solo4652 Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 (edited) I've just bought a Squier Vista Musicmaster. Stock pickup is 4-pole single coil job, and it sounds great - clanky and mids-forward - sort of reminds me of DiMarzio P I had in an Ibanez Blazer a while back. My understanding is the Vista Tone pickup is not a strat-derived guitar pickup like the Fender Musicmaster one - the Vista tone pickup is/was specially designed for the bass. But, it's not a humbucker, so it's noisy - it especially likes talking to my washing machine. And my amps (all of them). And my outboard laptop speakers. This is what I've done so far to try to shield the bass: Lined the cavity with aluminium tape. I made sure it was conductive tape. Same tape on the underneath of the pickguard. Resoldered the jack ground lead to the pot, since the original solder was only just hanging in there. Put some isolating tape on the bottom tip of the jack prong to make sure it wasn't contacting the cavity shielding. Installed an extra ground wire, soldered onto same point as bridge ground wire, then screwed into cavity tape. All this has helped quieten the bass, but it still hums and picks up various RFI no mater what room in the house I'm playing in. I don't want to replace the original pickup because it's just the sound I'm looking for. Besides, I'd like to keep the bass as original as possible. So - is there anything else I can do to help quieten the bass? Or does the fact that it's a single coil mean there's only so much that can be done? I'll just have to stop playing when I'm washing my smalls, I suppose. Edited October 1, 2019 by solo4652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Sounds like you've done a thorough job there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 How about some pics? I used to have one a pink vista musicmaster. It was a cool little bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Ashtrays - you forgot the ashtrays 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 As a last resort you could get an RF shielding enclosure like this. It has the added advantage that you can camp out in it at gigs. https://www.vtechtextiles.com/rf-emi-shielding-enclosures-tents/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 44 minutes ago, ikay said: As a last resort you could get an RF shielding enclosure like this. It has the added advantage that you can camp out in it at gigs. https://www.vtechtextiles.com/rf-emi-shielding-enclosures-tents/ I googled "RFI Room" and I got this image. I'm serious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Well it could easily be kitted out as an outside convenience ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 All of my efforts have certainly reduced the single-coil hum, but it's still there, especially when the washing machine's on. So, I'm looking for a drop-in replacement pickup that's hum-cancelling. Unlike the Fenders, the Squier Musicmaster basses have a bass-specific 4-pole pickup, not a six-poler derived from the Strat pickup. All suggestions gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 You have a single coil, it's going to be noisy. You can buy a 51 style hum cancelling pickup, which will be the same size as your Squier. Do a Google search for "hum cancelling 51 bass pickup". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) The pole pieces on a standard hum-cancelling '51 style pickup won't line up with the narrower string spacing of the Musicmaster. Although you can slant the pickup to get proper alignment (see pic below). Aero and Sentell both make drop in replacement pickups for the Musicmaster with the correct pole spacing. Both are single coils though. I have a Sentell 'Big Sis' in my Bronco (great pickup) and it's generally hum free unless I face the amp and get too close. Herrick make custom pickups so may be able to rustle up a hum-cancelling Musicmaster style pup for you with the correct pole spacing. https://www.herrickpickups.com/ https://www.sentellpickups.net/bass.html (scroll down for the Lil Sis and Big Sis) https://www.aeroinstrument.com/pickups.html (scroll down for the MusicMasterer) Edited September 30, 2019 by ikay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 21 hours ago, ikay said: The pole pieces on a standard hum-cancelling '51 style pickup won't line up with the narrower string spacing of the Musicmaster. Although you can slant the pickup to get proper alignment (see pic below). Aero and Sentell both make drop in replacement pickups for the Musicmaster with the correct pole spacing. Both are single coils though. I have a Sentell 'Big Sis' in my Bronco (great pickup) and it's generally hum free unless I face the amp and get too close. Herrick make custom pickups so may be able to rustle up a hum-cancelling Musicmaster style pup for you with the correct pole spacing. https://www.herrickpickups.com/ https://www.sentellpickups.net/bass.html (scroll down for the Lil Sis and Big Sis) https://www.aeroinstrument.com/pickups.html (scroll down for the MusicMasterer) Thank you - excellent advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Don't most people use a blade style strat humbucker (Hot Rails or Cool Rails, or some similar clone)? No worries about string spacing then! Can be found for under £20 on the Bay of E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 1 hour ago, MoonBassAlpha said: Don't most people use a blade style strat humbucker (Hot Rails or Cool Rails, or some similar clone)? No worries about string spacing then! Can be found for under £20 on the Bay of E. The "rails" are guitar pickups, this thread is about bass pickups AFAIK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) I have an enclosed strat cool rails double blade humbucker in a '72 musicmaster which looks just like the original pickup when its fitted and sounds fantastic. A similar but open hot rails in my other '72 doesn't work quite so well though - its a bit clanky for my taste. Edited October 1, 2019 by Jean-Luc Pickguard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) Just spotted this. Don't know whether it's humbucking. Anybody have any experience of them? https://www.mojopickups.co.uk/product/4-pole-musicmaster-bass/ Edit: Marc at Mojo says they're single coil, not humbucking. Edited October 1, 2019 by solo4652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Useful thread on Talkbass: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/replacement-pickup-for-fender-musicmaster.282173/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Poking around the web for some inspiration, I came across this video. Firstly, it has really clear explanations, including diagrams, of the main causes of hum. Secondly, it has lots of easy suggestions for curing hum, including twisting the pickup wires around each other. A peek under the pickguard of my Squier Musicmaster revealed pickup wires not twisted together. Hmmmm - surely can't be that simple, can it? Easy fix, worth a try. Quick twizzle of the pickup twisted the wires together. Result was a much-reduced level of hum! Not really believing this, I fired up the washing machine, and was surprised to find that the the bass really was much quieter. Not only that, while getting all of my washing out of the laundry basket, I found a five pound note. Ha! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 21 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: The "rails" are guitar pickups, this thread is about bass pickups AFAIK. The original Musicmaster pickups were 6 pole guitar pickups, so go figure. People use them (Rails pickups), and apparently sound great so it's just good information. Sorry if you considered this comment a de- "rail" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 49 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said: The original Musicmaster pickups were 6 pole guitar pickups, so go figure. People use them (Rails pickups), and apparently sound great so it's just good information. Sorry if you considered this comment a de- "rail" The OPs vista has a bass pickup, and pickups discussed in this thread are bass pickups. Its widely known the musicmaster had a guitar pickup. I had a bronco and put a hotrails in and it didn't sound very good, had a lot of bass response, pretty woolly sounding, lacking lows and low mids, but no punch at all like a P bass pickup should. You did go off the 'rails'. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Good to hear real life experience of this. Thinking about it, I think it was specifically the Cool Rails ones that are widely lauded for Musicmaster/Broncos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said: Good to hear real life experience of this. Thinking about it, I think it was specifically the Cool Rails ones that are widely lauded for Musicmaster/Broncos. Nope, hotrails are the most common bronco pickup upgrade. Cool rails would be the same (lacking true low end), but with lower output. Edited October 2, 2019 by hooky_lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) On 02/10/2019 at 13:17, hooky_lowdown said: The OPs vista has a bass pickup, and pickups discussed in this thread are bass pickups. Its widely known the musicmaster had a guitar pickup. I had a bronco and put a hotrails in and it didn't sound very good, had a lot of bass response, pretty woolly sounding, lacking lows and low mids, but no punch at all like a P bass pickup should. You did go off the 'rails'. 😉 I don't quite get the sentence about the bass response. Edited October 4, 2019 by MoonBassAlpha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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