Hi. I have a Schecter Elite 5 bass. It has EMG 40hz pickups with an EMG BTS circuit inside and it seems to hiss quite a bit. I shielded the inside of the pickups and the control cavity, isolated the equipment and signal grounds and it still hisses a lot, even more so my dad says. Whether the treble is at 0db or -12db, there is still hiss, though it does lessen as you cut treble out of the signal. I'm just wondering if there is another way of cutting out the hiss?
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Schecter Elite 5 Hiss
- Thread starter Bassisst90
- Start date
Have you tried adjusting the dip switches that control the treble frequency? If the noise changes when you adjust these switches then there's a problem with the preamp. It also wouldn't hurt to compare your wiring against the EMG diagram.
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And I know this is a really basic (perhaps stupid) question but have you changed the battery?
Should all else fail, the BTS System is very reasonably priced should you need to replace it. Invalid Link Removed
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And I know this is a really basic (perhaps stupid) question but have you changed the battery?
Should all else fail, the BTS System is very reasonably priced should you need to replace it. Invalid Link Removed
I tried to use the switches and it didn't do a thing. I did not change the battery, though I could try. I was thinking that is it possible that the ic for the preamp is really noisy and I could switch it out for something else?
Try changing the battery first. Noise from the preamp is a sign of low battery voltage. If the battery doesn't solve it a component in the output section after the tone controls has probably have gone noisy.
mech
mech
Thanks a lot guys. The battery did make it hiss much more than it used to, so that lessened it. I may try and use some shielded cable from the treble pot to the actual controls and see if that helps at all.
Tried the cable, but it didn't help. I'm thinking of getting a new tone control system or replacing the ic in the circuit. The new tone control system I'm thinking of is
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I was wondering if anyone knew if there was less noise in this circuit or if replacing the IC would make the circuit less noisy.
Tried the cable, but it didn't help. I'm thinking of getting a new tone control system or replacing the ic in the circuit. The new tone control system I'm thinking of is
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I was wondering if anyone knew if there was less noise in this circuit or if replacing the IC would make the circuit less noisy.
Note that EMG makes two different versions of the BTS preamp -- there's the original BTS for active pickups, and there's the newer BTS-HZ which is what comes paired with the passive EMG-HZ pickups. I'm experiencing the same hissing problem with the Stiletto Custom-4, so it's not just a defective unit that you've got there. The hissing appears to be a systemic design defect with the BTS-HZ preamp.
calling BS on this
I have 3 EMG equipped basses, quite as quite can be.
2 are Schecters to boot. They came with HZs (and where quite) and have since been upgraded to active EMGs with 3 band EQ (don't like 2 bands) and they are still whisper quite.
HZs do not have preamps, they are passive pickups.
The stock EQ in the Schecters are EMG designed but built offshore.
It would be the hiss producer in this case since the pickups are passive, so perhaps an issue with the EQ.
hip63
Just thought I'd follow up and say I was able to verify that the EMG BTS preamp was the cause of the hiss... when I bypassed it and ran the HZ pickups straight into my amp, it was equally loud but the hiss was completely gone. I've ordered a BassMods 3-band BEQ preamp to replace it, and in the meantime I'm just running it totally passive (no tone controls).
The pickups themselves do not contain preamps like the active EMGs do, but the HZs are almost always paired with a separate preamp like the BTS/BTC to provide active tone control.
Wherever they are built, they aren't just "EMG-designed" -- they are the actual BTS-HZs advertised directly on EMG's web site. Mine has the "B1000-C" model number stamped right on the PCB, which matches their official product documentation. It doesn't seem like they are an "OEM-only" part.
The pickups themselves do not contain preamps like the active EMGs do, but the HZs are almost always paired with a separate preamp like the BTS/BTC to provide active tone control.
Wherever they are built, they aren't just "EMG-designed" -- they are the actual BTS-HZs advertised directly on EMG's web site. Mine has the "B1000-C" model number stamped right on the PCB, which matches their official product documentation. It doesn't seem like they are an "OEM-only" part.
I recorded this demonstration/comparison MP3 that illustrates how hissy the EMG BTS preamp really is compared to other active preamps: Link Removed
I have a stiletto Elite 5 with the same pickups / preamp. Mine generates even more hiss. Per your recording, I think it actually sounded better without the active preamp.
