I bought a P and a J antiquity II pair of pickups in a bass about 7 months ago and playing it again now I can't help but notice how noisy the single is! I was trying for a Jaco tone but I'm worried I should have got a bucker for the bridge or a RWRP instead. Should I have gotten antiquity 1's? Should I try better cavity shielding? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Antiquity II P/j
- Thread starter elvisish
- Start date
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Antiquity II P/j
If only former forum member Funkfingers was still here...
All singles will hum like you are experiencing. Full shielding will help. Make sure all your grounding is sound as well.
How do you find the balance of the Jazz vs the Precision? A very popular option is to use a standard output P with the Hot Stack Jazz in the bridge. Then you get Hun cancelling with equal output to the P. If you want noiseless, but a more traditional tone, I'd checkout the new Apollo for the bridge. If you want the true Jaco tone, your Antiquity is the way to go, hum and all.
If only former forum member Funkfingers was still here...
All singles will hum like you are experiencing. Full shielding will help. Make sure all your grounding is sound as well.
How do you find the balance of the Jazz vs the Precision? A very popular option is to use a standard output P with the Hot Stack Jazz in the bridge. Then you get Hun cancelling with equal output to the P. If you want noiseless, but a more traditional tone, I'd checkout the new Apollo for the bridge. If you want the true Jaco tone, your Antiquity is the way to go, hum and all.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
THanks for the reply, that puts my mind at ease somewhat, I wanted the true Jaco tone, so I guess hum it is! The hum I haven't actually noticed, to be honest, it's ALLL the interference and noise, the wireless mouse buzzing and CPU crap that's coming through, monitors, etc, but it DOES cut out if I twist the bass away a bit, so presumably, shielding will help?
If only former forum member Funkfingers was still here...
All singles will hum like you are experiencing. Full shielding will help. Make sure all your grounding is sound as well.
How do you find the balance of the Jazz vs the Precision? A very popular option is to use a standard output P with the Hot Stack Jazz in the bridge. Then you get Hun cancelling with equal output to the P. If you want noiseless, but a more traditional tone, I'd checkout the new Apollo for the bridge. If you want the true Jaco tone, your Antiquity is the way to go, hum and all.
THanks for the reply, that puts my mind at ease somewhat, I wanted the true Jaco tone, so I guess hum it is! The hum I haven't actually noticed, to be honest, it's ALLL the interference and noise, the wireless mouse buzzing and CPU crap that's coming through, monitors, etc, but it DOES cut out if I twist the bass away a bit, so presumably, shielding will help?
H
HiFiRebel
Guest
Re: Antiquity II P/j
Shielding should help. Singles will him, but buzz is from interference it sounds like.
Shielding should help. Singles will him, but buzz is from interference it sounds like.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
It's a Yamaha rbx with no pickguard so it just has two cavities for the pickups and the wiring is accessed from the back internally. I have a lot with shielding paint and copper(?) sheets. Is there a recommended guide I could use for this kind of instrument? Ive had others try shielding my basses in the past and I'm rarely pleased with the results, would like to try it myself! Also, should I shield the backs of the pickups? I'm not worried as much about deadening the sound (if that's not just placebo) as much as I want to cut this interference buzz out!
It's a Yamaha rbx with no pickguard so it just has two cavities for the pickups and the wiring is accessed from the back internally. I have a lot with shielding paint and copper(?) sheets. Is there a recommended guide I could use for this kind of instrument? Ive had others try shielding my basses in the past and I'm rarely pleased with the results, would like to try it myself! Also, should I shield the backs of the pickups? I'm not worried as much about deadening the sound (if that's not just placebo) as much as I want to cut this interference buzz out!
Re: Antiquity II P/j
Well, reversing the phase and polarity of the Jazz pickup won't help, as the P is already humbucking. The only thing you can do is go to something that is stacked or side-by-side coils, like the Apollo Jazz pickups. But Jaco did it with the hum.
Well, reversing the phase and polarity of the Jazz pickup won't help, as the P is already humbucking. The only thing you can do is go to something that is stacked or side-by-side coils, like the Apollo Jazz pickups. But Jaco did it with the hum.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
Yep, I'm happy with whatever Jaco had, I just need to clear up this interference somehow, I can't hear the hum to be honest!
Yep, I'm happy with whatever Jaco had, I just need to clear up this interference somehow, I can't hear the hum to be honest!
