Noiseless 3 Jazz pickups sometimes noisy - looking for alternatives

Model J's sound nothing like a single coil J pickup but they are silent; at least with a passive set up.
Are the cavities shielded with copper tape and are all the grounds good?
If so, try without the preamp; free and possibly a great diagnostic tool.

 

the issue is likely not the pickups themselves but rather the shielding in the bass, there was a run of these where you had excessive background buzz.

the fix is to get it shielded properly.

 

If these venues are worth playing, EMGs may be the best solution.

 

I had a shop fix my Ashdown ABM 500.
They had me try it and it hummed like crazy.
Back on the bench it was super quiet.
Turned out the first outlet was on the same circuit of an outlet in another room.
Not sure what the problem was but it's quiet at home and on a gig.
OTOH my J with single coils hums when pups are solo'd at home yet are quiet at our rehearsal space.
The pre-amp can also use the shielding (assuming it was done correctly).
Have others posted this issue?

 

Is the noise the same in active and passive modes? I used to have a G&L L-1500 that picked up radio stations and other noise in active mode, but was dead silent in passive.

I doubt the pickups are the problem, but if you want vintage J-bass tone with no noise, DiMarzio's Area J are great, and much less expensive than the boutiques. I bet they would sound better than those N3s.

 

My elite jazz is noisy too-
Pisses me off being an expensive axe.
I think it’s the preamp Though and not the PU’s

 

The noise is usually from RF (radio frequency) or dirty power.
The switching power suplies on some computers are very noisey.
You could be plugged in in one room and that circuit could also be polluted by something plugged in at an adjacent room.

If the base is shielded and the grounds are good, then the isssue is most likely in the pre-amp or pups.

 

I think that over 90% of the time, the amp has a very well designed power supply that will filter as good or better than an outboard unit.
Walterw could probably offer more on this subject.
What brand and model of amp?

 

I had an MB500; it had a small switch problem under warranty but ended up changing to an MB800.
Now have a MB800 Fusion
All were quiet as a mouse at all locations I used it at.
GK build high quality amps; unless there is something wrong, it's not the power supply.
Other than an authorized repair shop, I doubt that many (including myself) have any buisness trying to trouble shoot that amp.

 

No, it was never noisy
I'm told that very early production models had an issue that the knobs that are push to select (other features like contour, bright, etc.) did not work well. Turns out that the folks doing assembly needed more training on how to assemble.
Zero issues with a return and they wanted to ship a new unit before I returned the original. Asked them to hold off, got the seller involved (authorized GK) and they gave me a full credit towards the 800. I think they paid return shipping too.
They also apologized for the inconvenience; fantastic customer service.

All 3 amps were very quiet.

 

I doubt it's the pickups. Sounds like you need to try shielding/regrounding the bass as you may have a bad ground or try ground lifting your amp. I swapped the pickups out of both of my American Deluxe Jazzes for Aguilar 60's and SD 60's and installed Audere preamps. I shielded everything with copper tape and both basses run silent with both pickups on and still very quiet when I solo a pickup.