Guild Starfire DC I Bass Pickup Noise

[phonographics]

Just ordered a new Starfire DC I Bass in Pelham Blue which arrived this week. Out of the box it feels great and plays wonderfully, but I've noticed there is a quite consistent hum coming from the pickup when running through various amplified sources. It's not dissimilar to the noise mentioned in this review at 4.20:



Touching the strings does not affect the hum, however positioning in the room does seem to have a slight effect. It's been difficult to use any gain staging as well as it becomes quite overpowering. As the BiCoil is touted as a noiseless P Bass style pickup, I'm wondering if there might be some sort of shielding or wiring issue that has come from the factory? I have a Squier Jag bass with a similar P Bass pickup that is dead silent, even with large amounts of gain. Wondering if anyone else has had similar noise issues with their DC I bass and any tips they used to silence it?

 

[lungimsam]

Bummer! I hate when that happens!

I don't have one but I think that should be a simple harness to trouble shoot if you are familiar with guitar electronics. If not, then you should take it to a tech or exchange it and see if the next one does the same.

If touching the strings doesn't silence it then I think the bridge ground wire is not attached to your harness, or somewhere in the ground path there is a break, or something is wrong with the pickup. If you can remove the pickup, look at the back and see if there is a metal grounding plate that the grounding wires should be attached to, if they are designed anything like a Precision Bass pickup.

I'm thinking it would be an easy fix and something in the ground path is not connected since touching the strings doesn't silence it or at least reduce it by 90% like that should.

Where are you located?

 

[phonographics]

Hey, thanks for your reply. And sorry for my late reply. I've found a registered Guild repair place in Sydney where I've taken the bass to be serviced under warranty - I'm hoping it's an easy fix and will let you know the diagnosis/outcome in case anyone else has had the same issue!

 

[lungimsam]

I’m sure there is a simple fix if the pup is not damaged.

 

[phonographics]

So turns out the ground wire was not connected to the bridge. This has now been fixed and improved some of the noise issue, BUT upon taking the bass to rehearsal last night I'm still getting single coil buzz from the pickups. This still makes me think there is something not quite right with the wiring as a P Bass style pickup should technically be cancelling this noise out? The tech who serviced the bass tried to pass this off as an old style pickup that would still have noise regardless, but I'm still not convinced.

 

[lungimsam]

I’m interested to see what the back of the pup looks like and wether or not it is grounded to a base plate and whether or not the chrome surround is grounded to the base plate, too.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

So turns out the ground wire was not connected to the bridge. This has now been fixed and improved some of the noise issue, BUT upon taking the bass to rehearsal last night I'm still getting single coil buzz from the pickups. This still makes me think there is something not quite right with the wiring as a P Bass style pickup should technically be cancelling this noise out? The tech who serviced the bass tried to pass this off as an old style pickup that would still have noise regardless, but I'm still not convinced.

He's talking rubbish! That's a humbucking pickup and certainly not "old style". Should be about as quiet as they come. Wonder if the pickup has been wired wrong

 

[Kristo]

Just wondering if anyone has changed the pickup/wiring in one of these yet? And if so if it made much of a difference?

 

[Nuuska]

Hello

If you have a universal voltmeter - ( or whatever it is called ) - even El Cheapo will do - try this:

Select resistance measuring - lowest range - connect one probe to output jack shield/ground - with other probe try strings & pup shields.

If reading is 0 or nearby - anything under 10ohm will do - ground wiring is ok.

Then there's only faulty pup-wiring left .

 

[phonographics]

Just wondering if anyone has changed the pickup/wiring in one of these yet? And if so if it made much of a difference?

Have you had the same issue? I'm currently looking into upgrading the pickup now and will have my local tech do it as the nominated Guild Service Centre here in Sydney were pretty dismissive. After sending a recording of the issue to Guild customer service via email I was told the following:

"Hi Luke,

Thank you for sending this over!

Listening to this sound, and how it behaves with your playing and adjustments to your tone, it sound as though you are dealing with interference from other electronics in your home.

