Earthing problem on a sterling

[jdt]

Three years old and been perfect, now buzzing ,
if i touch the strings or bridge it stops, been re soldered
whats the next stage, is this common with sterlings,
thanks

[warwickhunt]

What you describe is a classic 'earthing' issue; I have two Sterlings and no such problem with either.

Are you saying your bass developed this issue THEN you had it resoldered (assuming you mean you had all of the solder joints redone) or have you had a soldering job done and now it is buzzing?

One point of note; has anything else changed? i.e. are you using the same amp, leads, cab and in the same location (bad earth in certain buildings can give grief). I would also add that if you are sitting with your bass in proximity to a computer, laptop, striplight etc. you can get interference.

[jdt]

Hi, the joints have been redone, the noise is worst
as the treble is turned up. the guys at the shop suggest
shielding as the next step.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='jdt' timestamp='1346057297' post='1784461']
... the guys at the shop suggest shielding as the next step.
[/quote]

That'll be the guys that will charge you to do the shielding? I can't believe that anyone who has any understanding of guitar/bass workings is suggesting shielding your bass, the caveat being if the bass is actually perfectly OK but there is a tiny bit of humm that you are trying to tweak to get rid of.

The Sterling if working correctly does not require ANY extra shielding (for starters it is humbucking)! Adding shielding is like putting an elastoplast on an amputation; if the bass is humming that bad then you need to establish what is wrong with the pup or electrics as there is something amiss that shielding will not cure.

[rmorris]

Hi. Has the buzz / hum come in as a definite 'step change' ?
If it was okay before and then developed this 'fault' then logically one of two things seems to have changed -
either the bass electronics : maybe a broken or damaged screen / shield - not easily seen if it is a non visible cable shield eg a shield connection into the pickup.

Or the 'electrical environment' ie there is more noise. As warwickhunt says computers and striplights are suspects ( alongside crt monitors but they are pretty rare now ! ) but also energy saving bulbs or low voltage led lights and possibly any electronics. Don't ignore lights etc that may be in another room - eg bass in spare room above kitchen - kitchen lights changed to energy saving or low volts led. A wood and plasterboard ceiling is transparent to rf noise !
Once tracked down a regular noise from a guitar amp down to a DVD player in a downstairs room.

If it's down to the bass then getting everything back to original should get you back to original noise performance. Shielding may help but the problem won't have been solved.

Hope this makes sense and comments welcome. If not blame the time I spent in the EMC lab today :-)