Bartolini Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 When I amp my Music Man Sting Ray bass to my Hartke3500 head connected to Trace Elliot 4 x 10 320Watt cab, or if I plug in to my home hi-fi system I have to hold the string or the metal on body of the bass always, since there's this hizz. If I touch the pickup poles, the hizz is severe. What is the problem? (But when I plug the bass in to the computer, I do not have this problem.) Please help. With my other bass, i do not find any of these crap. Now I tend to play the other more often than MM and thats not what want to happen. Is this problem fixable by me or do I have to take it to a techie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeR Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 I'm assuming the pot cavity is shielded and grounded, as are the cavities for the pups. So I'm gonna make some speculations here, based on some rough assumptions. If it were loss of a ground in the signal path, the noise should increase when you touch any metal part of the bass, so I don't think you've got a particularly bad ground connection. If it were loss of electrical ground on the amp, symptoms would change as you touch any metal, but the noise would grow as you make contact with the metal parts. Only one question - is the noise most audible when the volume control on the bass is at 50%, at 100% or at zero%? If the noise remains audible even at zero%, then I would have to suspect something has gone very wrong with a pot. If the noise is most audible at 50%, there may be nothing you can do about it, since (and I'm not familiar with the details on your pups) passive pups + pots set to about 50% = highest output impedance from the bass. Electrical noise in a circuit, such as the circuit that is created when you use an amplifier on your bass, or for that matter, any circuit under the sun, rises in direct proportion to circuit impedance. And just about any amp will pick up on this unless the bass is extremely well shielded. If the noise is most audible at 100%, you may have a faulty pup, with an open coil. I've seen that happen before. Signal volume is reduced but not entirely eliminated on any amp with a high enough input impedance, and it becomes very noisy. Good luck! Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; one lick and you suck forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolini Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 My goodnes George, I 'm so worried then. Yes @ 50% volume on the bass, I get this noise. So how come Ernie Ball have not checked this before they shipped it? My bass is quite new. What if techie finds the pup is faulty and would Ernie Ball replace this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 the pickup is passive in a stingray, but there is a preamp. i don't know if there is a buffer between the pickups and the frequency filters. i think the answer lies more in the systems into which the instrument is being plugged. instrument amps and home hi-fi systems are typically single-ended, whereas the computer may be utilizing a balanced connection. i know that's not much use knowing the bass output is single-ended, but it's a difference. how do you plug into the computer? why are you using anything but full volume? robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolini Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 I use creative Platinum front panel 1/4 inch input to plug in to computer. Usually I keep volume 100% on bass. The noise is there when I plug in to my amp(Hartke) or Sony HI-Fi system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolini Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 what is the meaning of 'single ended'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 single-ended is a term to describe a connection that has one conductor for signal and one for ground. examples of this include 1/4" TS cables and RCA cables. balanced connections (an opposite of sorts) are most often found as XLR and 1/4" TRS cables. you have me stumped. unless it's a faulty ground or IC in the preamp, i'm not entirely certain what it could be. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Does this happen only at home? I have a room in my house that makes my humbucking "quiet everywhere else in the world" buzz like crazy... Hope it's that easy. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeR Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 If the bass uses a conventional 1/4" jack, the output is pretty well guaranteed to be single ended. A balanced output is one where there are two signal carrying conductors, both electrically isolated from ground. This makes the signal very immune to noise pickup along the cable length - your office uses this in it's LAN cabling (Cat 5, UTP cable). Grounding the signal is convenient, but since everything, including lightning strikes, uses ground for a common connection, it's not guaranteed to be noiseless. Anyway, if you're a do-it-yourself kind of person, you can beg or borrow someone's volt-ohmmeter and check your passive pups for continuity (should measure less than 5000 Ohms). If you've got active pups (built-in or external pre-amplifier) this naturally complicates things and it may be beyond the scope of a do-it-yourself'er. If you're near Brampton, Ontario, drop on by and I can take a look at it for you. Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; one lick and you suck forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolini Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 Thank you everybody, and Tom, may be I didn't notice this noise when I last played at a pub a month ago. This is what I want to check again. I've got a rehearsal this coming Monday at a studio and I should take my StngRay and check before I take it to a hospital. Last night, I checked it further and found that when I touch any pick up pole, the noise / or buzz got louder. Its like bbzzzZZZZZZ...And George, thank you very much for your kind offer to check it for me but unfortunately I am 1000's and 1000's of kilometres away from your place. regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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