toneknob Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hi, I'm getting increasingly weary of the hum coming from my pickups on my Jazz bass when playing with the volume controls set to different positions. I'm considering upgrading to new pickups, preferably with master volume/blend/tone rather than front vol/back vol/tone. Any recommendations? Or should I be considering a decent shielding job instead? (again recommendations welcome) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybass Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1348135148' post='1809702'] Hi, I'm getting increasingly weary of the hum coming from my pickups on my Jazz bass when playing with the volume controls set to different positions. I'm considering upgrading to new pickups, preferably with master volume/blend/tone rather than front vol/back vol/tone. Any recommendations? Or should I be considering a decent shielding job instead? (again recommendations welcome) Thanks! [/quote] www.delano.de Delano have a decent range and blend/tone/volume controls in their wiring... Nordstrand seem to be favoured by many, or Seymour Duncans or Bartolini.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Shielding will definitely help. Not sure blend control will be any different to two volumes in terms of hum! This is a different thing really, and a fairly common mod to a jazz bass - but not to reduce hum. You could try humbucking pickups, a few companies do these for Jazz Bass, the old favourite being DMarzio Model J, but they are kind of an old school sounding compared to the Nordys and Barts. Whatever you choose make sure its a humbucking model (not all are) or you'll probably end up in the same position. I would try shielding all cavities first though - that may be enough and its considerably cheaper than a set of Bartolinis!! Once you've sorted that you can sort out the blend control thing, either buy the pots and wire it up, or if you're not confident about soldering you could drop Kiogon on here a PM, he might make you one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1348141134' post='1809842'] Not sure blend control will be any different to two volumes in terms of hum! This is a different thing really, and a fairly common mod to a jazz bass - but not to reduce hum. [/quote] Thanks for suggestions so far guys - to clarify, I meant getting the new control setup (blend/vol/tone) as well as new pickups, rather than instead of. The Bass Gallery in Camden is quoting £40 for a screening job, is this a good price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Depends what they are doing for £40. You can get some copper tape for £10 and do it yourself pretty easily, its just lining all the cavities with that and making sure its connected to earth. UNLESS you are [u]not[/u] comfortable taking your bass apart. In which case I would get a couple of quotes for comparison. There is a list of luthiers and repairers in your area at the top of this section of the forum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 (edited) Did 3 of my basses with a 4m reel of copper tape for £6. Totally killed the hum and only took about 30 mins per guitar once I'd got the hang of it ;-) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390468328691#ht_981wt_922 Edited September 22, 2012 by davehux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Shielding definitely will help. I put a Seymour Duncan Hot Stack in the bridge of my old Aerodyne, partly to get the Duff McKagan sound, as he uses them, but to also eliminate the hum. As they are hum-cancelling, it did exactly that. Retains the Jazz sound, just more of it, and doesn`t sound like an angry wasps nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 [quote name='davehux' timestamp='1348293199' post='1811932'] Did 3 of my basses with a 4m reel of copper tape for £6. Totally killed the hum and only took about 30 mins per guitar once I'd got the hang of it ;-) [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390468328691#ht_981wt_922"]http://cgi.ebay.co.u...91#ht_981wt_922[/url] [/quote] Thanks for tips everyone. This looks like a good idea for a first step: is it just a case of coating the surfaces of internal cavities, or does the tape need to connect electrically with the pickups and controls somehow? Sorry if this is a dumb question, this is the most advanced guitar maintenance I've ever considered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 You need to get a continuous ground/earth. Line the pup and control cavities with the tape, overlapping it so that it's totally covered. If you have a pickguard, there may be a channel for the pup wire to the control cavity. If so, line that as well and ensure the tape connects all the cavities. If there's no channel, you'll need to solder an earth wire from each pup cavity lining to the control cavity lining. In the control cavity, put a little lip of copper on the edge in a couple of places so that it makes contact with the control plate (assuming it's a metal plate) This will then complete the earth circuit to the jack socket and earth on the guitar lead. Sounds trickier than it actually is, and it really does kill that annoying hum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1348400254' post='1813111'] Thanks for tips everyone. This looks like a good idea for a first step: is it just a case of coating the surfaces of internal cavities, or does the tape need to connect electrically with the pickups and controls somehow? Sorry if this is a dumb question, this is the most advanced guitar maintenance I've ever considered [/quote] You can also use conductive, carbon based, shielding paint (which is the same type of stuff Fender use) which is easier to apply and was very effective when I used it on my bass. This is the stuff I used [url="http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/guitar-paint-and-lacquer/conductive-paint/conductive-shielding-paint.html"]http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/guitar-paint-and-lacquer/conductive-paint/conductive-shielding-paint.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 Cool. I'll open up the bass and see how it all looks. With the shielding paint, how do you ensure the same kind of electrical connection to earth/ground as described in the method for copper tape above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I believe you can ground the paint by attaching a wire from the ground loop circuit to a screw in the bottom of the control cavity and painting over it. My jazz had brass grounding plates under each pickup which I assumed connected to the earth loop that way. I have to say it did help to get rid of the hum considerably. Lots of good reviews here [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Shielding_Paint.html?offset=10&read=reviews"]http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Shielding_Paint.html?offset=10&read=reviews[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I had a '75 Jazz bass in 1980-82. Same issue, which is the same as all single coil pickups. When a pickup died, and Fender replacements weren't available, I went with the DiMarzio Model J, one of the first humbucking drop-in replacement pickups. It was great: no noise or hum (I sold the bass later when the frets wore out and there were no good luthiers in my area to fix it...oh, well!) Now, since then, many others have now gotten into the noiseless J-bass pickups: DiMarzio UltraJazz to go with the J, Seymour Duncan in a variety of stacks, Bartolini, Barden, Aguilar, Fralin, etc., even Fender themselves. I currently use a DiMarzio UltraJazz in the bridge position of my custom P-J fanned fret bass. I will never go back to single coil pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I picked up a pair of DiMarzios (can't remember which model) on eBay a while back. Vast improvement over the sound of the original Squiers, no hum, and better string balance (courtesy of adjustable pole pieces). On the downside they were a tight fit in the existing cavities, and easy to install out-of-phase by accident. I prefer a single volume control too, but couldn't get a blend pot to work ad I liked, so went for a micro switch pickup selector (£10 from WD). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 I've taken off the control plate and scratchplate today to get an idea of the general layout of things in there. First thing I realised is that I don't need to take the scrachplate off :] There's a brass or copper plate underneath each pickup and another in the bottom of the control cavity, this one is screwed down. Can I assume that these are earthed and if I can electrically connect my shielding paint or tape with the brass plate, I'll be going in the right direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1349028845' post='1820877'] I've taken off the control plate and scratchplate today to get an idea of the general layout of things in there. First thing I realised is that I don't need to take the scrachplate off :] There's a brass or copper plate underneath each pickup and another in the bottom of the control cavity, this one is screwed down. Can I assume that these are earthed and if I can electrically connect my shielding paint or tape with the brass plate, I'll be going in the right direction? [/quote] In short, yes. You need to make sure that any electrical connection to earthy bits is secure, otherwise you are likely to get a crackle as the bass (or bits of it) move(s) around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 On both my jazz basses, acquired 2nd hand, the stock p/u's had been replaced. One had Seymour Duncans fitted and the other Di Marzio. I'm guessing the originals just weren't up to the job. Both are excellent replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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