Noise when I tilt the bass?

#21
There is no such thing as a "perfect" Humbucker.

EMG Actives (with their low-impedance coils with built in electronic balancing!) used to be (circa 1980!) as close to silent as you could possibly hope for... but nowadays I find them disappointingly noisy. :(

Could this only be PERCEPTION? A combination of the incredible low noise floors that 24-bit digital recording has accustomed us to - PLUS - the ever increasing EMI fuzz in the air... with all the 2G, 3G, 4G, and ubiquitous WIFI everywhere ... PLUS all the CPUs buzzing away in every refrigerator and coffeemaker - not to mention all the BLUETOOTH, and wireless RF remotes, and, and, and...

Or has EMG QC just gone down the tubes?
 
#26
Killed_by_Death said:
The pickup is passive, what makes it an "active" bass is the 2-band preamp.
Have you tried turning off your fluorescent lights?
or are you using a dimmer switch for your lights?
Click to expand...

Most of the lights in my place are LED bulbs. No dimmer switch. Turned everything off and unplugged everything for good measure, but to no avail.

--^@
 
#28
I'm thinking the noise would get much louder the closer you are to the source... almost like the increased feedback one experiences when succesfully using a rod to divine for water...

... I get thirsty, a lot. This symptom has always occurred, with this bass, inside your apartment, only?
 
#29
Hey OP, I've got a G&L m2000 that is dead quiet just about everywhere, except my living room. It does the exact same thing your bass does...but only if my porch light is on. Shielding, ground lifts, etc. all have no effect on that noisy circuit. If your instrument is like mine, you just need to find out what is causing that hum and turn it off.
Good luck!
 
#30
If you want to determine if you're even capable of turning it off,,,

use your battery-powered amp & turn off the main breaker to your home, turning off ALL devices you have control over.

If that doesn't stop the noise, there's nothing else you can turn off.


In my case that worked, except in my kitchen, and especially not along the wall where the power lines come in from.
So, I switched from playing in my kitchen to playing in my living room.
 
#31
In general the solution to hum / noise issues is very simple.

1. Use hum cancelling pickups. You already have that covered.
2. Be sure the bridge is grounded so that you are grounded when you touch the strings. You probably already have this covered.
3. Shield the pickup cavity and control cavity with conductive paint or copper tape. Connect the shielding to ground (star ground preferred).

I suspect that your issue will be solved or greatly improved by step 3 as the manufacturers are notorious for not properly shielding their cavities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA
#35
I had the same problem with my budget Ibanez. Also has a humbucker with huge exposed pole pieces. When I plug my amp into a Furman power strip, the noise goes away.

mikewalker said:
There is no such thing as a "perfect" Humbucker.

EMG Actives (with their low-impedance coils with built in electronic balancing!) used to be (circa 1980!) as close to silent as you could possibly hope for... but nowadays I find them disappointingly noisy. :(

Could this only be PERCEPTION? A combination of the incredible low noise floors that 24-bit digital recording has accustomed us to - PLUS - the ever increasing EMI fuzz in the air... with all the 2G, 3G, 4G, and ubiquitous WIFI everywhere ... PLUS all the CPUs buzzing away in every refrigerator and coffeemaker - not to mention all the BLUETOOTH, and wireless RF remotes, and, and, and...

Or has EMG QC just gone down the tubes?
Click to expand...

I find active EMGs to be the only completely silent pickups for me, as my house's wiring is old and crappy and I have lots of electronics nearby.
 
#36
Ground loop problem?
Too many grounded effects in the chain?
May need a ground loop isolator.
s-l300ghj.jpg
 
#37
My P bass had a David Allen CSP1099 p/u in it that would go batsh*t crazy whenever it got anywhere near stage lighting even with shielding, etc. I finally went to a EMG GZR-P p/u and problem solved. Having had a SUB 5-string I know from experience that those p/u's aren't really worthy of anything to do with the MM name but, whatcha gonna do? The rest of the bass was great so, why not invest in some decent electronics + shielding? If you love the bass and you plan on keeping it it could be a win/win all around.

It is kind of creepy how much electromagnetic there is in the world these days . . . :eek:
 
  • Like
Reactions: tbar0000
#40
Killed_by_Death said:
Could be you're standing over someone else's fluorescent lights, if you're not on the ground floor.
Click to expand...

As plausible as anything else right now, though if that were the case wouldn’t the noise stop when they turned the lights off? My downstairs neighbor’s electric bill must be monstrous.

Spidey2112 said:
I'm thinking the noise would get much louder the closer you are to the source... almost like the increased feedback one experiences when succesfully using a rod to divine for water...

... I get thirsty, a lot. This symptom has always occurred, with this bass, inside your apartment, only?
Click to expand...

After work today I’m going to pop in the headphone amp and just walk around for a while, to see how widespread the problem is. I think my apartment gets it the worst of my usual hangouts, while others are pretty quiet, and I feel like it’s worse lately than it has been before, but we’ll see.

Onward to science!

Manticore said:
I'm trying to figure out why (or more important, how) you're playing with your bass facing the ceiling...or floor...
Click to expand...

You’ve clearly never played an *authentic* cover of What’s Going On. :p

--^@
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spidey2112 and JRA
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back