Strings causing buzz

[DaveB]

Hey guys and girls. I've got a yamaha rbx375 bass which suddenly one day died and i got no sound from it. I went back into the shop i bought it from and they sent it back to yamaha and it's come back playing again. When i plugged it in the first time to properly play i noticed a loud buzzing over the pickups. I sent it back again and it's just come back into the shop and the guy called to say yamaha have tested it and found it to be my strings (the shop owner was as baffled as me). It came with d'addarios on and when they needed changing i but DR's on, firstly because i have found them to last longer and secondly they were then red strings to match the red bass Is this anything anyones come across before or are yamaha fobbing me off? The guy in the shop has the same bass as mine on the self and tested it said his one is silent and mine is horrifically loud. The only thing is, I can't for the life of me ever recall hearing the sound buzzing when i put the new strings on, they had been on for a good few weeks and have had lots of playing. I only have a peavey amp and cab but i would have noticed.

[Wil]

Where is the buzzing coming from? Is it fret buzz? It could be that Yamaha gave it a set up which doesnt suit your playing style.

[DaveB]

Sorry i didn't describe the buzzing. It's a grounding buzz sound from the pickups

[Wil]

In that case, I cant imagine it would be the strings. You'll probably need to check that the wiring in the bass is all connected ok and that there is a solid ground wire connecting your bridge to earth.

[DaveB]

Cheers, i'll phone my dad and ask him as he's a sparky. When i put my finger on one of the pickup poles then another on the bridge the sound goes.

[Steff]

Do you play coated strings? Is it a constant buzz, which goes off when you touch the bridge or the pickup? Because I am playing coated elixir for years and sometimes, if something's wrong with the amp grounding, I get a little buzz, especially when the strings are new and the coating is undamaged. Did you try to plug the bass in another amp or PA to see if there's a difference?

[DaveB]

Yes thats right, they are now coated DR strings on the bass. The bass has been tried through a few amps and does the same thing.

[ikay]

Definitely sounds like an earthing problem. If the earthing wires to the bridge look intact then change your lead and see if that makes a difference

[quote name='DaveB' post='933463' date='Aug 23 2010, 11:14 AM']Yes thats right, they are now coated DR strings on the bass. The bass has been tried through a few amps and does the same thing.[/quote]

[Fat Rich]

This is interesting, I put my first set of coated strings (Elixirs) on a couple of days ago and immediately had earthing problems. If I touch the bridge of the bass it sorts the problem, not much good really when you're trying to play something.

I'm having this problem through my practice amp, my rig and my Loopstation, the strings were on a bass I've owned since '93 so I whipped them off and put them on two other basses - same problem.

So I did a search on Basschat and on Google but couldn't find anyone with this problem anywhere, until this thread popped up! I'm very puzzled as so many people recommend Elixirs but I can't use them with a fairly loud and constant earthing crackle, which is a shame as they sound and feel really nice.

I've emailed the manufacturers of Elixirs but haven't heard back from them yet, will let you know what they suggest and if it works.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Fat Rich

[ikay]

There's a thread on TalkBass about this exact issue here - [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666[/url]

Some conflicting views but the gist of it is that the coated strings can cause hum if they don't make good metal to metal contact at the bridge. The counter view to this (which I agree with) is that a properly earthed bass shouldn't rely on the strings to complete an earth loop (with the player's hands). The bass should be earthed via the input jack to the shield/earth of the instrument cable. Providing the bridge and pots etc are all properly 'earthed' to the input jack there should be no hum regardless whether the strings are coated or in good contact with the bridge or not. If poor string contact with the bridge (eg coated strings) results in hum then the bass isn't properly earthed and this just highlights an underlying earthing problem.


[quote name='Fat Rich' post='933976' date='Aug 23 2010, 06:09 PM']This is interesting, I put my first set of coated strings (Elixirs) on a couple of days ago and immediately had earthing problems. If I touch the bridge of the bass it sorts the problem, not much good really when you're trying to play something.

I'm having this problem through my practice amp, my rig and my Loopstation, the strings were on a bass I've owned since '93 so I whipped them off and put them on two other basses - same problem.

So I did a search on Basschat and on Google but couldn't find anyone with this problem anywhere, until this thread popped up! I'm very puzzled as so many people recommend Elixirs but I can't use them with a fairly loud and constant earthing crackle, which is a shame as they sound and feel really nice.

I've emailed the manufacturers of Elixirs but haven't heard back from them yet, will let you know what they suggest and if it works.[/quote]

[Wil]

I've used multiple sets of Elixers for years on a few different basses, a US standard Jazz, a Status S1, Status S2, BC Rich Mockingbird(s), Ibanez ATK and my current Spector, and have never had any grounding issues/buzz. As mentioned above, if the bass is earthed correctly, it shouldn't be an issue.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='ikay' post='935082' date='Aug 24 2010, 06:09 PM']There's a thread on TalkBass about this exact issue here - [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655666[/url]

Some conflicting views but the gist of it is that the coated strings can cause hum if they don't make good metal to metal contact at the bridge. The counter view to this (which I agree with) is that a properly earthed bass shouldn't rely on the strings to complete an earth loop (with the player's hands). The bass should be earthed via the input jack to the shield/earth of the instrument cable. Providing the bridge and pots etc are all properly 'earthed' to the input jack there should be no hum regardless whether the strings are coated or in good contact with the bridge or not. If poor string contact with the bridge (eg coated strings) results in hum then the bass isn't properly earthed and this just highlights an underlying earthing problem.[/quote]

Thanks for the link, the bridges are definitely earthed and as far as I can tell the preamps are properly earthed too... one of them's a brand new bass.

Maybe it's dodgy wiring in my house, I guess I need to get out more and see if the problem persists. Or maybe it's static from my cheap shirts! It's a crackling sound as my fingers move over the strings when playing rather than the hum problem that DaveB is having.

Aah well, I'll just have to go back to uncoated strings.

[DaveB]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Gonna try and ground the bass better, might try normal strings again. It's only gotta last long enough till I have enough money for a warwick.