I like how it plays,how it looks and how it sounds, but....

brentsimons · Post by **brentsimons** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:05 am

Howdy,
Well fellas,I like how it plays and sounds and the finish is wonderful except for a few minor flaws in the finish.But this thing IS kinda noisy.I mean Im getting great tones through my Bass POD but I keep getting this underlying hum.Even with my little Pignose practice amp and that's battery powered!Also I can't seem to get the serial number decoder to work ther is a 02 on the Ric O sound input and the serial number is 21660.Does this mean it was made the 1st week of March 2002?

rob · Post by **rob** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:14 am

No, the 02 maens 2002. I think the number is just a random picked number. Check the booklet that came in the case. There should be the month and year of manufacture on the warranty card.
As for the noise, check for any loose grounds. That's the most common culprite of noise, as far as my understanding.

brentsimons · Post by **brentsimons** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:53 am

Where would i look for loose grounds? Im far from a technical wizard.

tim4003 · Post by **tim4003** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:04 am

Brent,
Your RIC was built the 21 week of '02.
02 is the year, and 21 (in 21660) is the week.
Here is a wiring diagram to locate all your grounds:
http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/19507.htm

brentsimons · Post by **brentsimons** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 12:21 pm

It's going back Boys.What a horrible hum.Im not going to take it apart and look for a loose ground because it's under a 45 day money back gaurantee from Musicians Friend.I wouldn't know what to do if i did find a loose ground mi don't have a soldering gun and I don't know how to solder.I'll just replace it.What a bummer!

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:05 pm

Brent, are you sure you're not just talking about good old 60 cycle hum? These are single coil pickups and they DO hum. It's the nature of the beast. Gotta put up with the hum to get that particular tone.

Also, if it's really bad (like drowning out normal volume)it may only be an issue with the Bass POD for some unknown reason. Have you tried it through a completely different setup and had the same results?

brentsimons · Post by **brentsimons** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:51 pm

Hi Dave,
I thought it might be 60 cycle at first.But I played my Geddy Lee Jazz through the POD and my other amplifiers with the same cords and it was dead quiet.It also has single coils.I mean the hum is nasty,I was playing through my Pignose which isn't even plugged into an outlet and WHAAAAAAA.The tones I CAN hear sound great.But what a bummer man.Musicians Friend was very understanding and they are going to ship me out a replacemnt in Jetglo.No more Midnight Blue's.I am so ripped!
Brent

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:20 pm

Sorry to hear about that, Brent.
Hope the jetglo turns out ok for you.

Good luck.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 7:26 pm

To determine if it is single coil hum or not do this ... take your jazz bass turn the neck pickup up all the way, turn the bridge pickup down all the way, turn the tone all the way to treble ... is it just as noisy as the Ric? if yes then you are experiencing the good old single coil hum ... if not then your new Ric has a wiring problem ... A noise gate can fix the hum problem ... Fender Strat players use this to quiet their ax ... Also are you plugging into the right jack of the Ric? one plug is mono and one is stereo ...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 11:42 pm

Brent,
Do as Jeff suggests before sending it back if you really like the midnite blue finish.