Interesting buzzing sound after attempted self repair with no prior experience.

[Jay Hammond]

I am about to get this on payday, sounds look a good buy for guitar work?

http://www.microcenter.com/product/4446 ... er_Station

[Peter Wilcox]

That should work fine. Amazon has it for the same price with free shipping, and it has good reviews. It takes cheap Hakko tips so those will be easy to replace.

[David King]

You really want a temperature controlled tip soldering station. This Hakko 936B clone for under $20 USD might be perfect for you. Get a few extra tips because they don't last very long. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... ouse_.html
A step up from that would be the Aoyue 936 for about $44 on Ebay.

[Mark Swanson]

Temperature control helps me out too. But, there is another tool that I use for a few things, is cheap and comes in handy- the Harbor Freight router speed control. I use this for a few things, and it works good to control the heat of a soldering iron too.

[Jay Hammond]

So... I got a soldering station and kit, and gave it another try. I don't think the green resistor is working and may just end up getting another kit with pots.

I went exactly by the wiring diagram here - http://cdn.seymourduncan.com/images/sup ... _pbass.jpg

The buzz seemed to come back worse though I tried to connect and solder a wire directly to the ground wire that remains from the bridge, to the intended spot on the volume pot. Now the volume control works backwards and the tone knob changes the tone but not from dull to bright anymore. Almost like it barely changes the EQ and sounds different only when put in the center, the extreme ends sound the same.

Here are pictures of the attempt, I think I am going to get some hands on assistance on this one, and practice on other stuff first because I am very new to soldering......

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6E59Au

Thanks again for everyone's input, it is much appreciated and I am learning a lot

[Peter Wilcox]

As I mentioned in a post above, that diagram does NOT have ground continuity unless there is a metal cover or foil on a pick guard, which yours does not have. So if you just solder a wire from one pot case to the other pot case (like this diagram http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wi ... coil_pbass ), that will complete the ground and everything should work fine.

BTW, that green thing is a capacitor, not a resistor, and it is probably OK.

[Jay Hammond]

ha I did get the color right at least.

I am still trying to figure out why the volume knob is backwards, but I will try that wire tonight and see what happens

[Jay Hammond]

The pots are now functioning properly after I joined a cable between them, but the hum still exists for some reason unless my fingers are on the other strings, I have uploaded an audio file

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z770m10jqtktz ... m.mp3?dl=0

[Peter Wilcox]

That hum could be due to lack of shielding of the pickup or control cavity. Does the hum change in intensity if you move the bass around or change its orientation in relation to the room, or move it to a different location? Have you tried a different cable from the bass to the amp? Is there a light dimmer or other similar control or fluorescent lighting in or close to the room?

Your body capacitance could also be a culprit. Here's an informative link - especially check out page 3.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/elim ... c_guitars/

Frankly, that buzz is not that bad, compared to some I've had to play through.

[Jay Hammond]

There was a previous buzz sound that was really bad but it seems to have disappeared, and just a normal one remains. I am just plugging directly into a USB powered interface into a Mac Mini to record.

I did a recording on my iPod touch through an iRig, and didn't hear any buzz at all. Same desk and location, cable, etc. just not plugged into power

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4z8y21m2azmu ... g.mp3?dl=0

As for the crackling would you recommend getting a new tone pot or just spraying it with something?

[David King]

Caigs Cramolin R-5 spray always seems helpful. It's not cheap but a 5 oz can will last you a lifetime.

[Jay Hammond]

I will give that a shot, thanks!

[Peter Wilcox]

As for the crackling would you recommend getting a new tone pot or just spraying it with something?

I myself wouldn't be bothered by some crackling as the tone knob is rotated, since I never adjust it during a song, as I might the volume pot. I'd advise you to rotate it back and forth 15 or 20 times to see if that resolves or improves the problem. If not, and it is bothersome to you, get some spray or (best fix) replace the pot.

[David King]

Replacing the pot is going to be many times cheaper than the spray.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

Some additional thoughts:

Is there shielding in the pick-up cavity (not really necessary with that pick-up) that is not grounded? That could add to the noise. A multimeter is your next purchase.

Your room might be noisy (I believe Peter was getting at this). Some places have troublesome wiring that is just impossible to subdue.

If you really want to do a complete diagnosis, Wire the pick up directly to an amp (with shielded cable). If the noise persists, then there may be a problem with the pick-up (as David suggested). The problem may be a defective pick-up.

[Mark Swanson]

Get further away from your computer and monitor. When I get a guitar near a monitor, it buzzes like mad.

[David King]

The easiest way to check if shielding is going to help is to wrap the whole body in aluminum foil and tape it tight to the exposed metal barrel of a guitar cable.
If you intend to do a lot of recording on the computer you could purchase a wrist grounding strap used for electronics assembly and repair to avoid static discharge. Fry's sells them as I'm sure amazon does too.