Eliminating single coil hum - ISP Decimator II

[Al Krow]

If you've used - does the ISP Decimator II eliminate single coil hum from basses to something comparable to a double coil humbucker, without adversely impacting the tone?

Anything else that works as well or better for this?

Cheers

AK

[Dood]

Any noise gate only 'hides' hum, it can't eliminate it. That said, for gating noise, the Decimator, especially the rack version is VERY good. I'd start by looking at the bass to check that all of the compartments are properly shielded and checked the pickups are at least rejecting as much as they can in terms of design. It seems I hardly run single coils on their own (unless it's the neck pickup of a Tele or Strat) and if I did I would run a pair like a Jazz bass with one reversed coil thus giving me a natural humbucking configuration. If it's still a massive problem, you could look at single coil pickups with a dummy coil for humbucking duties. That could also be an option.

On the flip side, of course if you are using loads of distortion pedals then the noise from those may need a noise gate anyway and thus the Decimator is a good choice!

[Cuzzie]

I'll answer here!

It's very transparent, works really well for background noise and especially if you have cranked gain or overdrive.

Can take a little getting used to because the higher threshold you set it, the less sustain you will have as it will chop the note before letting it just naturally fade to black, but again depends on whether you do long low level sustain playing etc.

It does make things super quiet

[dannybuoy]

Note that it only eliminates the hum when you aren't playing anything.

There is an EHX Hum Debugger pedal rust works in a different way to actually remove the hum rather than gate it, although I've no idea how well it works in practice.

[Al Krow]

That is really useful gents, thanks.

I'm looking at a couple of options for a new bass:

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_gps_corvette_5a_bubinga.htm"]https://www.thomann...._5a_bubinga.htm[/url] - from the tone samples this one really seems to growl and sing, but I'm concerned about single coil hum through the PUPs. This issue seems to be more of a problem in Central London with tube, railways etc nearby particularly when rehearsing in railway arches!

Will the ISP Decimator (or similar) deal with this so that it does not become noticeable or would I better off getting the $$ version with twin humbuckers? [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_gps_corvette_db_5_ash_nt.htm"]https://www.thomann....db_5_ash_nt.htm[/url]

I think DB's comment that it only eliminates hum when you aren't playing anything, which suggests it is still an issue when playing?

Edited May 20, 2017 by Al Krow

[dannybuoy]

With a noise gate like the Decimator, the hum will still be there when you play, but you probably won't notice it due to the loudness of the instrument.

Btw the first bass with dual single coils will be hum cancelling with both pickups on, which is the setting that gives you the most growl like the 'Rock' clip there! The $$ may be hum cancelling with either pickup soloed, but it's a very different sound. The $$ sounds super scooped with both pickups on (notice they didn't bother to demo that setting) and can't cop that Jazz like growl as well as the other bass.

Edited May 20, 2017 by dannybuoy

[Al Krow]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1495282274' post='3302688']
Btw the first bass with dual single coils will be hum cancelling with both pickups on, which is the setting that gives you the most growl like the 'Rock' clip there!
[/quote]

Cheers DB!! I think you've just taken away my only hesitation with that particular bass and I agree with you that, of the two, the bubinga 5 trumped the $$ 5 for gorgeous growl.

There is something wonderfully substantial about bubinga as a dense wood which is part of the reason for that growl and sustain.

Thomann are getting that model back in stock on June 7th so, if I don't spot anything better in the meantime, I'll be looking forward to getting that one (and no doubt hosting Grangur for an A/B rematch session with his collection of Warwick originals...)

It's been a bit of a journey...with a lot of helpful input from BCs, but I've learned a ton of useful stuff along the way! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/296657-best-5-string-bass-youve-ever-owned-and-why/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.u...__fromsearch__1[/url]

Edited May 20, 2017 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

PS is it also the case that active single coils are usually less prone to hum than passive single coils? (And I'd also be interested as to the technical reason for this!)

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1495291638' post='3302771']
PS is it also the case that active single coils are usually less prone to hum than passive single coils? (And I'd also be interested as to the technical reason for this!)
[/quote]

I don't believe so. Besides, active pickups are pretty uncommon. What you get with most active basses are passive pickups paired with an active preamp, so not too different to a passive bass plugged into a preamp pedal, therefore no noise reduction going on there.