Flatwounds and cycle hum??? Help!

[bth88]

I'm having an issue. A couple of weeks ago I threw a set of flatwounds (Rotosound 77's) on my Stingray. I've noticed since that I get a annoying cycle hum when I'm not touching the strings. It used to be dead quiet with roundwounds.
Is there a trick with flatwounds (solder the ball ends etc.) to get a better ground?

 

[Wasabi]

I'm having an issue. A couple of weeks ago I threw a set of flatwounds (Rotosound 77's) on my Stingray. I've noticed since that I get a annoying cycle hum when I'm not touching the strings. It used to be dead quiet with roundwounds.
Is there a trick with flatwounds (solder the ball ends etc.) to get a better ground?

I've honestly just noticed the hum on my SR5 and new SR4 with the standard slinkies.

 

[fearofcups]

Hmmm, this is rather strange. From my experiences with roundwounds and flatwounds I've never noticed any hum from my Stingray. You might wanna make sure your humbucker is working alright and that your amp/cab isn't having any issues either, maybe on one of the input jacks. I'm no expert though so you might wanna find a second opinion.

 

[bth88]

It's very strange. The EB strings (roundwound) did not give me any hum. I mean I was soooo proud compared to my guitarist's rig. He has hum all the time, it sounds like a machine shop over on his side of the stage.
It's not my equipment. I even experience the hum running into a Sansamp Bass DI into a headphone amp (what I use not to piss off the Mrs.).
No... This happened right after I put on those flatwound 77's. Could it be the red (felt or cotton) string they use to wrap the string at the ball and up by the tuners? Maybe it’s acting like an insulator preventing a good ground conection?

 

[TheDirtyMoocher]

It's very strange. The EB strings (roundwound) did not give me any hum. I mean I was soooo proud compared to my guitarist's rig. He has hum all the time, it sounds like a machine shop over on his side of the stage.
It's not my equipment. I even experience the hum running into a Sansamp Bass DI into a headphone amp (what I use not to piss off the Mrs.).
No... This happened right after I put on those flatwound 77's. Could it be the red (felt or cotton) string they use to wrap the string at the ball and up by the tuners? Maybe it’s acting like an insulator preventing a good ground conection?

i'm pretty sure thats not it, because the ground is at the bridge

 

[bth88]

They're stainless steel (or so I have read [think spinal tap]). Could there be a difference because of material?

 

[bth88]

So I threw a set of EB rounds (Slinkys, nickel?) back on last night and what happened? No more hum... Go figure.
I'm going to put the flats back on tonight.
When I say hum; it's just a little annoying cycle hum. But when you can go from no hum to a little hum with just a change up of strings the little hum can be like nails on a chalk board if you know what I mean...

 

[Moose308]

So I threw a set of EB rounds (Slinkys, nickel?) back on last night and what happened? No more hum... Go figure.
I'm going to put the flats back on tonight.
When I say hum; it's just a little annoying cycle hum. But when you can go from no hum to a little hum with just a change up of strings the little hum can be like nails on a chalk board if you know what I mean...

This does seem very strange. Considering that in both cases the metal of the strings contact the saddles of the bridge, this should be enough to provide continuity (sp?) (electrical pathway) between the strings and the bridge.

Of course, I can't comment on the internal structure of the flatwounds. is there an insulating layer internally? Could cause some issues if there is.

I suppose one way to check would be to hook up a multi-tester to the stings, and measure the resistance between say, the machine head and the bridge, for each string. Should be quite small. Ideally almost zero though that never happens. Assuming you have a good grounding path. Now swap out the strings for the flatwounds, and do that again. If it's not a similarly low value, then you will have problems. If there is a continuity problem, you should see very high resistance, if not infinite. As a further experiment, check the continuity between all sorts of places on the bass, just to see what is connected, and what is not.

 

[bth88]

Just a theory, but I think it's because stainless steel has a higher resistance to electrical conductivity than say nickel. So nickel would be a better choice for ground than stainless steel.
But don't ask me, these guys are the string masters and make both. Maybe the Ball's could chime in?

UPDATE:

No string gurus chimed in.... (go figure, they make strings?). I found out that these Rotosound 77's are not stainless steel. They are often confused with stainless. They are rustless Monel that are an alloy made up of primarily nickel and copper. Here's some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monel

I might do one last test when I get around to putting those flats back on. Solder the ball ends, or possibly washers between the balls and the bridge. For now it's just a mystery...

:spooky: