Coated strings causing buzz?

[Stylon Pilson]

I've just put a set of coated strings on my bass and I'm now getting a buzz that goes away when I touch the bridge or control knobs or tuning posts. From what I can gather, this suggests that the bass isn't correctly shielded. I've had a look inside the control cavity - there seems to be metal foil on the underside of the scratch plate, and a little piece of copper on the body that it connects to. The inside of the cavity is painted black, there's a earthing wire underneath the bridge.

Does this indicate that the jack socket maybe isn't earthed correctly? I dunno, this isn't really my area of expertise. Should I just avoid coated strings?

S.P.

[KiOgon]

Have you tried a different/proven good lead?

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1423938658' post='2690661']
Have you tried a different/proven good lead?
[/quote]

Tried a variety of leads, all produce identical results. Also tried it with a different bass (though I haven't tried putting the strings on another bass, that's one option, though not really ideal), and it's fine.

S.P.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Stylon Pilson

[MoonBassAlpha]

Does the coating prevent the string making an electrical connection with the bridge? That would do it.

[Romeo2]

I cannot find the original post from Roger Sadowsky on this at the moment (seems some places have removed his spiel on the issue) but someone posted a pic of an article he wrote, on fb: https://www.facebook.com/cleartonestrings/posts/481917048503023

Perhaps this answers your question / issue. I personally never noticed any static buzzing when I was using elixirs but then maybe I am just a deaf bass player, I don't know

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1423946744' post='2690815']
Does the coating prevent the string making an electrical connection with the bridge? That would do it.
[/quote]

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say no - because when I touch the tuning posts, the hum goes away, which implies that the tuning posts are connected to the bridge via the core of the string. It's just that the coating prevents the string making a connection to my body.

[quote name='Romeo2' timestamp='1423949979' post='2690873']
I cannot find the original post from Roger Sadowsky on this at the moment (seems some places have removed his spiel on the issue) but someone posted a pic of an article he wrote, on fb: [url="https://www.facebook.com/cleartonestrings/posts/481917048503023"]https://www.facebook...481917048503023[/url]
[/quote]

Now I'm confused. There seem to be two schools of thought - one, like Roger S, says that a string ground is essential, and others say that a properly shielded instrument shouldn't require it. But I can't help feeling that if I have to constantly have at least one finger in contact with one of my strings to prevent background humming, then that's a design shortcoming.

S.P.

[Stylon Pilson]

Here's an update - took my bass to rehearsal today (with a backup, just in case) and while the problem was still there, it was nowhere near as noticeable. I wouldn't use the instrument for recording, but for live use I think it'll be fine. I'm going to try it at a gig on Thursday, but again I'll have a backup just in case.

I have also tried setting up in a different room in the house, and again the problem was far less noticeable. I think that this room has problems, either sources of interference or bad wiring.

S.P.

[HowieBass]

I've seen a bass masterclass session on YouTube featuring Sadowsky and Tobias (which I've linked to a couple of times on here) and they talk about coated strings being problematic where they lack a metal to metal contact for grounding (so their advice is don't use them). YMMV.

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1424014467' post='2691524']
I've seen a bass masterclass session on YouTube featuring Sadowsky and Tobias (which I've linked to a couple of times on here) and they talk about coated strings being problematic where they lack a metal to metal contact for grounding (so their advice is don't use them). YMMV.
[/quote]

The metal-to-metal contact seems to be fine - it's the metal-to-me contact that's absent!

S.P.

[pantherairsoft]

Yes, I've experienced this issue with coated strings... It just depends on how well your bass is shielded, and the electronica package it has (some have a lower noise floor than others). Also, the local electrics and the brightness of your rig/cab amplify it. In most cases you never hear it, but on some basses, within a certain setup, yes. My issue was with a set of DR Black Beauties. Looked amazing, but had to go in the end.

[xilddx]

Since I've never had a problem of this nature with DR Black Beauties, DR Neon, Elixir, Warwick EMP, and Cleartone on a number of active and passive, humbucker and single coil, and even a homemade active bass, through a POD, into and amp, and DI to desk, my thoughts are that your problem has NOTHING to do with the strings.

[skankdelvar]

Here's the deal. I've got a set of eight year old Elixirs on my bass and they're flaking like buggery. In some places the metal windings are exposed. In others the coating is intact. The ball end is contact with the bridge which is earthed.

Running a finger up and down the strings across coated and uncoated areas and / or touching the bridge makes no difference to the background buzz. Neither does touching the pot knobs because they're plastic.

I have no idea what this means.

[xilddx]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1424042717' post='2692004']
Here's the deal. I've got a set of eight year old Elixirs on my bass and they're flaking like buggery. In some places the metal windings are exposed. In others the coating is intact. The ball end is contact with the bridge which is earthed.

Running a finger up and down the strings across coated and uncoated areas and / or touching the bridge makes no difference to the background buzz. Neither does touching the pot knobs because they're plastic.

I have no idea what this means.
[/quote]

Good point about the ball end.

[icastle]

I've use Elixirs for years and never noticed a problem.

If you're finding that the buzz is less apparant when you play in a different room then that's probably worth investigating further.

Houses generally have at least two ring mains, an upstairs one and a downstairs one.

The upstairs one generally does very little, but the downstairs one will probably have a fridge and a washing machine on it - both have motors and motors can add noise to the mains supply.

I'd try running an extension lead from an upstairs socket and trying that.

Also, dimmer switches can induce a hell of a lot of noise, turn them off if you have them.
I've got a dimmer switch downstairs here that induces a buzz on my amp upstairs!

Lastly, although probably most importantly, make sure (or find someone who can) that your mains socket is earthed properly.

If none of that works then take the bridge off, make sure the earth wire underneath it is clean (a quick wipe with a bit of sandpaper) and then make sure that you [u]don't[/u] put it back in the same indentation before refixing the bridge.

HTH