I would investigate further causes of interference both within and outside of your signal chain.

In terms of replacing your pickup, the Route in the Starfire I Bass should accommodate most any P-Style/Split Coil Pickup.

Should you be so inclined, the metal cover of the BS-1 should fit on most any P-Style Pickup, as well."

As I've tried several different sources and rooms I guess they're saying this pickup is overly sensitive to electronic interference which is a shame. After a bit of research I think I'll try the EMG Geezer Butler P Bass pickup as a replacement. Will let you know how it goes once replaced.

 

[Happy Face]

One knock on Rickenbacker basses was that their single coil pickups were susceptible to interference hum from many sources. The #1 culprit = neon lights, a common thing you find at bars.

Yeah, sometimes. I recall pulling out the plug on a sign at one venue. But seriously, it's not a big deal unless you are in a recording studio. Otherwise, the shimmer from your drummer's ride cymbals masks any hum just fine.

But if you run a recording studio electro interference is a wiley enemy. I recall a friend telling me about finally figuring out how the surge when the building air conditioner kicked in and turned off brought all sorts of noise into the console.

 

[Kristo]

Have you had the same issue? I'm currently looking into upgrading the pickup now and will have my local tech do it as the nominated Guild Service Centre here in Sydney were pretty dismissive. After sending a recording of the issue to Guild customer service via email I was told the following:

"Hi Luke,

Thank you for sending this over!

Listening to this sound, and how it behaves with your playing and adjustments to your tone, it sound as though you are dealing with interference from other electronics in your home.

I would investigate further causes of interference both within and outside of your signal chain.

In terms of replacing your pickup, the Route in the Starfire I Bass should accommodate most any P-Style/Split Coil Pickup.

Should you be so inclined, the metal cover of the BS-1 should fit on most any P-Style Pickup, as well."

As I've tried several different sources and rooms I guess they're saying this pickup is overly sensitive to electronic interference which is a shame. After a bit of research I think I'll try the EMG Geezer Butler P Bass pickup as a replacement. Will let you know how it goes once replaced.

I don’t have any issues with noise on the two Starfires I have, just wondering if they can be improved. Interested to hear how your pickup change goes.

 

[Default]

@lungimsam in three... two... one...

 

[Default]

Replace the stock wiring with shielded cable. The stock wiring is not, and can be an antenna sometimes.

 

[fronobulax]

Have you had the same issue? I'm currently looking into upgrading the pickup now and will have my local tech do it as the nominated Guild Service Centre here in Sydney were pretty dismissive. After sending a recording of the issue to Guild customer service via email I was told the following:

"Hi Luke,

Thank you for sending this over!

Listening to this sound, and how it behaves with your playing and adjustments to your tone, it sound as though you are dealing with interference from other electronics in your home.

I would investigate further causes of interference both within and outside of your signal chain.

In terms of replacing your pickup, the Route in the Starfire I Bass should accommodate most any P-Style/Split Coil Pickup.

Should you be so inclined, the metal cover of the BS-1 should fit on most any P-Style Pickup, as well."

As I've tried several different sources and rooms I guess they're saying this pickup is overly sensitive to electronic interference which is a shame. After a bit of research I think I'll try the EMG Geezer Butler P Bass pickup as a replacement. Will let you know how it goes once replaced.

My experience is with vintage Bisonics and the new Bisonic. I realized I had interference problems when I moved or change location. I get the noise in one room, but not the other. I get the noise (with a battery powered headphone amp) inside the house but not in the back year. I stand in one spot and slowly turn in a circle and it changes. The "nature" of the interference changes as I manipulate the tone control. I identified numerous sources or more accurately, things that if I turned off or moved away from caused the interference to decrease. These sources included: cell phone; wireless or cordless phone; microwave; proximity to wireless access point; and, surprisingly, a washing machine on the floor below.

If the problem is truly the environment you will probably not be happy with a pickup swap.

@lungimsam decided to rewire and shield his Starfire and has documented the process somewhere on LTG. More work than I would do but he reports silence.