Hi Folks,
This thread most likely won't educate you, but may convince you to spend an hour or two and shield your bass.
Here's my story:
A few months ago I moved my bass from Hawaii back to the Mainland and noticed a slight buzz when not touching the strings. Nothing major, just a little annoyance.
I finally got enough time to deal with it and dove in.
After inspection it seemed the wiring was intact.
I decided (for unknown reason) to replace the grounding wire to the bridge. That actually made it worse.
After researching TB I learned about Shielding.
I shielded both pickup cavities (DiMarzio PJ), the pickguard and the electronics bay.
In the picture below you can see:
Original - The noise levels (buzz) drop when touching the bridge.
Bridge Ground Wire Replaced - the noise levels drop when touching the bridge BUT not as much as it was before I messed with it.
After shielding - The noise levels are much lower than before, no noticeable change when touching the bridge.
My bass is now SILENT.
$7 of aluminum tape. About an hour of taping and... Voila!
It's easy and there are good tutorials like this: Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)
If you are on the fence - do it!
This thread most likely won't educate you, but may convince you to spend an hour or two and shield your bass.
Here's my story:
A few months ago I moved my bass from Hawaii back to the Mainland and noticed a slight buzz when not touching the strings. Nothing major, just a little annoyance.
I finally got enough time to deal with it and dove in.
After inspection it seemed the wiring was intact.
I decided (for unknown reason) to replace the grounding wire to the bridge. That actually made it worse.
After researching TB I learned about Shielding.
I shielded both pickup cavities (DiMarzio PJ), the pickguard and the electronics bay.
In the picture below you can see:
Original - The noise levels (buzz) drop when touching the bridge.
Bridge Ground Wire Replaced - the noise levels drop when touching the bridge BUT not as much as it was before I messed with it.
After shielding - The noise levels are much lower than before, no noticeable change when touching the bridge.
My bass is now SILENT.
$7 of aluminum tape. About an hour of taping and... Voila!
It's easy and there are good tutorials like this: Jazz Shielding Pictorial (Big Images Warning)
If you are on the fence - do it!
