fender bass buzz?

[7dollarsox.com]

hey guys. im wondering if maybe some of you guys could offer me some advice. i have a mark hoppus fender p-bass, and whenever i am not playing notes on it, there is an annoying static coming from it.

as long as i am playing it, its fine, and when i keep a hand over the pickups, its fine. but if im not holding my hands on the strings, BUZZ!

is there anything i can do, short of using a different bass/taking it into a repair place?


thanks guysssss!

[alex.parent]

Try a different outlet to plug your amp into. It could also be the lights in the room, or a watch or belt buckle. There's a lot of small things that can cause buzzing. What kind of amp are you playing through?

[ClydeMcAllister]

It might not be grounded. There's a wire that runs from one of the pots (or is it the jack?) to the bottom of the bridge. If the connection is broken or loose, that may be your problem there.

[7dollarsox.com]

Try a different outlet to plug your amp into. It could also be the lights in the room, or a watch or belt buckle. There's a lot of small things that can cause buzzing. What kind of amp are you playing through?


actually, thats not a bad suggestion with the buckle. im pretty much always wearing pants when i record/play so that could be it!

im playing through an svt 4 pro through an ampeg 8x10. but i dont really use that much. i usually am just recording stuff, and i do that direct, but its pretty much always done it.

[7dollarsox.com]

It might not be grounded. There's a wire that runs from one of the pots (or is it the jack?) to the bottom of the bridge. If the connection is broken or loose, that may be your problem there.

is there anway of fixig that myself?

[Tristan Needler]

actually, thats not a bad suggestion with the buckle. im pretty much always wearing pants when i record/play so that could be it!Well there's your problem. You know Blink and RHCP don't play naked just for shits and giggles; it's because the want the best possible quality tone.

[ClydeMcAllister]

is there anway of fixig that myself?

It's really simple, just solder the wire back onto the pot/jack and run the other end through the route that goes under the bridge, with that end of the wire exposed so the tip touches the bottom of the bridge. You might have to take the bridge off to make sure the tip is underneath it.

Also, do you run straight to your amp or do you use any pedals and such? Cause some pedals can cause noise too, even when they're not on.

[7dollarsox.com]

It's really simple, just solder the wire back onto the pot/jack and run the other end through the route that goes under the bridge, with that end of the wire exposed so the tip touches the bottom of the bridge. You might have to take the bridge off to make sure the tip is underneath it.

Also, do you run straight to your amp or do you use any pedals and such? Cause some pedals can cause noise too, even when they're not on.


nawwwwwwww no pedals. thanks so much! and sorry for taking so long to get back!

[ClydeMcAllister]

nawwwwwwww no pedals. thanks so much! and sorry for taking so long to get back!

w00t. Did you ever get the problem fixed?

[mps]

what kind of cable are you using? because I've had this problem before, but then switched to using gold plated planet waves cables and the feedback has dissapeared completely. you can have the nicest rig/setup in the world, but using a poor cable can fuck up your entire sound. investing in a decent cable is probably the best thing you can do, even with lower end equipment...basically I cant emphasise how much difference a decent lead will make :)

[acor]

If its a cheap amp and its solid state there may be not much you can do

[miketrondson]

im playing through an svt 4 pro through an ampeg 8x10. but i dont really use that much. i usually am just recording stuff, and i do that direct, but its pretty much always done it.

Probably a broken cable, input jack or ground. If you troubleshoot for all of those and it still makes noise, try different outlets.

If the noise persists, consider getting a noise gate. A Boss NS-2 pedal is $100 and it helped me a lot.
If you've got that nice of stuff, you should drop as much money as you can on cables. Monster, Planet Waves or Mogami cables are the best to go with. My friend uses a Neutrik cable with that same set up and it helps a lot with tone.