warwick vette w/MEC's dynamic correction + NTBT = problems?

[[SD]]

ok, i've decided to get a NTBT preamp but i just read a post about a fellow TBer who did get a NTBT for his vette and had HUM problems!!! so he had to change the pickups.

Are the MEC not hum cancelling? if so, will i definetly have to change the pickups to??

will that happen with any preamp?

 

[[SD]]

come on! someone has to know if a single coil pick up while have hum problems if i put a preamp in

 

[David Wilson]

Well, there's too many variables in there to make a blanket statement about what will happen in your situation.

Could you link to the thread you're referencing?

Single coils will have hum, you can minimise it through a number of ways - shielding paint/foil, two reverse wound single coil pickups which cancel out at max vol.

I don't know of any MEC single coil pickups, doesn't mean they're not out there, I just haven't heard of them.

 

[[SD]]

hi here is the link to the thread:

thread

i just emailed warwick asking about there pickups also.

thanks

 

[David Wilson]

ok.

Do you have any hum at the moment?

 

[[SD]]

nope, dead quiet!!!

 

[David Wilson]

ok, well assuming it's wired passive at the moment then I'd guess they're hum-cancelling.

Even with hum-cancelling pickups you can still get hum from a poorly grounded installation. I can't think why simply installing a preamp would cause you to get hum. Badly installing / grounding a preamp can definitely give you hum.

 

[Z-Bass]

Well if your Corvette is a standard without an active EQ circuit then your MEC pickups should be passive and yes they do hum time to time. I use to own a Corvette standard with passive MECs and they would hum in certain environments. I never did attempt to shield the pickups and cavity, I bet that would have helped a lot. I think the main problem is this, if your pickups are prone to hum, then adding a preamp will most likely increase the problem a bit, since the preamp is boosting the signal. One exception though, for a time I ran my Corvette through an outboard Aguilar preamp (the 924 I think). That unit actually seemed to reduce the hum significantly and make the overall signal sound a bit cleaner, don't know why but it did.

It probably couldn't hurt getting your bass shielded while getting the preamp installed.

 

[[SD]]

well they hum if i put the bass really close to the amp but i say they are dead quiet cuz it's not a problem when i'm playing there no hiss when not touching the bass, no hum when playing, basically no problem.

I will install the preamp myself. If i start getting hum problem i'll find out how to shield it or just take it to the store and make them shield it, even though they are gonna try to sell me a set of pickups!

 

[BoogieNight]

I had a Corvette Std. I emailed Dana B Goods about the pickups and they said that "Dynamic Correction" are passive single coils, so they would have some hum if used with active electronics.

In fact I think they were very silent pickups. Never installed a preamp on that bass though. Warwick itself puts theses pickups even in some active basses (corvettes mostly).

 

[[SD]]

this is what i received from warwick germany:

the MEC Dynamic Correction PUs are normal Single Coils, so you'll have the normal hum caused by a single coil construction. When adding a preamp and boosting the signal you'll boost the hum too, but that's quite normal. If you want less hum you should change the pickups too. But note: you'll not have hum problems automatically; the hum with single coils is caused by interspersion from devices like neon lamps, transformers and so on - so it depends on your playing position if you get much hum.



i'll get the preamp installed if it's unplayable because of hum i'll get a new set of hum cancelling pickups...so i guess that will be a new adventure on the pickup forum to see which pickups match my bass the best

 

[luknfur]

FWIW:

Never had MEC pups but I've ran lots of pups through the standard preamps, including NTBT. I have never had hum increase by running pups through a preamp. In fact, it has either eliminated hum or decreased it substantially over running the pups passively. It's been my experience consistently that preamps seem to filter the signal. The good part is that it diminishes unwanted characteristics like hum and finger/pic transfer but it also cuts out much (sometimes all) of the natural rawness a pup may have.

However, if you like treble and boost it significantly, you're going to get some rackett. I'm not a treble boost kind of guy. Regardless, some pups require a treble boost to get the desired tone and if that creates too much noise, the pups have to go. But the Bart pres weren't as bad on the treble end as the Aggies.