David Houldworth

Hi Michael, Thank you for responding. Man, £160+ that's about a third of the value of the bass...

Hi All, You have helped me out with 2 questions so far, maybe you can help with a third ? So, My new Sadowsky RSD active 5 string jazz bass arrived, and to cut a very long story short - I love the fit and finish, worthy of a much higher priced guitar, love the neck - but the active and single coil elements are causing lots of EMI when my bass is plugged into my PC via my audiobox interface. During home practice I use the PC 90% of the time. My bass teacher kindly offered me his Ibanez bass to try and see if it was the Sadowsky or if any bass would be affected. When I plugged in the Ibanez active 5, there was no noise, even when volume was up higher than I would usually have it. But - the Ibanez has humbucking pickups. The Sadowsky is all boxed up and ready to back, but the thought occurred - how easy in terms of wiring would it be to get J bass shaped humbucker or noise cancelling pick ups and fit them into the Sadowsky ? Dos anyone know, would humbucking/noise cancelling pickups be compatible with the active circuitry. Would the wiring be compatible ? Being able to do the above would enable me to keep a really nice guitar. (I have swapped out many pickups, jack sockets, pots over the years, and am pretty good at soldering, so the actual work would present no issues) As always, any help greatly appreciated Cheers

Thanks EZ - That is a beautiful thing. Always like the natural wood look. The Sadowsky was just under the £500, so that's my budget, unfortunately. I'll keep an eye out for a second handed sr505, which maybe more in my price range You know what the thing is ? - didn't even want an active bass. I only bought one because there were few, if any, options of a passive left handed 5 in the UK...and I looked.

Hi EZ, Indeed they are HB's - I didn't even spot/consider that, thanks for pointing that significant factor out. So I don't necessarily have to go for an Ibanez now that I know that (although I probably will) My other basses are passive with SC's though and they're very quiet. Ok the search for a 5 string left handed with HB's begins.

So, I managed to borrow a 5 string active bass - an Ibanez GSR205. Significantly cheaper than the Sadowsky. Plugged it in to Presonus - completely silent in terms of noise, static, EMI, 50 cycle hum and whatever else. This is what the Sadowsky should be. Turned the HiFi volume up maybe to 70% (never play the HiFi at this volume - way too loud for my wee play room, even then I'm only getting the very faintest of hum. The Sadowsky is now all re-boxed and have begun the returns process. No doubt it will take bloody weeks but, that's fine. A huge lesson learned. Thank you for your help and suggestions, they were much appreciated. Now, the hunt begins for left handed Ibanez. Cheers all (ironically I looked at the Ibanez and by passed it thinking Sadowsky - more £ = better) Not in this case, although the fit and finish was excellent.

Hi Sandy, Thank you for your help. My bass teacher tells me that he has an active Ibanez bass he can lend me to check against mine to see if the noise is still there. I'll be picking it up within the hour. If there's no sound, or it's much reduced with the Ibanez, I'll be shipping the other one back to Thomann and then look at other options. I see where your going with the resistors and ferrite beads and could do this myself, but having to do this on a brand new guitar is something I'd be reluctant to do. And with no 100% guarantee that it will work. Cheers

Hi all I've attached a sound sample of the suspected EMI. It was taken with my phone very near the speaker This sound changes with computer activity, eg if I open a program, click on something, change a window etc Enjoy EMI sound sample.mp3

Sandy - Thank you for a very comprehensive response. I now know more about EMI than I ever wanted lol. To follow up your suggestions - to start : Foil the control cavity and underside of the cover and check with a meter for continuity. Shield the underside of scratch plate too. Haven't checked that for shielding yet. I prefer the foil rather than paint for shielding anyway. Make sure foil is grounded to one point. Attach ferrite cores (I have them) on the guitar input lead to the Presonus and other low voltage leads (maybe the lead between the Presonus and the PC) Thank you for your help sandy. I'll do the above and see how that goes. Cheers David

Hi Velvet, Thank you for the suggestion. I actually didn't think of that, so I unplugged the monitor, but the EMI (as Sandy corrected me) is still there. David

Hi there, Thanks for replying - It's one of the RSD ones. Didn't want to/couldn't pay SMX prices. I'd read that Sadowsky had addressed the noise issue in subsequent runs of the RSD. Plugged into the PC If I can get 5+ feet away from the PC, no issue - plugged into the amp 5+ feet away from the PC, no issue, but I need to be next to it. I have an idea that any active bass in close proximity to a PC would generate interference. Unfortunately I don't know anyone with one I could borrow to test that idea. My little room isn't a box it's sort of 'L' shape, there's a walk in cupboard which is sort of built into the room so that also reduces how far I can get away from the PC. If I can find out soon that computer/PC proximity isn't an issue with other active basses, I'll be sending it back to Thomann. Cheers.

