newbie bass amp question

newbie bass amp question

have a Crate amp and am using a Rogue violin bass.

please refresh my memory......what usually causes the "buzz" sound?
been tweaking the dials and its still there. playing around 10 feet
from amp if that matters.. is the gain usually the problem? its
not real loud but I'm guessing it should not be there at all. or is
a buzz always there?


thx for any advice you can offer (yeah I know the Rogue is a
cheapy...


Craig

Re: newbie bass amp question

Your bass probably has single coil pups. Also, do you have any things like
neon lights running or other things on the same circuit that could induce
hum?
I have a GenzBenz amp and with my Jbass is hums too. I bought a RockTron
Hush pedal and run it through the FX loop. It's actually a gate which cuts
the volume when idle but that's what I needed. You can't hear the hum when
playing.
The Hush is pretty cheap $69.

SotR

Re: newbie bass amp question

On May 6, 8:06 pm, "SotR" <fli...@ssm . com > wrote:
> Your bass probably has single coil pups. Also, do you have any things like=

> neon lights running or other things on the same circuit that could induce
> hum?
>   I have a GenzBenz amp and with my Jbass is hums too. I bought a RockTr=
on
> Hush pedal and run it through the FX loop. It's actually a gate which cuts=

> the volume when idle but that's what I needed. You can't hear the hum when=

> playing.
>  The Hush is pretty cheap $69.
>
> SotR

no neon lights, but I plugged in my Fender jazz bass and a lot of it
went away.... guess you get what you pay for.... but once you start
playing you can't really hear the buzz, its just very annoying
when you are not playing.... I will check out the Hush.

Craig

Re: newbie bass amp question

crw59@earthlink . net <crw59@earthlink . net > wrote:

> have a Crate amp and am using a Rogue violin bass.
>
> please refresh my memory......what usually causes the "buzz" sound?
> been tweaking the dials and its still there. playing around 10 feet
> from amp if that matters..

Does the buzz go away when you touch the strings?

Does the buzz change if you turn around on the spot, or move to a
different part of the room?

Does the buzz go away if you use a different cable to connect you to
your amplifier?

--- Derek

--
Derek Tearne - derek@url.co.nz
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
* w w w .manyhands.co.nz/

Re: newbie bass amp question

Some amps have a polarity reversing switch that can help.....OR you can do
like the old days and turn your power plug over. I know, it's got three
poles on it. Used to (when I walked 5 miles to and from school....uphill
both ways) be you could just turn your 2-leg plug over in the wall and take
care of it.


......what usually causes the "buzz" sound?
>> been tweaking the dials and its still there. playing around 10 feet
>> from amp if that matters..


** Posted from * w w w .teranews . com **

Re: newbie bass amp question

Stipo <coach@newwavecomm . net > wrote:
> Some amps have a polarity reversing switch that can help.....OR you
> can do like the old days and turn your power plug over. I know, it's
> got three poles on it. Used to (when I walked 5 miles to and from
> school....uphill both ways) be you could just turn your 2-leg plug
> over in the wall and take care of it.

This is *NOT* a good idea if both your house wiring and your amp are
wired in accordance with modern standards!

The polarity-reversing switches are from a time before three-pronged
plugs were common. If you're unsure if your polarity is correct, buy
one of those little widgets that are used to check house wiring, and
then run a meter between the ground on your outlet and the chassis of
your amp to see if the amp's ground is correct..

I doubt that this is causing the problem. If I remember correctly from
the *real* old days, having grounds incorrect does *not* lead to
additional hum. (I had my lips zapped a few times from microphones that
were incorrectly grounded. No warning whatsoever!)

