Humming / Noise from an Active Bass

jasonb

Hi there...

I've a Rhino Aria Pro II Active Bass and I'm getting a lot of humming / noise from it. I can mess around with the controls and get it to lessen, but it never fully goes away. Can anyone recommend someone who can do wonders with bass guitar electronics and get rid of the noise for me? Thanks...

J.

Ger the man

What sort of amp and guitar cable have you got?

jasonb

I've two types of cable, a standard jack cable and also a wireless kit. My amp is an old Laney 100W. However a second guitar I use with the same cables / wireless kit / amp doesn't have this problem, so it's definitely the guitar...

J.

Karl Hungus

What kind of battery are you using in the bass?

jasonb

Standard 9V Square Battery. I plan to change it just in case it's the problem, but in the past whenever I've had battery problems the bass has basically just been dead ( in active mode anyhow ), so I'm not sure if that could be it. I'll know this afternoon though, once I get out to buy a new battery...

J.

Karl Hungus

jasonb wrote:

Standard 9V Square Battery. I plan to change it just in case it's the problem, but in the past whenever I've had battery problems the bass has basically just been dead ( in active mode anyhow ), so I'm not sure if that could be it. I'll know this afternoon though, once I get out to buy a new battery...

J.

It's definetly worth a look. I know some pedals can be very picky about batteries, cheap ones can sometimes create hum.

I'd also suggest taking a look at the wiring aswell.

jasonb

Hi again...

Thanks for the advice by the way, always good to get quick replies!

I can take a look at the wiring, but it's kinda like the car breaking down and me looking under the bonnet. I know something happens under there, but not how to fix it. Unless there's an obvious loose wire, I won't know what to do. That's why I'm looking for advice on who to contact who does know what they're doing.

I'll definitely change the battery though, thanks...

J.

Rigsby

Do a search on www.talkbass.com

Lots of helpful info there also.

jasonb

Hi Rigsby...

I'm already on there, but never thought of doing a search, as I reckoned I'd be looking for someone in Dublin who repairs guitars. I'll go and do a search, thanks...

J.

Karl Hungus

jasonb wrote:

Hi Rigsby...

I'm already on there, but never thought of doing a search, as I reckoned I'd be looking for someone in Dublin who repairs guitars. I'll go and do a search, thanks...

J.

Check the Instruments resources sticky.

Rigsby

If all else fails take a look at : www.theguitarworkshop.net

I've no personal experience of it but it has a good reputation.

jasonb

Thanks...

I've changed the battery with no difference. found some good articles on Talkbass about sheilding etc. but as my bass has four pots, two switches and a pre-amp, it's a bit too confusing for me to be honest and I don't want to mess it up even more.

I reckon I'll get in touch with The Guitar Workshop and see what they say. Thanks for your help...

J.

Dord

Rigsby wrote:

If all else fails take a look at : www.theguitarworkshop.net

I've no personal experience of it but it has a good reputation.

I fixed that for you Paul.



jasonb: I'd advise you to do a search on boards about the guitar workshop.

I shall make no further comments regarding them, legal mumbo jumbo and all that shizz.

jasonb

Thanks Joe...

A quick search has brought up Danvel Musical Instruments, which seems to be getting plenty of good reviews...

I know this is a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but any idea how much this could cost? I'm trying to get a sense of when I'll have the money for it. The woman who answered the phone, while very helpful, said that there was no way of knowing without seeing the guitar, which is fair enough. But I'm trying to get some sense of costs. Am I talking €50, €100, €200, €300 etc? Any kind of ball park figure would help...

Anyone out there who got work done on electrics / pickups for buzzing and know how much it cost them? Thanks...

J.

Rigsby

joe robot wrote:

I fixed that for you Paul.

Thanks for that Joe !

This must be a new development with TGWS as I'm almost sure I saw good reviews here about it.

jasonb

At a risk of boring, here's what I posted on Talkbass describing the problem properly...

The top Pot in this picture is the Bass Tone, only works with Active, fully anti-clockwise drops Bass Tone, middle point doesn't affect it and fully clockwise boosts Bass Tone.

The Pot on the left in the picture is the overall Volume Pot, works with Passive and Active, anti-clockwise off, clockwise on.

The Pot on the right is Treble Tone, only works with Active, fully anti-clockwise drops Treble Tone, middle point doesn't affect it and fully clockwise boosts Treble Tone.

The bottom Pot is Pickup Balance, works with Passive and Active, fully anti-clockwise is neck pickup only, middle is both pickups, full clockwise is bridge pickup only.

The top switch is the 3 Way switch, works with Passive and Active, which we think chooses one coil, the other coil, or both coils ( humbucker ) in the bridge pickup.

The bottom switch is the Active / Passive switch.

Apart from just being a bit of a nerd, why am I writing all this? Well, I'm suffering from a lot of noise / hum with this guitar and I'm trying to pinpoint it. Firstly, it is definitely the guitar, as a different guitar through the same amp and lead is quiet as can be.

Secondly, touching or holding the strings makes no difference to the noise at all.

In Passive mode, I can get rid of some of the noise by using the bridge pickup only and by leaving the 3 Way switch in the middle position ( I'm guessing in humbucker mode? ). I can also reduce the noise by using both pickups evenly, but putting the three way switch in the down position ( I don't know which coil this selects, if indeed that's what this switch does! ). Any other configuration brings the noise back.

In Active mode, it gets even worse, as in louder, but it's the exact same thing, two positions on the controls reduces the noise, everything else doesn't. Also, if I boost Treble at all, the noise gets a lot louder, but I'm guessing that'd just cos Treble is boosted, not a problem with the wiring on the Treble Pot.

So, any ideas what's happening here? Have I a dodgy neck pickup? Is it 'just' a case of proper shielding. Any idea why I can reduce noise by using both picups but only 1 coil from the bridge pickup? I don't have enough electronics knowledge to fix this myself, but I'd really like to know what's wrong before I pay someone else to do it. Thanks a lot, sorry for the long post!

J.

Dord

jasonb wrote:

Thanks Joe...

A quick search has brought up Danvel Musical Instruments, which seems to be getting plenty of good reviews...

I know this is a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but any idea how much this could cost? I'm trying to get a sense of when I'll have the money for it. The woman who answered the phone, while very helpful, said that there was no way of knowing without seeing the guitar, which is fair enough. But I'm trying to get some sense of costs. Am I talking €50, €100, €200, €300 etc? Any kind of ball park figure would help...

Anyone out there who got work done on electrics / pickups for buzzing and know how much it cost them? Thanks...

J.

It really does depend on them seeing it, obviously they have to diagnose the problem then fix it. Could be something small, might not be.