Buzzing problem

RW James

RW James

New member
Saturday I played an outdoor gig. The venue had a cheap blue tarp over the stage for shade. The wind picked up and ripped the grommets loose from the tarp and it came down and hit my bass which was locked into a stand at the time and it fell over and hit the stage.

There were no visible scars, and after a quick tuning it seemed to be playing just fine.

Then Sunday morning, I was playing in church and I noticed a buzz that went away when I touched the strings. I know this a grounding problem - so I assumed that something was knocked loose when it fell over. (I don't recall this buzz before, but I could be wrong. We just got in-ear monitors a few weeks ago, and I'm still working to get them balanced right. So the buzz could have been there and I just hadn't noticed.)

So I took the bass apart, and re-attached the ground wire underneath the bridge. (I also took the opportunity to change my pickups to Quarter Pound Bass Lines.)

The buzz is still there. I checked every connection of the ground with an ohm meter and everything looks good.

My next step is to take it to the store where I bought it and ask him to check it over. But first I wanted to check the collective wisdom here.

Any ideas?
 
Re: Buzzing problem

im assuming you know what you were doing since you checked everything with a meter so i honestly cant think if anything off the top of my head except that when it fell you may have busted a pot or something. that could cause noise problems.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

scottish said:
im assuming you know what you were doing since you checked everything with a meter so i honestly cant think if anything off the top of my head except that when it fell you may have busted a pot or something. that could cause noise problems.
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of that. Would a busted pot sound scratchy or something? I mean, how would I know if a pot was broken, if it still worked, that is?


Another thing I was wondering about: the cut-out for the pots and jack isn't shielded. It's just wood on the face, and a plastic cover on the back. Do you think it would help to have some kind of foil on the plastic cover?
 
Re: Buzzing problem

RW James said:
I hadn't thought of that. Would a busted pot sound scratchy or something? I mean, how would I know if a pot was broken, if it still worked, that is?


Another thing I was wondering about: the cut-out for the pots and jack isn't shielded. It's just wood on the face, and a plastic cover on the back. Do you think it would help to have some kind of foil on the plastic cover?
Click to expand...

I cant explain the 1st part to you. Ive had some crazy grounding problems that nothing solved until i went through one by one and replaced all the pots. I dont know why, but it did solve the problem.

As for the second, since the problem probably wasnt there before...i dont think adding foil is going help you. Most of my bucker guitars with back cut outs are not shielded with foil or anything and i dont have any problems.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

Thanks - it probably wouldn't hurt to change out the pots anyway.

They're the small ones. Any reason why I shouldn't replace them with the same size? I don't want to carve up the body if I don't have to.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

Full size pots won't fit in holes meant for dime sized. You have to drill the hole out slightly larger. It's really no biggie.

As for your grounding issue, I too recommend switching out the pots. Those little bastards are finicky, and will give you hell if they can.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

Did you check the output jack?


RW James said:
Saturday I played an outdoor gig. The venue had a cheap blue tarp over the stage for shade. The wind picked up and ripped the grommets loose from the tarp and it came down and hit my bass which was locked into a stand at the time and it fell over and hit the stage.

There were no visible scars, and after a quick tuning it seemed to be playing just fine.

Then Sunday morning, I was playing in church and I noticed a buzz that went away when I touched the strings. I know this a grounding problem - so I assumed that something was knocked loose when it fell over. (I don't recall this buzz before, but I could be wrong. We just got in-ear monitors a few weeks ago, and I'm still working to get them balanced right. So the buzz could have been there and I just hadn't noticed.)

So I took the bass apart, and re-attached the ground wire underneath the bridge. (I also took the opportunity to change my pickups to Quarter Pound Bass Lines.)

The buzz is still there. I checked every connection of the ground with an ohm meter and everything looks good.

My next step is to take it to the store where I bought it and ask him to check it over. But first I wanted to check the collective wisdom here.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
Re: Buzzing problem

guitarded said:
Did you check the output jack?
Click to expand...

I checked it with the meters - everything there seemed okay. The nut was a little loose so I tightened that up. It's one of those square plastic housing type jacks.

I bought a couple of pots today and will install them. If that doesn't fix the problem, the jack will be the next thing I replace. But for now, it feels really tight, just the way I like it.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

Ground buzzes really annoy me.

Maybe that's why I have decided that I really prefer humbuckers.:dunno:

I pray you find it soon, brutha.
 
Re: Buzzing problem

LesStrat said:
Ground buzzes really annoy me.

Maybe that's why I have decided that I really prefer humbuckers.:dunno:

I pray you find it soon, brutha.
Click to expand...

Ground hum has NOTHING to do with single coil vs. humbucker. It's usually caused by a bad connection to ground. You're thinking of 60 cycle hum.
 
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