Re: newbie bass amp question

>>>>>>>>>(I had my lips zapped a few times from microphones that
were incorrectly grounded. No warning whatsoever!)<<<<<<<<

We had a "My zap story" jab fest at rehearsal last Sunday. It's funny
looking back but dangerous and scary at the time. It started when the film
"Almost Famous" came up in discussion for some reason, which got around to
the scene where the singer gets shocked.
Our talk was about mic/lip zaps. But I was almost killed 7 years ago when I
get hit by 850 volts/3000 watts at work. It lasted about 15 seconds and
believe me or not I was seeing angels. I know first hand what can happen.
DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED when dealing with electricity. I carry
circuit testers with me at all times.

SotR

Re: newbie bass amp question

On 2008-05-08, SotR <flippy@ssm . com > wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>(I had my lips zapped a few times from microphones that
> were incorrectly grounded. No warning whatsoever!)<<<<<<<<
>
> We had a "My zap story" jab fest at rehearsal last Sunday. It's funny
> looking back but dangerous and scary at the time. It started when the film
> "Almost Famous" came up in discussion for some reason, which got around to
> the scene where the singer gets shocked.
> Our talk was about mic/lip zaps. But I was almost killed 7 years ago when I
> get hit by 850 volts/3000 watts at work. It lasted about 15 seconds and
> believe me or not I was seeing angels. I know first hand what can happen.
> DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED when dealing with electricity. I carry
> circuit testers with me at all times.
>
> SotR


yikes, how'd that happen? been hit with the mains a few times (240VAC), &
that can certainly wake you up in the morning, & a guy i used to work with
grabbed a live computer case one day - put him in hospital for a fortnight.
Never grabbed a decent DC voltage though, & generally use the "stick one
hand in your pocket" rule when working on live valve amps (particularly the
higher powered ones - my ampeg SVT-II runs at 600 VDC..)

cheers,

timbo.

--

* w w w .skyrockats . com

Re: newbie bass amp question

>>>>>>>>>yikes, how'd that happen?<<<<<<

A "safety switch" malfunctioned.

SotR

Re: newbie bass amp question

> yikes, how'd that happen? been hit with the mains a few
> times (240VAC), &
> that can certainly wake you up in the morning, & a guy i
> used to work with
> grabbed a live computer case one day - put him in hospital
> for a fortnight.
> Never grabbed a decent DC voltage though, & generally use
> the "stick one
> hand in your pocket" rule when working on live valve amps
> (particularly the
> higher powered ones - my ampeg SVT-II runs at 600 VDC..)
>
> cheers,
>
> timbo.


Yep and be assured that when you power that SVT down the
600VDC remains on the caps for some time. 30 years ago when I
was an amp tech I was leering onto one and the shop owner
walks by and reminds me to be careful. I chimed back with some
snide remark, like any twenty year old would. A moment later I
discharged the high voltage power supply through my body,
flinging a screwdriver at the wall behind the boss. I had to
just sit there for a ten minutes and catch my breath
afterwards. Boss saved the I told you so and made no mention
of the incident other than I needed some sun because I was
looking a little pale.

peace
dawg

PS: timbo, loved the spider

Re: newbie bass amp question

> I doubt that this is causing the problem. If I remember correctly from
> the *real* old days, having grounds incorrect does *not* lead to
> additional hum.

Were there unreal old days? Were some old days more real than others?
Please explicate. ;-)

Anyway, heck yeah, bad grounds cause hum. And, flipping the plug over
very often did reduce hum. That was SOP. But, you're right that you
shouldn't do it -- IF the house wiring is right. But, house wiring is
sometimes not right. Better to yield to the circumstances than be an
inflexible code-follower who ends up between a hot chassis and a ground.
How you internet types say, YMMV?

> (I had my lips zapped a few times from microphones that were incorrectly grounded. No warning whatsoever!)

Problem is, you can do everything within your power to ground your
microphone correctly and still get lipburn. If there's more than one
ground (e.g., you're holding gear that's powered by more than one
circuit, or you're standing on a concrete floor but the wiring is
grounded to a rod 75 feet away, outside the building) then you can be in
between them -- causing hum in some cases, lipburn in others, and an
instant one-way ticket to the promised land in others.

