davebass66 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) I know I have posted my ongoing problems with this in the past but I have one more!! Ever since I installed an Audere JZ3D pre into my Jazz deluxe bass I have a terrible hum whenever the Wizard 64 pickups are solo'd. I know that the pickups are passive and therefore single coil but this is much louder than a regular single coil hum. It also gets much worse when you touch the pickup. It doesn't appear to be a problem with the pre as there is no hum directly from the pre amp (with the pickup wires removed). I spoke to Andy at Wizard today and his only real suggestion was to post up a query on here to see if anyone has had a similar problem and effectively fixed it?! I have had the bass fully shielded inside, this has slightly improved the problem I think, but at the moment it is un-giggable. Which is a massive shame as it sounds great (behind the hum). The Wizards are also perfect for what I need, they sounded top notch when used with the Fender Pre, but I don't want to go back to that.... Thanks in advance for any help!! Dave Edited August 17, 2011 by davebass66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Difficult to say without seeing it. Excessive hum is usually down to a bad or missing earth somewhere within the setup. One place I have encountered hum is on little toggle switches used to route signals/perform a coil tap - the switch casing often needs to be earthed in the same way that pot casings are and wires leading to/from it need to be kept as short as physically possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 interesting, I hadn't thought of that... The preamp has a toggle switch for the different 'Z modes'. would this be classed as something that routes the signals? D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I had a bravewood jazz with wizards a while back! Great bass......until i added the Audere pre!! Noisey as hell!! Went back to a passive stack pot arrangement! Much better! If properly sheilded ( the grey paint is better than foil IMO) ive found the sadowsky pre to be one of best for low noise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 [quote name='davebass66' post='1343245' date='Aug 17 2011, 03:18 PM']interesting, I hadn't thought of that... The preamp has a toggle switch for the different 'Z modes'. would this be classed as something that routes the signals?[/quote] Probably not - I think it just changes preset curves on the preamp control chip. Having said that though, there's nothing to stop you holding a scrap of wire from the back of one of the pots to the switch casing to see if the problem disappears or improves... Probably a daft question, but you have got the pickups both connected the right way round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 [quote name='davebass66' post='1343193' date='Aug 17 2011, 02:47 PM']It also gets much worse when you touch the pickup.[/quote] This suggests that it's an earth problem of some kind. Does the hum change when you touch the strings or only when you touch the pups? Try stepping through some of the diagnostics on this link which might help to isolate the cause [url="http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/trouble/genericnoise.php"]http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electr...enericnoise.php[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I assume that you have followed the instructions supplied with the circuit? It's been a while since I fitted an Audere of this type but I seem to recall the installation instructions made a point of not earthing the negative side of the pickups to the 'general' earth path (i.e. the pots/cavity shielding) but to observe the colour coding table which indicated a specific wire (I think white with green stripe) for the neg. side of both pickups. Apologies in advance if you have already covered this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 All been earthed correctly I believe. I sent it to Terry Chapman to have it checked and done properly. Unfortunately he couldn't offer much advice. To be honest this has been a stress for me since the day I fitted it....I'm starting to consider selling it and getting another pre.....or perhaps selling the wizards and getting some Nordstrand humbucking J's D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Well the guy I fitted the Audere for has since ditched it in favour of a John East pre. So don't fall out out with the pickups just yet - I'm a big fan of the Wizards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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