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Strange buzzing noise.

Kauczukowe_Jajo

Kauczukowe_Jajo

Mar 27, 2015
94
11
26
Poland
#1
Hello!
Yesterday when manipulating volume control I saw something weird. When I turn volume knob on my bass, there's some bad buzzing. When turned a little bit down, buzzing disappears. You can hear it in recording I made.
You may need to turn up your speakers to hear it, but in amp it's really annoying.
 

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#2
I do not hear anything but I believe you.

What kind of bass is it? What kind of pickups does it have? Did you change anything recently?
Do you get the noise with a different amp or cables? Does it persist in another location?
Is the buzz affected by anything other than turning down the volume. Does it stop or get louder when you touch any metal/strings/bridge? Does the noise change based on your direction?
 
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#3
I also did not hear anything, but that can simply mean it is very low in the recording and getting more ampped in the amp.
In all my years of helping people sort out hums, buzzes noises, and reception problems, I only had one person who was truly hallucinating what they described.
Since your complaint is real let's move on.

These can be tricky or easy to find, mostly tricky though.

Does it sound like something related to power line frequency?
That mostly sounds like a hum at either 60 Hertz or 120 Hz.
That usually is a grouding or shielding problem.
If you pull the 1/4" plug out of your guitar and touch the tip (Signal hot side or +), that is the same type of sound that usually comes with ground problems; poor ground, ground loops and such.
Buzz on the other hand will be more raspy sounding, it will have a definite edge to it.
That usually is NOT related to grounding, but something being induced from an outside source, such as flourescent lights, fish tank heaters, computers or monitors/TVs, blenders, hair dryers, wall warts, or almost any electrical device.
If the source is close to the guitar, or cable (check your 1/4" cable for a disconnected shield) the noise can be induced into your pickups directly. Passive guitars are especially susceptible.
Or the buzz can travel in via the power line to the amp, and then to your guitar and then amplified in the amp.
Try moving the amp and guitar to a different room to see if it changes the problem.

Start unplugging other electric devices to see if the problem changes.
Turn them off, one at a time and leave them off as you move to the next device.
If the problem goes away, there is a good chance it is associated with the last device you turned off.
Now turn everything back on, in reverse order, but do not turn on the offending device.
This will help to determine if there is more than one device involved.
Hint... You must unplug the devices at the wall rather than turning off the power. Most electronics these days never truly is shut off when using the power switch.
Almost all electronics use switching power supplies, which are notorious for generating all manner of hum, noise, and buzz.
But start with the guitar and cable to be sure everything is good inside.
OGB
 
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#5
Kauczukowe_Jajo said:
Tomorrow I will record it louder, so you can hear. Then we will talk :)
Click to expand...

Responding to the questions I asked would help me a lot more than actually hearing the noise. I would not be able to diagnose the issue merely by hearing the noise. Following @Old Garage-Bander 's advice would help as well.
 
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#6
Ok, it's not grounding/shielding issue, because when I touch the bridge or strings nothing changes. It's not like humming when I touch jack plug, but it's like "electricity noise". I will try playing in other places. I have three cables, when I change them the buzz is still the same.
 
#8
Heh.. I'd been meaning to stop by this thread after intially viewing it. At first i could hardly hear the noise you were talking about and I almost posted that it's a noise that wouldn't bother me.

THEN.. I was standing in front of my laptop with my Jazz bass and started getting a small crackle.. I was going to come back to this thread and say "This thing sounds like you're too close to your computer.. try turning your computer or tv off.."
 
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#10
Yeah, this might be a weird response and totally not the problem, but it's good to know. I had a huge flatscreen TV for a computer monitor that only in the past year or so have noticed that it's the problem with all of the buzz in my earlier recordings because the TV itself has a nasty audible buzz.. When I am near it with my bass or guitar, you can hear the buzz coming through the guitar/bass, and out the amp. When I turn the TV off, buzz is gone.

Make sure there's no weird sources of hum or even audible buzz in your space, cause I was a total idiot with this one.
 
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#11
Kauczukowe_Jajo said:
Ok, I found the problem. When I moved to the other room that don't have any device, the buzzing stopped. Thank you for help guys! :)
Click to expand...

Congrats on your trouble shooting!
If it was near a computer, like with Matty's experience, then yes, those things are notoriously noisy.
Sometimes you can hear the interfering noise change with hard drive activity.
I am amazed at what passes FCC Part 15, type acceptance, these days.
 
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#12
Matty Koff said:
Heh.. I'd been meaning to stop by this thread after intially viewing it. At first i could hardly hear the noise you were talking about and I almost posted that it's a noise that wouldn't bother me.

THEN.. I was standing in front of my laptop with my Jazz bass and started getting a small crackle.. I was going to come back to this thread and say "This thing sounds like you're too close to your computer.. try turning your computer or tv off.."
Click to expand...

JustForSport said:
Sometimes, I get 'data crackle' when near a computer.
Click to expand...

You can get that same noise if you leave your cell phone on your amp as well, it will usually precede a text or call by a second.
 
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#13
Heh.. most of the time all it really took was turning off the computer monitor and/or tv near by and that would eliminate my problems... but that was back in the days before 12 year olds were walking around with smartphones.

But just for the sake of the OP..it's completely normal.
 
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