As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Summoning Elite Troubleshooters
- Thread starter Crosscheck67
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 60 cycle hum emg emi ground hum
No need to literally line the wiring channels with shielding. Using shielded cable for your pickup leads is less work:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I agree with what you're hearing from Nordstrand and I generally find them to be a great company to work with. I will second the notion that you shouldn't get hung up on the cost, since you can always sell unwanted pickups here on the classifieds very quickly. If you wait until you see the ones you want to try here as well, instead of buying new, you can pretty much break even at the end of the day. The Nordstand pickups you mentioned are going to be reeallllly different in tone from your EMGs but since you've listened to comparison videos I'm assuming you're going in eyes wide open!
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I agree with what you're hearing from Nordstrand and I generally find them to be a great company to work with. I will second the notion that you shouldn't get hung up on the cost, since you can always sell unwanted pickups here on the classifieds very quickly. If you wait until you see the ones you want to try here as well, instead of buying new, you can pretty much break even at the end of the day. The Nordstand pickups you mentioned are going to be reeallllly different in tone from your EMGs but since you've listened to comparison videos I'm assuming you're going in eyes wide open!
Dig. I get that I can sell later, it's the up front investment that's delaying everything. But I will comb the classifieds.
How would you describe the tonal differences between the two? Anyone chime in on this who's heard both.
I consider myself terrible at putting tonal differences into text so I'm not really sure I even want to try, at the risk of giving you bad information! It seems like EMGs are unmistakable, you can spot them in an instant, and most people love or hate them.
Nordstrands sound really great, but to me, most of their models are much more "typical" in the sense that they sound less distinct from other brands of higher end pickups. That's not really a bad thing though because it means they're very predictable. The NJ5 FS is a very typical (and very good) 60's Alnico 5 Jazz tone, but hum cancelling since it's an inline split coil (which, I think, is the best way to get a hum cancelling J that still sounds like an actual Jazz bass). If you like a 60's Jazz tone but would lean slightly towards a punchier or slightly brighter version of an actual 60's J pickup, the NJ5 FS is going to be perfect. If you want something with a slightly softer, warmer, more vintage-y tone, you might want to get one of their Alnico 3 models (I don't remember if they do the NJ5 FS in A3 as a standard model or not, but I bet they would if you asked for a custom order).
I have a literal pile of hum cancelling Jazz pickups on my bench right now and I'd happily loan you some to try, just to help with the "can I fix this" experiment, but they're mostly 4 string models. I do have one set of Bartolini 5 string J's (59J, their inline hum cancelling model, in a long-long pair) but I think you said somewhere in this thread that you're not a fan of Barts. If you want to try them let me know.
Nordstrands sound really great, but to me, most of their models are much more "typical" in the sense that they sound less distinct from other brands of higher end pickups. That's not really a bad thing though because it means they're very predictable. The NJ5 FS is a very typical (and very good) 60's Alnico 5 Jazz tone, but hum cancelling since it's an inline split coil (which, I think, is the best way to get a hum cancelling J that still sounds like an actual Jazz bass). If you like a 60's Jazz tone but would lean slightly towards a punchier or slightly brighter version of an actual 60's J pickup, the NJ5 FS is going to be perfect. If you want something with a slightly softer, warmer, more vintage-y tone, you might want to get one of their Alnico 3 models (I don't remember if they do the NJ5 FS in A3 as a standard model or not, but I bet they would if you asked for a custom order).
I have a literal pile of hum cancelling Jazz pickups on my bench right now and I'd happily loan you some to try, just to help with the "can I fix this" experiment, but they're mostly 4 string models. I do have one set of Bartolini 5 string J's (59J, their inline hum cancelling model, in a long-long pair) but I think you said somewhere in this thread that you're not a fan of Barts. If you want to try them let me know.
I agree with all this.
I've not used jazz pickups from either EMG or Nordstrand.
Edit- my experience with them is mostly with Pbass and dual coil pickups.
I actually like Fender pickups, one of my favorite basses has '74s in it. I have 5-string Barts which are punchy but sound a little dull in the high end. They're articulate and worth considering in view of your tonal goal. I've also used framing (bright and articulate), Fender noiseless (not bad when paired with the right preamp), all of the Seymour Duncan varieties (all good in their own right but all different from each other. I'd stay away from the quarter pounders). I've also tried DiMarco, which I don't remember at all.
I should really sell these They're sitting in my pickup drawer.
Using shielded pickup wire on pickups that don't already have it is NOT less work than shielding the wire channels. You have to do pickup wire surgery. And if it goes wrong, it goes really wrong. Shielding the wiring channels doesn't take that much additional time or effort if a person is already that far into their bass, and it's good forever after that, no matter what pickups that person decides to use later.
No worries mate! Turns out the copper tubing I ordered might be arriving tomorrow, and a very cool individual is sending me some pickups to test with.
Just cause I had a little time while I'm waiting for stuff to arrive, I ordered this about a week ago and tried it out today. Did absolutely nothing. Could not reduce any hum or buzz from my bass or Les Paul. Tried outputting to the Amplug, and then the USB interface. Figured it was an $18 hail Mary.
Hope this helps everyone wanting to know exactly what the issue sounds like
Sorry to get back on this so late I guess I missed the alert. That is an odd sound, and to confirm you're saying its making this same noise both straight into the USB interface alone, and walking around the house plugged only into the amplug?
It does sound like a computer fan or hard drive interference, but if its that I'd expect a Jazzmaster to have it and that it would at least change intensity walking the house with the Amplug.
With the test setup shown in your video, if you can crimp power onto the battery you can test easily whether its self noise or external interference by putting it into a quick makeshift faraday cage. If you have a metal pot and a metal sheet pan, you can put this little test setup in and close them together so metal touches metal and listen for the noise still.
I'm going to see if I can get my J5 pickup to replicate that noise here, thats an unusual one and not really a typical 60hz hum sort of sound. I've also heard this type of high frequency squealing as self-noise out of transistor and opamp circuits with component problems, but I wouldn't consider that normal and would think EMG would've found it.
I did test out of bass as pictured in the video, with both the USB interface and the Amplug, although not while walking around the house. I didn't feel the need for testing that, as I already confirmed killing all power in my home still produces the same noise, and that exponentially grows as I move towards the power lines out front. There was no change when testing each breaker independently either.
Can't be fan or HDD, as my Macbook has an SSD and the fan doesn't spin up unless I'm doing videos, or running Windows in Bootcamp. I do remember a few months back I discovered a buzzing that came from my USB bus whenever any or my Razer gear was doing it's light show; keyboard, mouse, mousepad, etc. So I have to disable that stuff when mucking about with audio.
I'm trying to think of an old tool that has a 9v connecter I can rip out for testing, to eliminate self noise. However, I definitely experienced self noise when I did the same test fully shielded, as the battery leads were were wrapped in copper. I'll still give it a go at some point cause it sounds like an interesting test.
Thanks. Have you tried a different jack? It's either the pickup, jack, or battery at that point.
In your video I couldn't tell if the ring was prong was making connection with the sleeve as it should.
I'm definitely dealing with an unusual - and quite persistent - challenge with this noise. Might be worth reading from the beginning as your questions may already be answered, plus some great advice has been offered.
