Nordstrand NJ4 big problems with noise

Hi. This is my first post here. I found this forum through doing research for this issue.

I bought these NJ4s about a year ago from Truetone Music in Santa Monica. I had read good reviews so I decided to drop a buck fifty and get a set for my Jazz bass.

After installing them, I liked the tone quality but the noise level was flat out unbearable. Just awful. I am no novice with guitars and bass and have been playing for 20 years, and have wired probably 10 guitars and basses over the years with no issues...

but these Nordstrand NJ4s are simply awful with single coil 60 cycle hum...

Initially I spent probably 20 hours wiring and rewiring trying to solve this issue to no avail...so I put the bass down for almost a year and just played my 68 Gibson EB0/EB3 mod which is another beast in itself. However I am now producing a rising singer songwriter and need to play bass on this track which has to be finished soon, for a variety of reasons...and the NJs just are not cutting it.

Anyway.. I have once again dove in to this bass over this weekend, wiring and rewiring it over the past 2 days trying to get it right. Again to no avail...these are simply the noisiest pups ever. The 60 cycle hum is unbearable. Ive tried multiple wiring configs, changed pots and wires, and jacks etc....and they are still noisy as hell.

It is quite frustrating because I can hear the good tone there, but it is buried under massive hum. This bass is not fit to record with. BTW it doesnt matter what room or studio Im in...these pickups hum like a swarm of bumble bees on steroids.

So what do I do/try? I was in contact with Illitch about his hum cancelling system, but I dont want to pop 400 bucks for something that should not be a problem at all. Even though these are single coil... the hum is FAR beyond any that Ive ever had in any single coil guitar or bass.

Could these just be defective pups? I have read and saw a video on youtube about how somehow magnetic fields can be reversed in pickups... but Ive tried swapping leads with grounds and that doesnt help.

Im about to toss these freaking things in the trash. If anyone wants them please make me a reasonable offer. Otherwise if anyone has any tips specific to NJ4s or in removing hum on a jazz...please let me know. Id appreciate it. I know that when wired properly, they should "cancel out" reasonable when both volume pots are up...but that never happens, its always loud as hell. Thanks for listening to this rant, and any advice or tips would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Hey guys, thanks for your help. BTW I shielded the bass big time with copper shielding tape, all cavities and the metal plate. Also I grounded the bridge too. And as Maurillo mentioned, the single coil hum is something different entirely.

It sounds as if the problem may be in the pickups themselves. I did contact Nordstrand and they wanted me to send the pickups back to them, which I will. In the meantime, Ive decided to go to the local Sam Ash and just pick up (no pun intended) something else to use immediately.

Maurillo...thanks for making the contribution here, Ill send the pickups back to you guys once I get them out of there. Yes I bought them supposedly new from Trutone...they were in new packaging anyway and were supposedly a new set.

 

Hey...just wanted close this thread with this note. I finally got around to sending the NJ4s to Nordstrand under RMA and they sent me a brand new set. WOW. That is fantastic customer service. I have not put them in the bass yet but will try to do it when I get back in town. These are awesome sounding pups and im excited to try the new set. Big thanks to Nordstrand..