Earthing

[Grahambythesea]

I’m sure this is an elementary question but I have never had to deal with the electrics in a bass. Guess I’ve been lucky in the ones I’ve owned over the years. A friend has just given me a very cheap P style bass made by Shine which had been in his shed ( cry of horror from BCs). Rust all over the place, there was actually condensation dripping off it when I took it out of its bag.  So I’ve cleaned it up, straightened the neck (which resembled a long bow) and in the process of sorting out the intonation. 

The problem is when plugged in the a a slight hum, but turn the tone knob to full treble and that hum gets worryingly loud. I’m guessing there is no earth as when I touch the bridge the noise goes away. So I’m pretty certain it needs an earth wire to be attached to the bridge but to what part should it be attached at the other end? 

 

[ikay]

Earth wire from bridge goes to sleeve of the output jack.

[Grahambythesea]

Thanks. I had a feeling that was where it should go. That presumably should make the hum go away?

[Norris]

You can always test it by holding a wire between the bridge and Jack plug surround to see if the buzzing stops, without opening it up.

If the bass has been stored in damp/humid/condensation conditions it's possible that some of the solder contacts have corroded. If so you may as well drop a new loom in it. A new one from Ki0gon would not break the bank 

[GisserD]

I read this thread topic as Ear-Thing

 

...as you were.

 

[rmorris]

Assuming you're not touching a piece of earthed equipment / water pipe at the same time then - If the noise goes away when you touch the bridge then it implies that the bridge IS connected to earth (via the amp or whatever is on the end of the bass lead).

You are 'earthing' yourself through the bass. You are not earthing the bass because you are not connected to earth yourself.

Anyway  it's easy enough to test if you have a multimeter with a continuity 'beep' function.

[Marc S]

On 21/11/2018 at 08:00, Norris said:

.....If the bass has been stored in damp/humid/condensation conditions it's possible that some of the solder contacts have corroded. If so you may as well drop a new loom in it. A new one from Ki0gon would not break the bank 

Yes, any of the components, or solder joints could have been affected by damp / moisture and extreme temperature changes. Or, perhaps the components may have been of dubious quality in the first place anyway?
Either way, just wanted to add a shout out for Kiogon of this very forum. He uses good quality components, and his wiring looms are also simple to fit, as you can get solder-free versions. They're wired to the pickups with tiny chocolate block / screw connectors. So if you're new to wiring or not confident with a soldering iron, they make life a little easier. There are cheaper versions available on ebay, but they won't be the same sort of level of quality
Let us know how you get on with it

EDIT: Kiogon is really quick off the mark too - order a loom and it's with you in a few days

Edited November 22, 2018 by Marc S