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NS OMNI bass amp questions

C

Cadwellstudios

Mar 13, 2020
32
19
#1
I picked up a OMNI Wav4 and it looks amazing. I plugged it into my mesa boogie head D800+ and i get a hum and when i touch the strings it gets louder. Also tried on my acoustic guitar amp and same thing. It doesn't happen with my electric basses or my Ibanez UB804. Do I need another amp head for it ? If so what recommendations ?
I also have Mackie monitor speakers can i get a DI box to run it through that as. well ?

Thanks for the help Bill
 
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#5
Are you saying that you temporarily ran it through the Focusrite preamp in an attempt to isolate the issue, or is it your normal signal path to run through the preamp and then into your amp? If it's the former (using the preamp to test the signal), then that does tend to point toward a grounding or shielding issue in the bass. I presume this hum is present on the headphone output of the preamp. (BTW, that model of Focusrite preamp doesn't really compute -- is there a typo in the model number you listed? It's probably not relevant, but it might be useful to know which preamp you're actually using.)

Just grasping at straws -- are you using the NS strings, regular acoustic bass strings or metallic electric bass guitar strings?

In any case, this isn't sounding much like an amplifier problem; maybe you'd have more luck posting your query in the EUB sub-forum in the Double Bass section.
 
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#6
Cadwellstudios said:
I picked up a OMNI Wav4 and it looks amazing. I plugged it into my mesa boogie head D800+ and i get a hum and when i touch the strings it gets louder. Also tried on my acoustic guitar amp and same thing. It doesn't happen with my electric basses or my Ibanez UB804. Do I need another amp head for it ? If so what recommendations ?
I also have Mackie monitor speakers can i get a DI box to run it through that as. well ?

Thanks for the help Bill
Click to expand...
A preamp that is designed for piezo pickups (Hi-z) might solve your problem. I use a Mission VM-Pro volume pedal for my DB and EUB, on all my various amps.
 
#7
Slevage said:
A preamp that is designed for piezo pickups (Hi-z) might solve your problem.
Click to expand...
It might, but NS says that any preamp having a 1 MegΩ impedance or higher will work -- the Focusrite products tend to have high input impedances on the instrument inputs, typically 2 MegΩ or more. Besides, hum isn't really a symptom of impedance mismatch/loading issues, IME.
 
#8
Redbrangus said:
It might, but NS says that any preamp having a 1 MegΩ impedance or higher will work -- the Focusrite products tend to have high input impedances on the instrument inputs, typically 2 MegΩ or more. Besides, hum isn't really a symptom of impedance mismatch/loading issues, IME.
Click to expand...
The preamp (or pedal) might provide isolation to get rid of the hum. A 10meg ohm input will be an added benefit.
 
#9
Redbrangus said:
Are you saying that you temporarily ran it through the Focusrite preamp in an attempt to isolate the issue, or is it your normal signal path to run through the preamp and then into your amp? If it's the former (using the preamp to test the signal), then that does tend to point toward a grounding or shielding issue in the bass. I presume this hum is present on the headphone output of the preamp. (BTW, that model of Focusrite preamp doesn't really compute -- is there a typo in the model number you listed? It's probably not relevant, but it might be useful to know which preamp you're actually using.)

Just grasping at straws -- are you using the NS strings, regular acoustic bass strings or metallic electric bass guitar strings?

In any case, this isn't sounding much like an amplifier problem; maybe you'd have more luck posting your query in the EUB sub-forum in the Double Bass section.
Click to expand...
Its a Clarett 8pre, a typo. It's a brand new Omni bass from NS
 
#12
Cadwellstudios said:
I picked up a OMNI Wav4 and it looks amazing. I plugged it into my mesa boogie head D800+ and i get a hum and when i touch the strings it gets louder. Also tried on my acoustic guitar amp and same thing. It doesn't happen with my electric basses or my Ibanez UB804. Do I need another amp head for it ? If so what recommendations ?
I also have Mackie monitor speakers can i get a DI box to run it through that as. well ?

Thanks for the help Bill
Click to expand...
You shouldn't have hum plugging directly into an amp or your preamp. The D800+ will have a high input impedance, but even if it didn't, you wouldn't get hum. It sounds like there's an issue with the bass.
 
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#14
Slevage said:
A preamp that is designed for piezo pickups (Hi-z) might solve your problem. I use a Mission VM-Pro volume pedal for my DB and EUB, on all my various amps.
Click to expand...
No.

Redbrangus said:
It might, but NS says that any preamp having a 1 MegΩ impedance or higher will work -- the Focusrite products tend to have high input impedances on the instrument inputs, typically 2 MegΩ or more. Besides, hum isn't really a symptom of impedance mismatch/loading issues, IME.
Click to expand...
Correct, it's not the amp's impedance causing this.

Slevage said:
The preamp (or pedal) might provide isolation to get rid of the hum. A 10meg ohm input will be an added benefit.
Click to expand...
No and No.

Engle said:
You shouldn't have hum plugging directly into an amp or your preamp. The D800+ will have a high input impedance, but even if it didn't, you wouldn't get hum. It sounds like there's an issue with the bass.
Click to expand...
Correct.

Eliminate the preamp from the equation, plug straight into the amp, nothing else but the amp and speaker. Be sure you are using a guitar cable and not accidentally a speaker cable.
 
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#16
Have you tried plugging directly to the amp without the outboard gear?

This is the single most important data point IME.
 
#18
I took off the cover and the input jack wiring is crushed. It is grounding out and needs some wiring work. Waiting to hear back from NS see if they send me a bass and I send this back.
 

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