Silencing Single Coils (And Other Jazz Bass Stories)

So here I am revamping a '94 Squier Series Jazz Bass.

I got a new control plate--probably cheap Chinese-made components, but the cost was worth the control plate alone.

I'm finding here's a lot of hum. I know single coils will be somewhat noisy, but it seems a bit more than necessary. I've shielded the inside with aluminum tape (using a multi-meter to ensure it is connected throughout). The tape completely silenced by P-Bass, so I'd like to do the same here, at least to some degree.

I'm wondering if some of the samarium cobalt noiseless pickups and some new wiring will be an upgrade over the stock J-bass pickups in terms of silence. I've never used them personally, but I can get a set for $65.

Both pickups in this bass are 3 and 5/8," so I assume It'll need a bit of widening in the bridge pu slot.

Thoughts?

 

Thanks for this.

I think I'm going to take it in for a proper setup as the action is still too high. I removed the excess relief, but it's still up there, and I'm thinking the nut may need to be better filed, and I don't have those tools.

I balanced the pickups and there was still hum even when touching the bridge. It could be the older pickups. It could be shoddy soldering or ineffective wiring on the plate. I'm going to open it up and take a look.

 

Turned a certain way towards the amp, it gets louder. Never quieter, though.

I'm a bit of an amateur when it comes to soldering, so I went back in and reinforced any lackluster joints. I also reseated the ground wire I have running from the bridge PU cavity to the control cavity for shielding continuity.

All of this and it's the same thing. The bridge ground is soldered to the pot and firmly pinned under the bridge with the strands splayed out.

I'm really not sure what else, so I'm going to see if I can get it to my tech tomorrow if I get time, but he's going out on tour, so it might have to wait.

Just a curious case. I feel like I'm missing something. I felt around to see if I could get less hum somewhere, but I came up empty.

 

Ended up going over all of the shielding to make sure there was 000 readings. It was all damn close. Went in, shielded the pickups. Checked my grounds. Hum is still there, consistent whether I'm touching the bridge or not. Loud hum. Could it be the cheap pots, old MIM pickups?

Only problem with replacing the pickups is the narrower bridge spacing.