Geek99 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I have a japan 62 RI jazz that as far as I know is stock. its really noisy, I know single coils are a bit prone but surely not this much. The two pickup volume pots seem to affect each other. With the neck on full, its noisy then adding the bridge removes that to an extent until that gets to full volume then its gets noisy again. The earth wire to the bridge is in place - I know it isnt the amp or cable as my ray copy isnt noisy using the same setup. I know I could get some shielding paint from Maplins - apart from that, any suggestions? Using my Zoom b2.1 NR function at setting 9 kills the noise. My ray only needs 3 to make it silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 [quote name='Geek99' post='307066' date='Oct 15 2008, 01:36 PM']I have a japan 62 RI jazz that as far as I know is stock. its really noisy, I know single coils are a bit prone but surely not this much. The two pickup volume pots seem to affect each other. With the neck on full, its noisy then adding the bridge removes that to an extent until that gets to full volume then its gets noisy again. The earth wire to the bridge is in place - I know it isnt the amp or cable as my ray copy isnt noisy using the same setup. I know I could get some shielding paint from Maplins - apart from that, any suggestions? Using my Zoom b2.1 NR function at setting 9 kills the noise. My ray only needs 3 to make it silent.[/quote] I'd expect the two volume pots to effect the noise seeing as they're single coils. It's a bit suspect that it's noisy with them both full up though. I'd shield it anyway. And whilst you're in there check out the wiring and soldering. If it still hums I'd change the capacitors. Also - I know this sounds silly but do you have a specific spot where you practice - I moved where I played in the house after getting a lot of hum through a bridge j bass pickup on my p/j - must have been wires in the wall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderhead Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Are the pickups a RWRP (reverse wound, reverse polarity) pair? If not it will certainly be noisy when either or both pickups are turned up - it sounds like it must be this or the noise would go away when both pickups are up full. I can't remember about the Japanese Jazz basses, but the stock pickups in a couple of other Fender Japan guitars (Jazzmaster and Jaguar) which are supposed to be RWRP and always have been on American models, aren't. Personally I've never thought the pickups and wiring were the strong point of the Fender Japan instruments, on any model - the woodwork is excellent, the hardware is good, but the electronics are average at best. I would replace the whole lot with proper US-quality parts - Duncan or Fender US Reissue pickups, CTS pots and a Switchcraft jack (yes, everything). The pots and jack are available as Fender spares if you can't find them anywhere else, although they're expensive that way. That will give you a much better tone as well as probably curing the noise problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 [quote name='Thunderhead' post='307124' date='Oct 15 2008, 02:42 PM']Personally I've never thought the pickups and wiring were the strong point of the Fender Japan instruments, on any model - the woodwork is excellent, the hardware is good, but the electronics are average at best. I would replace the whole lot with proper US-quality parts - Duncan or Fender US Reissue pickups, CTS pots and a Switchcraft jack (yes, everything). The pots and jack are available as Fender spares if you can't find them anywhere else, although they're expensive that way. That will give you a much better tone as well as probably curing the noise problem.[/quote] I've never owned a japanese fender but I can vouch for changing electrics. I've changed my mexican P (which had US electrics in it) for a 62 reissue pickup and new pots and jack. I also put in a cornell-dubilier oil and paper capacitor. It's made a massive difference to the tone(s) it produces. It sounds miles better than any stock P I've played. US's included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 thanks for that - I will double check the exact behaviour that it gives given what the second poster said. What capacitor would I change it for ? I presume I can buy them from Maplins - they're not special in some way? Tone control doesnt seem to do very much anyway. I have no idea whether they're RWRP pickups (sorry) - how would I find out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Most likely cause IMHO is the wiring in the room you are hearing the noise. My Jazz is noisey or quiet, depending where I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOD2 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 [quote name='Geek99' post='307172' date='Oct 15 2008, 03:51 PM']thanks for that - I will double check the exact behaviour that it gives given what the second poster said. What capacitor would I change it for ? I presume I can buy them from Maplins - they're not special in some way? Tone control doesnt seem to do very much anyway. I have no idea whether they're RWRP pickups (sorry) - how would I find out?[/quote] RWRP - Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity If the two single coil pickups are wired such that one is RWRP with respect to the other, then when the two pickups are used together they effectively form a "humbucker" pickup and cancel out any hum. If one if the pickups is not RWRP with respect to the other then combining them together will make no difference to the noise picked up. You'd need to check the specifications to see if one pickup is RWRP. Single coil pickups can be noisy. Check here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=194"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=194[/url] It may just be local electrical interference causing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderhead Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 (edited) If you have a compass, bring it close to each of the pickups and see which way the needle points at the pickup. If the pickups are RWRP, it will be north for one and south for the other. If the same (either north or south) for both pickups, they aren't. If you don't have a compass, probably the easiest way is to remove one pickup from the bass and place it face down to top of the other one - if they're RWRP they will stick together face-to-face; if not, they will repel. (This is sometimes difficult to tell for sure, if so try putting the back of the pickup on top of the other one - it should then stick strongly.) The capacitor for the tone control is probably the one part you don't need to change. Contrary to popular belief the type or brand of cap makes no difference to the tone (controversial I know, but I've done a fair bit of careful experimenting on this - not simply swapping and listening, when it's easy to fool yourself - and I'm really sure). But if you buy the pre-packed Fender pots, you get a new good quality tone cap anyway. If not and you can't salvage the old one, any .047uF will be fine. The type of cap does make a difference in AMP circuits by the way, but this is a completely different thing because the voltages they're subjected to are hundreds of times higher, and this is what causes the differences in tone. At passive guitar or bass voltages, it simply doesn't occur. Edited October 15, 2008 by Thunderhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 [quote name='Geek99' post='307172' date='Oct 15 2008, 03:51 PM']What capacitor would I change it for ? I presume I can buy them from Maplins - they're not special in some way? Tone control doesnt seem to do very much anyway.[/quote] There are loads of capacitors out there. Swapping out stock caps for higher quality ones certainly has improved the tone and range of tones I can get out of the two basses I've done it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm looking at this site for shielding information. [url="http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/index.php"]http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/index.php[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 thanks for the info chaps, I'll need to check my bass's behaviour. I've only noticed the noise recently so it may well be postitional - its not slightly closer (but not very close) to a light switch. Turning the switch off made no difference. I thnk it was quiet with both volumes up full, and noisier when one was backed off. I will try getting some shielding paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 it seems that one lead was making things much worse, however it is still quiet with both full on (the RWRP trait mentioned above), and a little bit noiser with either pickup turned down a little. I was able to turn it up quite loud (througha 30w amp admittedly) - I think I will need to investigate copper shielding anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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