Hi all, Received great advice from my last question about bass tuition - wonder if you can help with this. I have a small music room/workroom 10 ft by 7'5 feet. I have my PC/desk and 3 basses, a small amp, a sort of worktable, 2 floor standing shelving units for Hifi, music books/odds and ends etc. (so the 10 x 7.5 is the bare room size, it's a fair bit smaller with the above in it). The relevance of this will become clear. My 5 string Sadowsky Metro Express bass arrived this morning (YAAYY!), checked it, played it for a few hours - love it (came with a very nice gig bag too) Anyway, to play, I did as I usually do with my other basses and guitars - plug into the little desktop outboard Presonus sound unit which goes to my PC and comes out through my Pioneer Hifi. Been doing it this way for more than 15+ yrs with various guitars and basses and never had an issue. It's more than loud enough for the size of the room. The basses used have always been passive. No effects are used, the bass goes straight into the Presonus or practice amp. When playing the Sadowsky in active mode I'm getting high pitched static which I believe is from the PC (I don't have fluorescent lighting). When I switch to passive mode, the static disappears. In active mode I tried playing through the small practice amp to check if plugging into the Presonus/PC that was the problem, but the interference/static is still there, coming through the amp. I then used a longer lead and moved away from the PC - had to move slightly out of the room doorway before interference went away. I tried this with bass (active on) plugged into the PC and then again plugged into the practice amp with the same result - the further the bass was away from PC, the less interference noise there was. Unfortunately I cant get far enough away from the PC to reduce the static and still be in the room... (I know that my first ask would have been, 'can you move further away from the PC'). I could, but I'd be out on the landing lol. As a test, I switched off the PC and plugged into the practice amp - active on, there was no static, but when I switched the PC on, the static came back through the amp. The PC is the source, the active is picking it up. I checked the battery/wiring compartment - it has shielding paint in it. I may put copper foil in there going forward. Unfortunately I can't borrow another active bass to check if it happens with others. I have my music programs and software on the PC along with play along files, study materials/PDF's etc - I also play through the PC with headphones too, so I really need to be playing in the same room as the PC. Has anyone any ideas to suppress the static/interference ? I'm assuming others must have had a similar problem. Apologies for the exhaustive post but wanted to provide the full picture Any help, gratefully appreciated David

Hi all, Many many thanks for the advice. Apologies I haven't responded sooner. So, the reason for the delay in my response is that I declined that teachers offer (bullet dodged there if your responses are anything to go by) and continued my search. I had certain parameters regarding cost, travelling time, time of day for practice, and what I was looking for in a teacher. I think I tried another 14 local schools and individual tutors around Glasgow since I posted my question to the forum. A couple of small music schools said that they don't teach bass, another said that they only have a bass teacher for 4 hours 1 evening a week. I encountered more pretend bass teachers similar to the first one. I'm on a bit of a fixed income so £30 per hour was my top limit (don't know what prices are like in the rest of UK - bet it's about £423 per hour in London lol). Some teachers were charging £40+ per our - those were usually eb and double bass teachers too though. I'm sure that they were well qualified, great players etc but £40 per hour ?...dear god. Anyway, I was loosing hope, I was on to the last one or two teachers on my list. I got in touch with one through 'firsttutors.com'. Maybe some of you know it or are on it. The way they work is, you can peruse the details of the teacher, experience, what instruments, availability etc and if you fancy what they're offering, you have to pay a 'finders fee' to the website to get the teachers details released eg phone no, address, full name, email address etc (you only get first names on their bios). Maybe it's a bit like a dating site lol. I paid the the site fee and got access to his details. I think I struck gold. He's a young guy went through Glasgow Conservatory did a BMUS in jazz. Apart from playing in jazz groups he plays DB with Scottish Ballet (as does his dad) Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago I booked tickets for my wife and I to see Scottish Ballet's Swan Lake in Glasgow in April. What are the chances ? I had my first lesson on Monday afternoon - several days before the practice he sent me a PDF of what we were going to be working on - Hiatian Divorce by Steely Dan...dear god ! The end of book 2 beginning of book 3 of the Friedland tutor isn't near this level. I spent about 10 hours on it. Went to the lesson and there were maybe half a dozen wee things in the song (and my technique) had to be sharpened up - apart from that it was ok. I was surprised, I've loved SD for decades and didn't think I'd be ready for SD bass line notation before 2027 Hugely gratifying to work away on what, for me, is a very tricky bass line and it actually being pretty close to correct. (loads of times on the PDF I had to draw little up and down arrows under the bars to keep down and up beat rests and notes correct, and slow it down to a snails pace) So, sorry for the long epistle (oo-er missus) but so many great replies to my initial post deserved a comprehensive response. Onward and upward, Cheers all.

Hi all, wonder if anyone can help me decide. Have come back to electric bass after many years playing guitar. I am looking for bass tuition and have found a teacher in Glasgow I can go to. I'm what you might call a mature student (66) and should be beginning my first lesson on Monday, but had a call with him today which made me unsure. I want to learn notation, not tab and be able to read anything from Abba, to Ska, to showtunes, rock even maybe some classical etc - basically become a really good reader (it's a personal goal) Anyway, during phone call he said it was quite unusual for someone wanting to learn 'classical' - not sure what the difference was I said I wanted to be able to play anything in any genre and be a good 'generalist' reader. The chap said that this was quite unusual as tab is what is generally being used now. (for reference I am just beginning on book 3 of the Ed Friedland bass book, along with working on Simandl material among some other things) Also he has no spare bass amp for me to play through (he said that he has 5 guitar amps and one bass amp), so I have to take my own. Should I expect a bass teacher have a bass amp for the student to play through ? I will be paying (for me) a fair bit of cash for the lessons and I want to be sure. Any help advice would be much appreciated.