Maybe ol' w tom will jump in and tell us all what to do with his usual
crystal-clear analysis. If we're lucky.

Re: newbie bass amp question

Brian Running <brunning@XXameritechXX . net > wrote:
>> I doubt that this is causing the problem. If I remember correctly
>> from
>> the *real* old days, having grounds incorrect does *not* lead to
>> additional hum.
>
> Were there unreal old days? Were some old days more real than others?
> Please explicate. ;-)

Should have said "really" old, as opposed to sorta old ;-)

'64 to be precise. Outdoor gigs were particularly susceptible to giving
us that unexpected jolt, wet lawns or wet concrete patios were really
bad. Ah, the good old days!

Re: newbie bass amp question

Shock Rock?


--
Best regards,

B.
"RichL" <rpleavitt@yahoo . com > wrote in message
news:DCFUj.24509$qW.14454@trnddc06...
> Brian Running <brunning@XXameritechXX . net > wrote:
>>> I doubt that this is causing the problem. If I remember correctly
>>> from
>>> the *real* old days, having grounds incorrect does *not* lead to
>>> additional hum.
>>
>> Were there unreal old days? Were some old days more real than others?
>> Please explicate. ;-)
>
> Should have said "really" old, as opposed to sorta old ;-)
>
> '64 to be precise. Outdoor gigs were particularly susceptible to giving
> us that unexpected jolt, wet lawns or wet concrete patios were really
> bad. Ah, the good old days!
>
>

Re: newbie bass amp question

Stipo <coach@newwavecomm . net > wrote:

> Some amps have a polarity reversing switch that can help.....

It's worth noting that such amps, and amps with ground lifts, cannot be
sold in many countries as they pose a real risk for electrocution.

Never, ever, replace an earthed three prong plug with a two prong plug
for any reason. Every gigging musician should have a simple circuit
tester in their gig bag and refuse to play in venues where power doesn't
test safe - or keep testing the outlets until one is found that is safe.
Fortunately venues with truly dodgy wiring are less common these days.

The old days were much more exciting, but not necessarily in a good way.

--- Derek

--
Derek Tearne - derek@url.co.nz
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
* w w w .manyhands.co.nz/

Re: newbie bass amp question

On May 7, 6:13 pm, de...@url.co.nz (Derek Tearne) wrote:
> cr...@earthlink . net <cr...@earthlink . net > wrote:
> > have a Crate amp and am using a Rogue violin bass.
>
> > please refresh my memory......what usually causes the "buzz" sound?
> > been tweaking the dials and its still there. playing around 10 feet
> > from amp if that matters..
>
> Does the buzz go away when you touch the strings?

If "yes" means bass needs more shielding in the electronics.

> Does the buzz change if you turn around on the spot, or move to a
> different part of the room?

If "yes' means bass is pickup magnetic fields from transformers or the
like (amp power transformer is a typical culprit)

> Does the buzz go away if you use a different cable to connect you to
> your amplifier?

Means loose connection in cable. Throw the buzzy cable away or put new
ends on it.

Does the buzz go away when playing your Fender Jazz with both volume
controls set to max?

Means hum is magnetic and your other bass is a single coil type.

If you play the Fender and turn the bridge volume to zero and the neck
volume to max do you get the hum?

If "yes" it again means that your Rogue is a single coil pickup just
as is a Fender Jazz is when using only one pickup.
(Note this does NOT apply to the "noiseless" Fender pickups. They will
always be quieter regardless)

Does it buzz if all the volumes on the bass is turned all the way
down?

If "yes' probably means hum is in the AMP and not the bass! (or might
be in the cord)

Some people solve the problem with a "noise gate". This is an
automatic switch that kills your bass signal when the output falls
below a preset level. Thus when you play a note it lets it through but
when the note is gone it shuts off the hum. Personally I find them a
bit annoying but they do kill that hum when you are not playing.