Nylon Tape Grounding???

[BoRadBass]

So I love the sound of the nylon tape wound strings on my J bass. But they don't ground when I touch them, so there is always a slight hum. Anyone know of a fix for this?

 

[mech]

The problem is that your body doesn't get grounded by touching the strings and you are injecting noise into the pickups. You could try one of these just for grins to see if the noise goes away. The band goes around your wrist and the clip would attach to grounded hardware on the bass. Don't know if it'd be practical to use while playing.

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mech

 

[craig.p]

If you go the wrist strap route, measure the thing's resistance first. ESD straps typically limit current by having a resistance of a megohm or higher. This keeps discharge current low to save components. Problem is that's not what you want for grounding purposes. You want as close to zero ohms as possible. A few turns of bare wire around a wrist strap, connected directly to signal ground with plain hookup wire -- now that would do the trick. A watch band will serve the purpose of wrist strap. Remember, SIGNAL ground, e.g. the sleeve of the bass guitar's phone jack, or its bridge, not EARTH ground. Signal ground and earth ground aren't always at the same potential.

 

[BoRadBass]

I an not really into wearing things around my wrist. How about something conductive stuck on the upper side of the neck pickup where I usually rest my thumb? If I touch the bridge the hum goes away.

 

[grisezd]

I've got the same issue. I thought I might add a thumb rest made of brass (I have lots of scraps) and ground that. You could do the same thing with a bit of copper tape on the top of your pickup. I've considered running a strip up the back of the neck so I could mute the hum with either hand!

I don't mind the hum in the mix, but in quiet bits and between songs it drives me nuts.

 

[RBrownBass]

I've got the same issue. I thought I might add a thumb rest made of brass (I have lots of scraps) and ground that. You could do the same thing with a bit of copper tape on the top of your pickup.

Those two suggestions will require you to keep your right hand pretty much in one place. You don't want that. If you use a pick, neither is going to be much help.

I've considered running a strip up the back of the neck so I could mute the hum with either hand!

I don't mind the hum in the mix, but in quiet bits and between songs it drives me nuts.

The neck strip is extreme IMO, but it would probably work if you were carefuo not to damage it while playing.

I'd try some different strings myself.

 

[BoRadBass]

I have other basses with different strings, and I have tried others on this bass. The Nylons are just that perfect for this bass that I am willing to deal with the hum. When playing loud it isn't noticeable. And in between songs I can put a finger on the bridge or control plate.

 

[Phalex]

Mount a short blade to the back of the bass and run a ground wire to the bridge. Sort of a grounding rod for flesh.

Of you could just use a noise gate if stabbing yourself in the belly while you play is too much of a distraction.......

 

["Q"]

I had this same problem until I reshielded everything on my bass.

 

[Keith Guitars]

I've dealt with this a lot making the Veillette basses, which almost always have tapewound strings.

Proper shielding is critical, along with an understanding of wiring "best practices" to avoid ground loops etc. This is first on the list.

I would extend that to include shielding inside the pickup shell, if possible. Opinions vary on this approach, but I've found it to be very effective without any negative effects on sound.

Finally - Most nylon tapewounds have an outer nylon layer wrapped over an inner steel construction. This means that if the ball ends are grounded (you can check this with a meter), then the strings themselves are grounded.

A properly shielded instrument does not require you to touch the strings in order to ground them. So, rather than suspecting the strings, you should address the grounding issue first.

Put another way - if it's humming when you don't touch the strings, then it doesn't matter what kind of strings are on there!
It shouldn't hum, even when it's just laying there plugged in.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[mech]

.....Most nylon tapewounds have an outer nylon layer wrapped over an inner steel construction. This means that if the ball ends are grounded (you can check this with a meter), then the strings themselves are grounded.

A properly shielded instrument does not require you to touch the strings in order to ground them.........Put another way - if it's humming when you don't touch the strings, then it doesn't matter what kind of strings are on there!
It shouldn't hum, even when it's just laying there plugged in.

The player's body not being grounded due to the plastic tape on the strings is the issue. The human body is a great antenna for all sorts of electronic interference both for receiving and broadcasting. Any single coil PU will pickup magnetic fields no matter the amount of shielding with any material that is non-ferrous and a good ferrous shield will render the PU inoperable.

mech