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Thunderbird Club

#175,562
KaraQ said:
Any of you guys with a VP ever have its pickups pick up ... interference? I guess? that your other 'birds don't? :thumbsdown:
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Never had any RF interference or hum in any of my birds on any settings.

I once did have some hum and static interference noise coming out of my amp when I was playing a bird, but I quickly realized I had placed my cell phone too close to the amp. Funny thing was, that you could hear a clicking noise coming from the amp just before the phone would ring.

If you haven't already done so, make sure your cell phone is no where near your amp, bass or cables. Other than that, you might have a grounding issue with your bass. Also, try a different cable, they do sometimes go bad.
 
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#175,565
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#175,566
Ap
GBassNorth said:
Never had any RF interference or hum in any of my birds on any settings.

I once did have some hum and static interference noise coming out of my amp when I was playing a bird, but I quickly realized I had placed my cell phone too close to the amp. Funny thing was, that you could hear a clicking noise coming from the amp just before the phone would ring.

If you haven't already done so, make sure your cell phone is no where near your amp, bass or cables. Other than that, you might have a grounding issue with your bass. Also, try a different cable, they do sometimes go bad.
Click to expand...
What kind of amp was it?
 
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#175,567
dagrev said:
Never had a problem with either VP. Did have that problem with the 06 Gibson, however. Humbuckers that hum? This only happened when both pick ups were full on as I recall. If our rolled one of them back a little it would stop. And it was as if together they were canceling each other out. (Not the technical way to word it I don't know.) This did go away when I put GHS precision flats on it. Don't know if it was coincidence and timing or the various rounds that had previously been on it had something to do with it. It's quiet now for whatever reason. As for the VPs, I've never had them make noise even in potentially noisy situations. Unless something just started happening, you might try changing strings just for the heck of it. And that's easier than getting the old solder gun out or buying some copper shielding. I know the DR black beauties were noisy on the 06 for some reason. Again, that could be just weird timing with interference not being present any longer. Good luck figuring it out. I know they can be annoying.
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Engle said:
Nope not that I’ve noticed.
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GBassNorth said:
Never had any RF interference or hum in any of my birds on any settings.

I once did have some hum and static interference noise coming out of my amp when I was playing a bird, but I quickly realized I had placed my cell phone too close to the amp. Funny thing was, that you could hear a clicking noise coming from the amp just before the phone would ring.

If you haven't already done so, make sure your cell phone is no where near your amp, bass or cables. Other than that, you might have a grounding issue with your bass. Also, try a different cable, they do sometimes go bad.
Click to expand...

MCF said:
Not that I’ve ever noticed.
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Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:

Still looking into it, was less late last night, than in the afternoon - but still noticeable.

I just got it out of its case yesterday, after about a 3-week "rest". Same strings (DR neon reds), same settings (v1=10, v2=~7.5, t=~8), but I did check both. Checked w/ 2 cables, & when that didn't change anything, I tried a couple of other basses (even a non-Thunderbird :jawdrop: ).

It does seem to be environmental, I can move the VP around in different places/positions & the hum gets less/worse. Lowering volume, especially on v1/neck pickup makes a difference (obviously), and using either overdrive makes it more noticeable.

But none of my other basses are doing this, and this one wasn't doing it previously.


Guess I just wanted to check if it was a feature, before I started looking for bugs ;)
 
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#175,569
Chucky Stiletti said:
Ap

What kind of amp was it?
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IIRC it was my Musicman HD150 bass amp. I had set my cell phone down on top of the amp while I was practicing. It was either that amp or my Fender SuperReverb guitar amp. It was years ago, so details are a bit fuzzy. If it's important I could probably recreate it, but Kara didn't mention anything about her cell phone location so probably won't help her much.
 
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#175,570
69'Vette said:
My guess is that all three are either Orville by Gibson (the one without rings) or Orville/Epi Japan. The black backside with sunburst is a dead giveaway.
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I’d say they are all US Gibsons. The stamp on the back of the headstock looks right, and the Orvilles and the vintage Japanese Epis had the output in the ”correct” position (= on the front of the body). These all have the output in the ”modern” Gibson position.
 
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#175,572
GonePlaid said:
I've mentioned a few dozen times that our band does mostly 60s/70s rock, ballads, and some country, but this is more like what I listen to on Sirius/XM(Hair Nation, Ozzy's Boneyard, LSUG). Favorite bands of this genre would be Skorpions, Priest, Vixen, Maiden, Cinderella, etc. Would like to play some of their songs, but our crowd wouldn't go for it, plus my knees won't stand-literally-for all that movin' 'round.
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And you’d need to grow your hair (back?) out
 
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#175,574
KaraQ said:
Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:

Still looking into it, was less late last night, than in the afternoon - but still noticeable.

I just got it out of its case yesterday, after about a 3-week "rest". Same strings (DR neon reds), same settings (v1=10, v2=~7.5, t=~8), but I did check both. Checked w/ 2 cables, & when that didn't change anything, I tried a couple of other basses (even a non-Thunderbird :jawdrop: ).

It does seem to be environmental, I can move the VP around in different places/positions & the hum gets less/worse. Lowering volume, especially on v1/neck pickup makes a difference (obviously), and using either overdrive makes it more noticeable.

But none of my other basses are doing this, and this one wasn't doing it previously.


Guess I just wanted to check if it was a feature, before I started looking for bugs ;)
Click to expand...
 
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#175,575
GBassNorth said:
IIRC it was my Musicman HD150 bass amp. I had set my cell phone down on top of the amp while I was practicing. It was either that amp or my Fender SuperReverb guitar amp. It was years ago, so details are a bit fuzzy. If it's important I could probably recreate it, but Kara didn't mention anything about her cell phone location so probably won't help her much.
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nah no need, just checking and you verified my suspicion of both being tube amps...
 
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#175,576
GonePlaid said:
I've mentioned a few dozen times that our band does mostly 60s/70s rock, ballads, and some country, but this is more like what I listen to on Sirius/XM(Hair Nation, Ozzy's Boneyard, LSUG). Favorite bands of this genre would be Skorpions, Priest, Vixen, Maiden, Cinderella, etc. Would like to play some of their songs, but our crowd wouldn't go for it, plus my knees won't stand-literally-for all that movin' 'round.
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Knee problems? Copperfit Spandex pants. Problem solved. No pics necessary.:D

(I don't actually think they make them. But if they did, it may cause other problems in addition to groupies going wild.)
 
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#175,577
Chucky Stiletti said:
nah no need, just checking and you verified my suspicion of both being tube amps...
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This does seem to be a downside of tubes. I've noticed a few times the tubes(?) seem to act like little antenna. Even picked up radio stations in some locations.

My technical explanation is the same as to why tube amps are louder. The sound gets in the tubes and reverberates around and amplifies the sound, or the interference in this case. I'm sure you and Miles have a different way of explaining this!*

*This is not to be taken seriously.
 
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