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Truely Noiseless 5 string Jazz bass

monkeyland

monkeyland

Jul 1, 2008
1,289
2,196
Ft Myers, Florida
#1
If you've been down this road you know...a lot of 5 string hum bucker designs still make noise. Especially if they use a split coil setup because the coils are different length. The only ones that I've tried so far that are totally quiet are the Sadowsky HC made by Nordstrand that are in my Sadowsky NYC.

I'm currently working on an older Fender American Deluxe V that plays great. I've shielded it well but there is still a little bit of pickup noise. It currently has the Fender Noiseless SCN that it was born with.

What have you guys tried that is a 5 string jazz pickup that has been totally quiet, even with an active preamp.
 
#2
I, and several of my buddies, are using the Jazz Deluxe bass guitars and are very happy that our basses sound great with no noise. Mine is totally stock, no extra anything, and after 13 years of gigs, recording dates, rehearsals and personal practice in a whole lotta crappy rooms, my bass still performs flawlessly. I also owned a 2002 version that was a generation before my current Deluxe that also was excellent as far as noise with no mods.

I will say it has been my experience that some rooms make any pickup buzz a bit. Especially if the pickups have exposed pole pieces. Humbucking pickups do not eliminate buzz, only hum, which are two very different sounds. My bass buzzes on rare occasions in real bad rooms, but my Smith buzzes in the same rooms, and even EMGs can buzz given certain faders or wiring. And all pickups are susceptible to interference caused by electronic devices with screens such as cell phones, lap tops and computer and TV monitors.

I've had experience with so many humbucking Jazz pickups. Virtually every one on the market. Tone wise, there were differences. But noise wise, buzz wise, they all pretty much performed the same. Anything made today, especially brands such as Sadowsky, Aguilar, Nordstrand, Delano, Bartolini, etc, should be completely hum free. But may buzz on certain occasions.
 
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#3
David McIntire said:
I, and several of my buddies, are using the Jazz Deluxe bass guitars and are very happy that our basses sound great with no noise. Mine is totally stock, no extra anything, and after 13 years of gigs, recording dates, rehearsals and personal practice in a whole lotta crappy rooms, my bass still performs flawlessly. I also owned a 2002 version that was a generation before my current Deluxe that also was excellent as far as noise with no mods.

I will say it has been my experience that some rooms make any pickup buzz a bit. Especially if the pickups have exposed pole pieces. Humbucking pickups do not eliminate buzz, only hum, which are two very different sounds. My bass buzzes on rare occasions in real bad rooms, but my Smith buzzes in the same rooms, and even EMGs can buzz given certain faders or wiring. And all pickups are susceptible to interference caused by electronic devices with screens such as cell phones, lap tops and computer and TV monitors.

I've had experience with so many humbucking Jazz pickups. Virtually every one on the market. Tone wise, there were differences. But noise wise, buzz wise, they all pretty much performed the same. Anything made today, especially brands such as Sadowsky, Aguilar, Nordstrand, Delano, Bartolini, etc, should be completely hum free. But may buzz on certain occasions.
Click to expand...

well what I know is that the current sadowsky HC V pickups are completely silent, whereas others that I’ve tried are not. Unfortunately those come in the older Jazz V size whereas the Fender has the newer size, so they are not an option for me. I can’t try every pickup on the market so just looking for some suggestions from other users
 
#6
The Fender Noiseless (gen 1) and SCN (gen 2, I think) were stacked humbuckers, so the coils were the same length and laid on top of each other. They were designed by Bill Lawrence. I've had both, but it's been a while and I can't recall if they were truly silent or not. I do know that I tried to find a pickup that sounded better for that size, but fell short in my search, so I shifted my bass desires accordingly.

EMG would fit the bill to a degree, but I'm guessing you don't necessarily want to make a shift like that. They are probably the best pickups for having absolutely no 60 cycle hum and/or shielding issues.
 
#8
rojo412 said:
The Fender Noiseless (gen 1) and SCN (gen 2, I think) were stacked humbuckers, so the coils were the same length and laid on top of each other. They were designed by Bill Lawrence. I've had both, but it's been a while and I can't recall if they were truly silent or not. I do know that I tried to find a pickup that sounded better for that size, but fell short in my search, so I shifted my bass desires accordingly.

EMG would fit the bill to a degree, but I'm guessing you don't necessarily want to make a shift like that. They are probably the best pickups for having absolutely no 60 cycle hum and/or shielding issues.
Click to expand...

the bass has the SCN and they do sound nice but they still buzz a bit
 

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