I’m very new to playing music and the bass guitar is my first instrument. I rented a Squire classic vibe jazz bass from a store near me and have been learning on the B2B course. I did end up finding a used Yamaha TRBX304 which works great and I really like the shape and weight of the instrument compared to the classic vibe jazz bass.
There is only one weird issue that makes me want to return this instrument. Whenever I use the treble boost on the bass and/or the amp (a fender rumble 40) and happen to touch the neck pickup I hear a really loud static noise which sounds almost like the electronics on the bass has issues.
Sure seems like a grounding issue to me. Were you touching the pole piece and E string at the same time, when touching the control knobs? If you switch to the bridge pickup and touch its pole piece and E string at the same time, do you also get the buzzing? I think you’re making a ground loop through your body.
Yeah, if I touch the pickup (the metal dot thats magnetic) I hear the buzz but if I touch anything that is metal on the bass, the buzz goes away.
It doesn’t bother me when I’m playing because I’m either muting or fretting a string if I happen to touch the pickup, but just concerned that the bass might be defective
I ended up using painters tape on the pickup and that makes it so that even if I touch it I’m not making an electrical circuit and I don’t get the buzz anymore
Yes, you have a grounding problem. That can be fixed with conductive copper foil in the pickup and control cavities, and connecting all of that with the ground wire under the bridge.
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Thanks @TheMaartian I started googling fixing pickup grounding with copper foil found lots of threads and videos showing me how. Thank you for pointing me in this direction
The last place i usually look is under the bridge, if it’s chrome plated sometimes it’s not enough surface contact to complete the grounding. Loosening the string take off the bridge and sanding off some of the shiny chrome down to the bare metal, just a small patch by the ground wire contact that usually does it for me.
Yes, you have a grounding problem. That can be fixed with conductive copper foil in the pickup and control cavities, and connecting all of that with the ground wire under the bridge.
