JimD Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 (edited) Hello there My main bass is one of these... [url="http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2009/12/westone-x900tpr-super-headless-bass.html"]http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2009/12/weston...dless-bass.html[/url] ...and as you can see it has jazz style pickups. Unfortunately they are really noisy; I thought they were humbuckers as one of the switches on it gives a sound on each pickup akin to series/parallel (i.e. quieter and brighter in "parallel" mode) but since joining a very loud rock band and playing at volume I'm not convinced they are humbuckers. The bass is very noisy when plugged in and not being played and if I wander near to my amp or either of the guitarist's amps there's a lot of buzz. It does have an active circuit but I don't use it; I don't even keep batteries in it. The bass plays great and sounds great apart from that confounded buzzaroo! By comparison my Hohner B2A is nearly silent; you have to go and seek out the hum with that one! So...I'd like to upgrade the pickups. The logical choice for me would be EMGs, but the Westone pickups are identical in size and the wiring is different to a standard Jazz bass (master volume, active tone, passive tone and three way switch plus the aforementioned odd "series/parallel" switch), so the standard EMG J set would not be optimum. I'm looking into if I can fit two EMG LJ "long Jazz" pickups in there but I'm not sure about the wiring as each single EMG LJ comes with a volume and tone prewired, so I'd end up with two volumes, two tones and a lot of confusion as to how to get it working right... The other choice so far is two passive Schaller JB6 bridge units. The only problem I have here, and it's very subjective, is the Schallers have polepieces and the original Westones do not. I'd like to keep flat black pickups, even though the bottom line for all this is sound. So, any suggestions for noiseless Jazz pickups or similar experiences? Knowing how good the B2A sounds I'd go for two EMG Select jazz pickups but I can't find out if the individual units are humbuckers - I play mostly the front pickup alone, so a pair of RW/RP jazz pickups would not work for me as "both on" is not my preferred tone in the current outfit I play in! Jim D Edited June 11, 2010 by JimD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Is it shielded out? I found it worked really well and saved me the expence of new pups. My '70's classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='864414' date='Jun 11 2010, 03:20 PM']Is it shielded out? I found it worked really well and saved me the expence of new pups.[/quote] I think it has the old graphite-paint-in-the-cavities thing going on, but I'm not 100% sure; I'll take a look after my next gig. It almost certainly isn't copper shielded like that, and I probably should look into that, so thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 No probs. You can pick up the tape or sheets if you prefer off ebay. Fitting is self-explanatory but you should make sure that each cavity is earthed - the stuff solders like a dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algmusic Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='864433' date='Jun 11 2010, 03:36 PM']No probs. You can pick up the tape or sheets if you prefer off ebay. Fitting is self-explanatory but you should make sure that each cavity is earthed - the stuff solders like a dream.[/quote] my J pickup on my fender jazz aerodyne is a but lively.. could I do the same on mine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 [quote name='algmusic' post='864442' date='Jun 11 2010, 03:48 PM']my J pickup on my fender jazz aerodyne is a but lively.. could I do the same on mine?[/quote] I don't see why not. You could push the boat out and do the control cavity too if it hasn't already been done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 There's a whole thread on thid on the repairs forum, my 0.02p is to mention copper foil with conductive adhesive. This reduces the soldering beeded. Use a multimeter set to ohms to make sure that every piece of foil has a near 0 ohm resistance connection to earth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I have EMG Selects in both of my gigging basses,they are noiseless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 [quote name='JimD' post='864403' date='Jun 11 2010, 03:04 PM']The other choice so far is two passive Schaller JB6 bridge units. The only problem I have here, and it's very subjective, is the Schallers have polepieces and the original Westones do not. I'd like to keep flat black pickups, even though the bottom line for all this is sound.[/quote] I think it's the Schaller JBX's that are twin-coil. DiMarzio Model J's are as well - these all have exposed hex pole pieces, but I expect you could screw the poles flush with the bobbins & stick a pair of [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Pickup-Cover-Closed-Neck-Black-/130397541981"]these[/url] on. However the screening option's loads cheaper & easier so definitely try that first - and I'd [i]always[/i] recommend keeping that vintage JapCrap original! Is yours red/black like the pics? Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 [quote name='Bassassin' post='865032' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:25 AM']Is yours red/black like the pics? Jon.[/quote] Yes, it's just like it. If I do replace the electronics I won't be throwing them out, so it could be restored in future times. But at the moment it's really frustrating being so buzzy, especially when I know from the B2A how quiet a bass could be. I see on the Schaller website that you are correct about the JBX being the humbuckers...lucky I didn't buy some JB6s already! HBdeluxe - are the Select J's noiseless when used singly as well as together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 may be silly question but have you checked the earthing anyway? Is there a difference when not playing when you touch the strings Is it still as noisy with the active circuit on? Checked the solder joints? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 The screening won't really reduce the single coil hum from the pickups, so may be wasted effort. I've got a set of handmade Kent Armstrong humbucking J pickups in for for sales - these can be wired for series/parallel wiring etc and are dead silent. They are both "bridge" sized (same as EMG LJ) and were made as a matched pair (bridge is wound slightly hotter then neck). Although these were made over ten years ago they were only in a bass for about six weeks! Its sounded great, but was very very heavy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Hi Luke Yep, all the joints and circuit are okay - it's much more related to being near noisy stuff. As I mentioned, when I wander close to the stacks to adjust my amp it gets really loud! BassBod, when you say "heavy" do you mean "'eavy" like...heavy metal, or the actual bass was heavy? If it was the latter, were the KA's a significant contributing factor to the weight?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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