Univox short scale

[ardgedee]

You could spray some contact cleaner on the sleeve of the cable jack and then plug it in/out of the socket a few times, spin it around as well. Or use some fine sandpaper wrapped around a pencil and spin that around inside the socket a few times to clean off any oxidation.

Spraying contact cleaner into the socket is mostly serving to coat everything else in the cavity. And sandpaper is harsh enough to remove any plating that might be on the socket.

If a soft pencil eraser isn't sufficient to remove any corrosion or gunk, spray some contact cleaner on a rag or Q-tip and wipe the surface with that. If that doesn't fix the problem, the problem is something else.

Sometimes those sockets just wear out and have to be replaced. They're cheap and easy to swap out so don't spend a lot of time trying to fix this one.

 

[iSayBoourns]

Could possibly be the sleeve on the output socket not making proper contact with the sleeve on the cable due to oxidation. You could spray some contact cleaner on the sleeve of the cable jack and then plug it in/out of the socket a few times, spin it around as well. Or use some fine sandpaper wrapped around a pencil and spin that around inside the socket a few times to clean off any oxidation.
And have a look over all the wiring for broken earth connections.
Might also be the tip on the socket has bent out of correct position over time which is pretty common on old gear, preventing the cable from making correct contact. Try gently bending the tip in towards the centre a little bit so the cable jack sits in there snugly.
If you aren't getting any change in the noise when you touch the bridge or adjust the volume and tone controls but it stops when you push the cable jack further in, then that sounds like a socket issue.

Thank you for all that advise. I will certainly give all that a go. The hum only goes away if I touch the metal on my fender cable. Touching the bridge or strings does not. But yeah putting a bit more force on the cable into the jack pretty much gets rid of it. You are probably right in it being the jack being oxidized and also maybe bent a little out of shape for proper fit.

Really appreciate you and everyone who has responded in this thread.

 

[JIO]

You have a Phase II , the bridge does not look original. They were in production from 69-74.
Light , great sounding , very enjoyable to play. Phase I had rocker switches instead of the toggle switch. Phase III & IV had the different pickups. They changed in 74.View attachment 7090854

That one's pretty nice - is that factory black over factory blue? - here's one currently for sale at GC - different knobs... can't make-out details on the bridge & missing the bridge cover. Finding any vintage bass with original bridge/pu covers is always a major bonus for me, and OHSC is the ultimate!

 

[GretschWretch]

@GretschWretch and @JIO might be able to help.

JIO perhaps; but @Thornton Davis would be more help than I could be.

 

[HaphAsSard]

@cdef too.

 

[msb]

That one's pretty nice - is that factory black over factory blue? - here's one currently for sale at GC - different knobs... can't make-out details on the bridge & missing the bridge cover. Finding any vintage bass with original bridge/pu covers is always a major bonus for me, and OHSC is the ultimate!
View attachment 7100935J

I changed the knobs , and have the originals labelled and safely stored away. Those are the original knobs. That’s a Phase1. Just missing the bridge cover. Phase 1 came out in 67 and lasted until 71. That might be the original white finish , they’re rare.

 

[msb]

Here are the original knobs Jio. The thumbrest was added by a previous owner.