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Antiquity II P/j
Cavity shielding doesn't do much for a single coil. The shielding only suppresses electric fields, not magnetic fields, and the single coil picks up both. In addition, shielding very close to the pickup can influence the sound via eddy currents.
I would shield the wire leading to the pickup (just wrap aluminium foil around it and ground the foil) and shield the cavity. Make sure your strings are grounded (noise should get better when you touch the strings versus not touching them). Then go from there.
It would also be good if you described a bit more what kind of noise you get. Hum (50/60 Hz cycle)? Buzzing? Actual radio with voices?
Cavity shielding doesn't do much for a single coil. The shielding only suppresses electric fields, not magnetic fields, and the single coil picks up both. In addition, shielding very close to the pickup can influence the sound via eddy currents.
I would shield the wire leading to the pickup (just wrap aluminium foil around it and ground the foil) and shield the cavity. Make sure your strings are grounded (noise should get better when you touch the strings versus not touching them). Then go from there.
It would also be good if you described a bit more what kind of noise you get. Hum (50/60 Hz cycle)? Buzzing? Actual radio with voices?
Re: Antiquity II P/j
It's buzzing, high-pitched whistling, it's all coming from the computer and it improves when I rotate the bass or move away, so is something acting as an aerial? It also DOESN'T change when I touch the strings or bridge, it stays the same.
It's buzzing, high-pitched whistling, it's all coming from the computer and it improves when I rotate the bass or move away, so is something acting as an aerial? It also DOESN'T change when I touch the strings or bridge, it stays the same.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
again i say sitting in front of a computer is going to be noisy. very noisy. when you rotate, you are changing the relationship of the pup and the interference. jaco didnt sit in front of a computer. if he did, he might have tried noise cancelling pups. tonally you are right where you want to be with the antiquity II jazz
again i say sitting in front of a computer is going to be noisy. very noisy. when you rotate, you are changing the relationship of the pup and the interference. jaco didnt sit in front of a computer. if he did, he might have tried noise cancelling pups. tonally you are right where you want to be with the antiquity II jazz
H
HiFiRebel
Guest
Re: Antiquity II P/j
If it's just the hum away from the computer, then there you have it. I've jammed with guys that pickup radio stations (albeit faintly) through single coils and high gain amps. I have an extension cord that causes my Strats to buzz if a power supply is plugged into it. Seriously. If I use a different one, no problems.
If it's just the hum away from the computer, then there you have it. I've jammed with guys that pickup radio stations (albeit faintly) through single coils and high gain amps. I have an extension cord that causes my Strats to buzz if a power supply is plugged into it. Seriously. If I use a different one, no problems.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
There's a faint buzzing that goes away when I touch the strings or bridge, there was a capacitor that ass sticking up that is soldered back into the pot and it seems cleaner now. Would a cancelling pick up combo fix the computer interference noise? Is the sound wildly different enough to ruin the mojo of the antiquity? Also, I find he antiquity a little bit dull, is that the sort of tone expected with this type of pickup?
Re: Antiquity II P/j
If you are used to modern-voiced pickups, the Antiquity will sound dull. Jaco didn't have a 'modern' bass sound, though. Stacked pickups sound slightly different than the Antiquity, and side-by-side humbuckers like the Apollo Jazz Bass are quiet, but retain the vintage tone (the best of the humbucking designs, I think). If you go noiseless there is a compromise. It is slight, but it is there. If the interference is bad, it is worth it.
If you are used to modern-voiced pickups, the Antiquity will sound dull. Jaco didn't have a 'modern' bass sound, though. Stacked pickups sound slightly different than the Antiquity, and side-by-side humbuckers like the Apollo Jazz Bass are quiet, but retain the vintage tone (the best of the humbucking designs, I think). If you go noiseless there is a compromise. It is slight, but it is there. If the interference is bad, it is worth it.
Re: Antiquity II P/j
Really appreciate the positive, non-judgmental suggestions, a certain other bass forum is waaay too snobby for electronics n00bs like me!
It wasn't the capacitor that was sticking up, it was the ground wire, it's now been soldered to the middle pot and it seems to be less noisey, would feeding a wire from the cavity shielding to one of the pots be a good way to cut down the noise as well?
Really appreciate the positive, non-judgmental suggestions, a certain other bass forum is waaay too snobby for electronics n00bs like me!
It wasn't the capacitor that was sticking up, it was the ground wire, it's now been soldered to the middle pot and it seems to be less noisey, would feeding a wire from the cavity shielding to one of the pots be a good way to cut down the noise as well?
