Weird static pops while playing w/Mesa D800

[voided3]

I see in your signature that you are a tapewound user. Do either of the basses have tapewounds on them? I like D’Addario tapewounds a lot but have gravitated away from them due to extra noise from the non-conductive nylon outer wrap. Even on my fully shielded and humbucking basses it’s noticeable so I switched to low tension flats.

Also, just to rule it out, try putting a strip of electrical tape over the pole pieces on both pickups. Even if you don’t have an aggressive playing style, sometimes having your finger graze the pole pieces and bridge them to the grounded strings can make fun noises like you are describing.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I see in your signature that you are a tapewound user. Do either of the basses have tapewounds on them? I like D’Addario tapewounds a lot but have gravitated away from them due to extra noise from the non-conductive nylon outer wrap. Even on my fully shielded and humbucking basses it’s noticeable so I switched to low tension flats.

Also, just to rule it out, try putting a strip of electrical tape over the pole pieces on both pickups. Even if you don’t have an aggressive playing style, sometimes having your finger graze the pole pieces and bridge them to the grounded strings can make fun noises like you are describing.

I've got D'Addario tapes on my Jag and no static pops or extra noise with my setup.
My basement "gig" is carpeted but I have a whole house hummadidiafyer on my furnace.

 

[Crusher47]

Thanks guys...neither of these basses have tapewounds and both have stock pickups/wiring....also seems like 3rd fret really makes it pop..***

 

[Stumbo]

why does it only happen with certain Jazz basses?

Gotta study the basses and possibly your technique.

 

[Phlipper]

I know this may seem funny, but get a Dryer sheet and lightly rub it on the pickguard. I used to have this problem on Jazz basses and P basses when we lived in Colorado. It worked for me.

+1

Both my Les Pauls do this in the Winter. Dryer sheets in all the cavities helps.

 

[agedhorse]

We see an increased number of these kinds of complaints in winter. It's not uncommon.

 

[1Drop]

I'm getting the same deal with my d800 and powerhouse 6x10. Very occasionally, once when the amp was new about 6 months ago and again last weekend. Its a nasty noise and I swear i'm hearing it directly from the head itself.. For me it happened during the first three minutes of our first song. I freaked and turned gain and volume down a tad and it went away and never came back all night. frustrating. I'll definitely try the dryer sheet thing next gig. I'm playing a 99 thumb bass. I've never noticed a static discharge scenario with any other rig or bass tho, I'm wondering how the D800 might be helping this to happen? or is just a weather thing? Its been pretty dry around here all winter.

 

[honeyiscool]

I one time noticed all of my guitars were sounding terrible. I then took off my nylon windbreaker and everything sounded better. Lesson learned.

 

[agedhorse]

This happens to all amps to some degree or another, the static discharge is external to the amp so depending on how your bass is wired and other factors this may occur to a greater or lesser extent.

We see this complaint only during the very low humidity seasons, and in climates where indoor humidity becomes really low. I have seen this with most amp brands and models too, it's not exclusive to any one brand.

 

[BassmanPaul]

+1

Both my Les Pauls do this in the Winter. Dryer sheets in all the cavities helps.

Isn’t this a bit uncomfortable?

I won’t be shoving dryer sheets into any of my cavities any time soon!!!

 

[BaileyMan]

OP hasn't responded to the possibility that the pole pieces are being hit by either the strings or the fingers, or possibly involvement of the set up and playing style. Aggressive enough playing with high enough pickups or low action can lead to popping/clicking sounds when the string hits the pickup or frets.

 

[Phlipper]

Isn’t this a bit uncomfortable?

It can be ... a little. However, the upside is that my farts are now always linen fresh. Whereas previously it was all roses.

 

[1Drop]

This happens to all amps to some degree or another, the static discharge is external to the amp so depending on how your bass is wired and other factors this may occur to a greater or lesser extent.

We see this complaint only during the very low humidity seasons, and in climates where indoor humidity becomes really low. I have seen this with most amp brands and models too, it's not exclusive to any one brand.

does it make sense that the FOH guy heard it pretty loud and clear as well? And is there any risk of damage from this?

 

[agedhorse]

does it make sense that the FOH guy heard it pretty loud and clear as well? And is there any risk of damage from this?

Certainly. It looks like signal to the amp and whatever DI signal might be present.

 

[wizerd]

Tangent and off topic

When I was working in EM assembly, wrist straps were required. One meeting we had with the lead engineer was about ESD. Now if I'm remembering correctly it is extremely low current, but really high voltage... Like 1000's of volts. The handouts had some figure like 3500 volts is where the average person can feel ESD, and there can be entire PCBs ruined from discharges we can't even feel.

Is this correct, or is my memory that bad? Or were we fed a line?

You are correct. ESD can kill electronics even though you may not feel it. There are some high tech factories in the world that protect their products to as low as 50V or less.

 

[Crusher47]

OP hasn't responded to the possibility that the pole pieces are being hit by either the strings or the fingers, or possibly involvement of the set up and playing style. Aggressive enough playing with high enough pickups or low action can lead to popping/clicking sounds when the string hits the pickup or frets.

Pole pieces are not hitting the strings, I triple-checked that. Style shouldn't matter since most of my basses are setup the same way, I have 2 Jazz basses that made the noise and 4 others that did not make the noise. I'm playing them all the same way. It's been warm and rainy here the last couple of days and have not experienced this lately, so I'm chalking it up to low humidity and the carpet that ties my room together causing it.

 

[wizerd]

i had the same problem with a Squire CV Telecaster which I ultimately sold for something else. I was able to tame the snap crackle pop by rubbing a piece of dryer anti static on the pickguard. This worked ok for a while but wasn't a complete cure. The anti static dryer sheet didn't leave a crappy residue to hork up the finish on the pickguard, (Tort of course.)

 

[Crusher47]

**Update yet again.... It's still doing the noise, we are in Summer now and it's been rainy here, so Humidity is up, so I don't think it's a weather issue. Also, All 6 of my Jazz basses with a pickguard do it when I touch the pickguard itself or the neck pickup only. It does NOT do the noise when I play over the bridge pickup. It also does not do it on my G&L Jazz which does not have a pickguard, so I'm thinking it's the pickguard itself causing the static electricity pops. The room does have a carpet, but I was standing outside of it on the tile floor and it still makes the noise, so I don't think it's the carpet either.

I'm thinking I have to put some copper foil/shielding tape under the pickguard. If so, do I need to connect it to anything else? I do have a soldering iron so if I need to solder something, it's not an issue.

Thanks again for your help!

Edit: I was playing a couple of my P-Basses today as well and they both do it too...UGH!

 

[agedhorse]

Sine pick guard materials can generate large amounts of static electricity when rubbed. What you can do is spray the pick guard with a conductive material and bond the pick guard to the bridge (which should be connected to the sleeve of the jack).

Maybe give the manufacturer of the bass a call and see if they have any factory solutions.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Static electricity builds up on people. Here is an explanation: Invalid Link Removed. Some people have a propensity to do this more than others.

Try an experiment: Tape a wire down onto the pick guard, connect the other end to the bridge or the instrument cable's ¼" plug body if it is metal. This will ground the pick guard. It never hurts to ground yourself. To discharge any build up on your skin, an ESD strap is handy (https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Anti-Static-Components-RTK-002-Yellow/dp/B004N8ZQKY). Without one, you can use a bare wire firmly wrapped around your wrist, the other end connected to the bridge or ¼" plug body.