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Professional Concerns About Geddy Lee Bass

#81
the bigger issue for me is if the power is dirty. Played a dive bar a few weeks back and I've never had hum that bad with my jazz bass. Luckily the guitarist had a hum-debugger pedal he let me use since the hum on his guitar wasn't as bad as mine. Normally it's not a big issue, if at all, but it was so bad that even when we were all playing it was very present in the mix.
 
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#82
I have Seymour Duncan Hot Stack in the neck position of my 3 GL Jazz basses. I turn the bridge down a bit and…… not enough hum that I worry about for sure. I’ve played these for 10+ years and all types of venues and many FOH engineers. No Complaints so…..
 
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#83
If if it only hums in one venue or with one sound company's gear, it's not the bass. ;) If it's noisy everywhere, your instrument may be missing some shielding or there might be a bridge ground issue, both are pretty easy to correct.

I've mixed and played many Jazz basses, even Squiers, and it's never been a problem getting a good clean sound live. My current #1 Fender happens to be a MIM.

As for dirty power, I've carried one of these in my road box for years, but I've never needed it on my own stuff. https://www.fundamental-guitar.com/what-is-a-hum-eliminator/

Also, any pro sound provider should have a decent direct box with a ground lift switch if the hum is only present when going direct.
 
#84
Fenderz2015 said:
I a currently looking at playing in a bunch of venues professionally--yay! That said, I was told that my Mexican Geddy Lee bass may be cause interefernece with the sound system or vice/versa. I was thinking of swapping the pickups for noiseless as I love the bass, but it knda kills the vibe.

Any ideas?
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I played one for a couple of years and never had an issue with it. So whomever said this may be a bit clueless on how things with PA systems work…
 
#85
To be honest, I've gutted just about every bass, I've ever owned and upgraded the pickups, definately the pots and caps. Active and passive. Tuning machines are usually junk too.

Botiques are outta this league.
 
#87
bigthemat said:
the bigger issue for me is if the power is dirty. Played a dive bar a few weeks back and I've never had hum that bad with my jazz bass. Luckily the guitarist had a hum-debugger pedal he let me use since the hum on his guitar wasn't as bad as mine. Normally it's not a big issue, if at all, but it was so bad that even when we were all playing it was very present in the mix.
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Sounds like anything from code violations at the venue to an extension cord not carrying through the ground to your gear. Either way, you're the one running the risk of shock or even death by electrocution.
I'd suggest you carry one of those outlet testers to use during setup. If the wiring is jinky, you may not be able to do much about it, but at least you'll be aware and may be able to take some precautions.
 
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#89
Plain Old Barry said:
If if it only hums in one venue or with one sound company's gear, it's not the bass. ;) If it's noisy everywhere, your instrument may be missing some shielding or there might be a bridge ground issue, both are pretty easy to correct.

I've mixed and played many Jazz basses, even Squiers, and it's never been a problem getting a good clean sound live. My current #1 Fender happens to be a MIM.

As for dirty power, I've carried one of these in my road box for years, but I've never needed it on my own stuff. https://www.fundamental-guitar.com/what-is-a-hum-eliminator/

Also, any pro sound provider should have a decent direct box with a ground lift switch if the hum is only present when going direct.
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These are great for ground loop situations. Don't think however, they'll fix the typical, single coil, J-bass noise issues being discussed here.

I've used, even built, a number of these over the years. You do need to careful if putting one between the guitar and other gear (amp or pedals) that they are constructed in a way that still provides a ground via the instrument cable shield to the guitar jack.
 
#91
This kind-of sounds like the sort of thing I've heard some union techs say in theatre gigs. Not often, but occasionally I see it.
Some of them know just enough to know that a "standard" jazz bass may not have hum-cancelling pickups. I've seen a few musical theatre riders that stipulated "5 String Jazz Bass With Humbucking/Humcancelling Pickups."
Some of them also know that when they see "EMG" it's "good" and leave you alone. :thumbsup:

If the union techs demand it, you do it, or you never get called back.
 
#92
devnulljp said:
Geddy's original JB was a 2nd hand 1972 he bought in a pawn shop for $220.
(Mind you, I take your point -- I had one Mexi Jazz years ago, and it got sold after 2 days, I hated it)
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I’m not an expert on fender history by any stretch But the vintage gibsons were made to a higher standard in some ways and not in others.
There wasn’t a ‘Mexican’ tier of instrument, which i do respect again, for the price they were $550-$999.

But perhaps CBS fender cut too many corners? Perhaps not I don’t know. The used market seems to like them these days which makes one wonder what they have that one would pay a premium AND likely have to deal with old guitar issues that come with them vs really any USA line instrument at fender right now.

i had a Mexican artist jazz. It needed work but I did get years of play out of it. So maybe I’m being unfair. But even then the $550 MSRP bass had US appointments and Duncan’s. That same bass today has pau ferro, players tier components and copy cat pickups. Etc etc.

I’ve said it before, that fender CEO is not great for customers. But he looks amazing to investors becauae he sold out the last few years. Until this summer anyway…
 
#94
Fenderz2015 said:
Have a P bass, looking at picking up a Player Jazz bass, but I just look so awesome with the Geddy Lee, I know it's vain but I see myself with that bass when I play ;)
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I put a set of DiMarzio Model J pickups in my Geddy Lee bass. They basically make the bass sound more or less like a P bass (especially with the neck pickup solo'd). So you could potentially get the look AND the sound..... just my .02.

But anyway, I absolutely love the sound of my Geddy Lee with the Model Js installed. It's got much more output than the stock pickups had.
 
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#100
This statement is "spicy", but understand that the "spiciness" is not directed at you, it is directed at whoever told you that your bass would be an issue.


Probably 75%+ Jazz Basses are equipped with two single coil pickups, just like the Geddy Lee. Any single coil pickup run individually will produce 60 cycle hum. This is the only thing about the Geddy Lee or any other Jazz bass that would cause said interference. This is the case with the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker 4003, Gibson Les Paul Jr., and about a billion other instruments. On a Geddy Lee Jazz, or any other Jazz, you can eliminate this hum by simply blending both pickups as they are wired RW/RP. You can do this on some Strats and Teles. You can't even do that with a Rickenbacker 4003, as they are not typically wired RW/RP.

So, I would just buy the bass and play it, and if you find you really like going full neck or full bridge and there is too much hum, you can always get a hum cancelling device of some sort. Most people don't find it to be an issue, though. I've never met someone who sold their Jazz Bass because of hum.
 

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