Active MM S.U.B. 5 - Grounding Situation

[mollinga]

I just bought a brand new active Music Man SUB 5, however I seem to be having, what sounds like, a grounding problem. Whenever I take my fingers/hands off the metal part(s) on the bass, I hear a very quiet but somewhat annoying buzzying sound - not audible in the music store with all the noise there. This buzzying is more noticeable when the treble is cranked up.

It's not my main amp system causing the problem because I even hear it, to a much lesser degree though, on my battery-powered Crate Taxi amp which is not even plugged into the wall. Furthermore, this buzzying sound doesn't happen when I use my Yamaha TRB-5P bass in the same room. Any suggestions? Or is this just something I'm going to have to live with when purchasing a Music Man bass?

 

[Masamax]

Have you tried playing it at a different location? It may be some form of electronics that your TRP wasn't as vunerable too causing it, although not likely best to check all corners. If it does it everywhere I'd simply suggest taking it to where you got it and having it inspected under warrenty.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

what Masamax says.

 

[mollinga]

Thanks guys!

I'll try your suggestion. I have a funny feeling it's not the location though as the bass has been played in a bedroom area in a house that's less than 8 years old. If this environment causes a grounding sound then I can only imagine what else will. Yuk!

 

[mollinga]

I have to add that music stores and technicians I've now talked to do not seem agree with whether this "grounding" sound should be happening if my hands are off the bass. The best answer I've got was "that because this bass is active I become the ground so expect a grounding noise especially if the treble is turned up full - guitar players experience this all the time." Who knows?!

 

[Estin]

hmm that doesn't sound right. just cause a bass or guitar is active doesn't mean anything. all it means is it uses a 9 volt battery in the circuit. if anythign active guitars and basses are quieter than passive. it really depends on how its wired from factory. some guitars i've owned do that and some don't. what i would do is check the grounding. make sure there is a wire running from underneath the bridge into the control cavity and solderd onto the top of the vol. pot. if there is no wire of the connection is bad it will make a noise because its not properly grounded untill you touch the strings.

 

[midopa]

Speaking of active electronics, I was playing the bass today and noticed that the amp (I used a Hartke combo amp. I forgot the model, but it's a nice three digit watt combo amp) didn't make some terrible "pop" noise when the instrument cable fell out (I was walking around and such and my feet happened to press the cable down and cause it to plop out). Is that due to the active electronics? Or did something weird happen that'll never happen again? Haha...

 

[mollinga]

In regard to "Estin" and your comments which I very much appreciate, I checked inside the control cavity for the ground wire. It is there and it looks like it is going off to the bridge. However, it is not connected to volume pot directly but rather connected to the circuit board. I am curious to know whether the inside of the control cavity needs some sort of inside lining as all that's there is the wood of the bass. And I completely agree with you in regard to active electronics being quieter than passive ones. As the saying goes, "I am dazed and confused".

 

[Estin]

ah yes i forgot eb uses some circuit boards in their active basses and stuff. they have to to acheive the onboard preamp controls. i know i have stripped out tele's and stuff and lined all their cavities with copper tape. then used a small jumper wire from each cavitiy connecting htem. that alone really tightens up alot of noise. i would contact eb directly and see. eb does great wiring jobs and i've always thought their guitars were some of the best and most quiet right off the line. in regards to yanking out the cable and it not wildly feeding back and peircing your ear drums it really depends where the cable end lands. if the tip and sheild make contact thats when you get the noise, even RF noise floating around the room will react nicely with that open cable end. the instrument being active or passive makes no difference due to the fact its not even connected to the amp anymore. give EB a call about your bass, their great people and are always more than happy to help. keep'on plunkin away

 

[Kennyhoe]

Speaking of grounding, whenever I play my guitar for a while standing up, I shock myself when i touch the strings around the bridge with my forearm. Is this a grounding issue that needs to be taken care of?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

>>>>I shock myself when i touch the strings around the bridge

If you're getting an electrical shock you had better take all your gear (power amp included) to a tech AND quickly!

 

[Estin]

yeah being shocked by your gear isn't really a good thing......unless your playing on carpet. you mentioned after a while when you play standing up, if your on carpet you could be building a static charge that discharges when you touch your bass near the bridge. if its a light shock like static that could be it. are you playing on carpet?

 

[basadam]

Mollinga,

Two out of my four basses do this all the time. One is a Japanese Fender P, the other is a Bass Collection V. The story with the BC-V is funny: when it was all stock there was no hum, then I changed the pups to DiMarzios and this problem began. DiMarzio tech support claimed it is normal.

Interestingly, a Ken Smith reviewed in BP sometime ago had this problem and Ken Smith also suggested that it is normal. Check http://archive.bassplayer.com/gear/5string.shtml !!

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Musos have been electrocuted...they ain't around to tell the tale. It may be static but a serious fault could be lurking aswell! How does one tell static from a fatal shock....because they're still here? Maybe they were lucky! IMHO, I wouldn't take any chances.

In no circumstances, should a Bass, IMO, give a BITE. If it's static, there has to be a ground problem.

My 2 cents.

I'm prob wrong again

 

[Kennyhoe]

Thanx for the replies!
Yes, I do think I was playing on carpet. When i touched it with my fingers it was ok, but when i used my forearm to mute it, i felt a shock. I use a pick, if that makes any difference at all.

 

[mollinga]

Well, ladies and gentlemen here is the response from Music Man's techinical support about the SUB bass' grounding noise:

First of all, they told me on the phone that the SUB bass comes with a little noise but it is just one of those things that you have to deal with because it's kind of like the older Music Man basses that had some noise due to grounding. I responded by saying "You mean this bass is something like the Squier series is to the American made Jazz/Precission". They said absolutely not but because the pickups are so hot they give off some noise.

In an email here's what they said about getting rid of the noise:

There is an easy way of taking care of the noise. If you could run a ground wire from the volume pot to one of the screws (via pickup cavity) of the pickguard. This will increase the grounded area, shielding the instrument from electronic noise. If you have any questions, you can call me at 1-866-823-2255 ext 209

Hope this helps.

 

[Estin]

Thanx for the replies!
Yes, I do think I was playing on carpet. When i touched it with my fingers it was ok, but when i used my forearm to mute it, i felt a shock. I use a pick, if that makes any difference at all.

i work around pc's and other electronics for a living and i've been shocked by monitors and notebooks pc's before. they won't shock you on your finger tips but when my forearm makes contact i can feel a constant current type of thing. so i've felt the "forearm phenominom" myself before. i would do what EB suggests and run a wire from the pickup screws to the vol pot. you could also splice in from the bridge ground wire and take it to the vol pot as well. if you know a bit about basic wiring you could strip out the EB sheild all the cavities with copper tape and replace the electronics with a nice result.