Major "hiss" ...active pups...shielding???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dogbreath
  • Start date Start date
Dogbreath

Dogbreath

Im an ex-spurt
So that's the gist of my post.

My ESP bass has active pickups and I'm running thru a GK head/cab. The hiss I'm getting is fairly loud and thoroughly irritating.

I've jammed on a couple other GK setups and it seems this hiss is kind of their nature. :confused: Both of em were fairly loud (hiss and volume wise)

I've also read that having active pups, the hiss is just something I'll have to deal with.

Do you guys think if I shielded the pickup cavity with some sheet copper or something similar, it would cut back on the hiss or is that more to take care of hum, like in single coils and strats...
:confused:

Whatta ya think?
:drunk:
 
a low battery will make it hiss.

In theory, one of the advantages of an active set-up is less noise ..... not more. So trouble shoot this before you spend money.
First off ..... get hold of a passive bass and see if it's quieter thru your amp ...... if it isn't ..... then it's not your bass. And if it's hiss-free then it's your bass or how you're setting it and not the amps. When you jammed on the other GK did you use your bass?

BTW .... do you crank the tones? I have an active Shecter and if I crank the treble it starts hissing. That's an active tone control so it doesn't just cut ..... it actually boosts like a graphic does.
So I always leave my treble flat on the bass and get any boost from the amp.
If you end up turning that treble knob all the way up on your bass, it's like turning the EQ on a mixer or the highs on a graphic all the way up which would definitely cause some hiss.
 
Thanks Lt...
saw your "other" post too. Much appreciated, sir. ;)

I have another bass, an old Ibanez that's passive. I'll plug that in and try it.

And I swapped the battery about 3 weeks ago. :confused: Maybe I got a shit battery. I'll try another.

I keep the treble on my bass at almost off and just use the EQ on my head. I've noticed the bass, mid and treble on that thing are EXTREME. Like turbo EQ or something. :confused:
I use sparingly.

Anyway, thanks man. Appreciate your time.
 
low battery always does this.

it's possible that it's something on the preamp board, but check the obvious thing first.
make sure your battery cable is all kosher as well...
 
GONZO-X said:
low battery always does this.

it's possible that it's something on the preamp board, but check the obvious thing first.
make sure your battery cable is all kosher as well...
Click to expand...

Thanks GonzoDude :D

I snagged another fresh battery so maybe I'm in. I'll know tonite, methinks.
:drunk:
 
Its the worst when you have active pickups and your batteries die during a set. This happened to a friend of mine but luckily she had a backup guitar.
 
Yeah Lt. Bob has it right. Isolate the problem. All the contributions here suggest a new battery should fix it, which is probably right, but if it doesn't it could still be the amp. Also don't forget the most obvious and easy to fix... the cables and the connections.
 
my bill lawrence 280's and 500L is as quiet as my old EMG's were......
 
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