different things to say everywhere I pointed it.

I feel like I don’t *always* have a noise problem, but I guess I rarely dime the treble but for melodic solos anyway, so maybe I’ve just got a very excitable instrument. I lowered the pup recently, so it’s possible it was just always this noisy and I never noticed because my volume was turned too low.

So... what’s my next move? See about shielding?

--^@

Going off what you have posted, I'd be pretty surprised if shielding resolved the issue. Shielding will only stop a hum that occurs when you touch metal/strings/bridge on the bass and that is not your issue. In my experience, RF interference, which shielding addresses, is not impacted by the direction of your instrument but 60hz hum, which humbuckers address, is affected.
 
Has the OP even mentioned if touching the strings stops the noise?
I explained in my first post about how the direction/position of the pickups affects the induction of noise by RFI/EMI.
If 60 Hz hum is coming in through the power, then it won't matter what direction you point/position the pickups.
not to mention it will be non-existent with a battery-powered amp




The winner is the OP. Thanks for making me think about the troubleshooting a little more.


OP,

Does the noise cease if you touch the strings?
If not, maybe your bridge isn't grounded to the controls.

If you have three, then you'll have two unshielded ones to compare with your shielded one.
and you'll have something to play on while the project is underway

Are you competent at soldering?

H82042000006050-00-500x500.jpg


I'm not sure you can get the pickup all the way out w/o desoldering the leads, not to mention you'll need to solder a ground wire from the pickup cavity shielding to the controls cavity shielding.

This is just an example for tape, make sure you get some with conductive adhesive:

upload_2017-12-8_13-55-31.png


You can find it cheaper, but the shipping costs usually nullify the savings & the shipping time can be even worse.
 
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Has the OP even mentioned if touching the strings stops the noise?
I explained in my first post about how the direction/position of the pickups affects the induction of noise by RFI/EMI.
If 60 Hz hum is coming in through the power, then it won't matter what direction you point/position the pickups.





The winner is the OP. Thanks for making me think about the troubleshooting a little more.


OP,

Does the noise cease if you touch the strings?
If not, maybe your bridge isn't grounded to the controls.

If you have three, then you'll have two unshielded ones to compare with your shielded one.
and you'll have something to play on while the project is underway

Are you competent at soldering?

View attachment 2837105

I'm not sure you can get the pickup all the way out w/o desoldering the leads, not to mention you'll need to solder a ground wire from the pickup cavity shielding to the controls cavity shielding.

This is just an example for tape, make sure you get some with conductive adhesive:

View attachment 2837104

You can find it cheaper, but the shipping costs usually nullify the savings & the shipping time can be even worse.
Worked for me!
 
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Has the OP even mentioned if touching the strings stops the noise?
I explained in my first post about how the direction/position of the pickups affects the induction of noise by RFI/EMI.
If 60 Hz hum is coming in through the power, then it won't matter what direction you point/position the pickups.
not to mention it will be non-existent with a battery-powered amp





The winner is the OP. Thanks for making me think about the troubleshooting a little more.


OP,

Does the noise cease if you touch the strings?
If not, maybe your bridge isn't grounded to the controls.

If you have three, then you'll have two unshielded ones to compare with your shielded one.
and you'll have something to play on while the project is underway

Are you competent at soldering?

View attachment 2837105

I'm not sure you can get the pickup all the way out w/o desoldering the leads, not to mention you'll need to solder a ground wire from the pickup cavity shielding to the controls cavity shielding.

This is just an example for tape, make sure you get some with conductive adhesive:

View attachment 2837104

You can find it cheaper, but the shipping costs usually nullify the savings & the shipping time can be even worse.

The farmers win. We always lose.

For what it’s worth, the noise is decidedly unaffected by whether or not I am touching any part of the instrument.

I do not presently possess a soldering iron and my roommate has banned me from using hers, which paints an accurate picture of my competence with the device. Shielding will be, at the very least, a fiasco.

But the show must go on.

--^@