The Last Bass Outpost

I have an old ‘55 Precision with a single coil Seymour Duncan. Now this was done 20 years ago and I forget all the details, however it has that hum. I’m thinking start with shielding and see how that goes and if still there replace the pup, maybe a Lindy Fralin ‘51 which supposedly would drop right in. Any one here have any suggestions for a better procedure or parts? Thanks

What I would definitely say Yamaha buying Ampeg is good news. Going forward we can expect some hopefully some innovations and 100% improved quality control. I would say they are a conservative company but with each step they have proven a quality development. Interesting to see the bass guitar impact they will have besides amps.

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Yesterday I played a 2015 Gibson Thunderbird for the first time. Please note that I do have a 2008 TBIV which I do like. However this one with the Music Man looking pickups and the Babicz bridge did ring some bells.  I rather liked it and the little switches(which I usually hate) did give some nice sound options that were refreshing, possibly because I am so used to the + pups on my TBIV and Supreme.
It also seemed the neck profile was ever so slightly wider which did not bother me. One of the appealing things to me on the TBIV's was that thin neck profile which suits my smaller fingers. Actually the '15 did not remind of any T Bird of any era at all. But that did not bother me. I have 2 very nice Precisions and one of them might have to be sacrificed for one of these '15's. I also noticed when I first saw the '15's about a year and a half ago ago hanging up in several music shops around the Bay Area , they did not catch my interest with those pups and little switches. However not after playing one.

As my business is based in Japan but live in California, I spend a good amount of time in the land of the rising sun. One of the perks of that is that I get to see crazy collections of musical instruments there. Even going into guitar stores there can be daunting when you see full lines of new and used models of American, German, English and of course Japanese. Recently visited a collector who had many Gibson, Fender, Hofner and Rickenbacker guitars and basses from the mid '70's-early 80's. Along with them were their Japanese counterparts from the same period made by Fuji-gen, Matsumoku etc. most of them matched right up and even surpassed their Ametican counterparts. Yes this was a low point in American quality but still interesting. Seeing Yanaha(Fender) Jazz & P's with Birdseye maple necks and beautiful woods was a surprise. I'm not sure Rickenbacker was at low period in quality during this period but several of the 4001 clones (Carlo Robelli!) were uncannily similar in every aspect in terms of quality wood, finish, balance and sound. I don't know how they engineered the pickups but puttin and playing them side by side was a pleasant surprise. They nailed it. That were bolt on necks and besides that and the Ribelli name on the headstock, keys you wou be hard pressed to question the quality. The Robelli Were lighter and better balanced neck vs body as well. They eventually will publish a book with detailed pictures, specs and total history of the manufacturing and the legal issues that came up.  I told them they should do an English translation as well.

Any thoughts on the Zer0 Glide Nuts for electric bass guitars? (My) Hofners have the zero nut and sound pretty even across the board. Rick Turner likes the idea. He did one on one of my Starfires 40 years ago , but I forget now. The bass was Alembicised....so I got rid of it. The zero fret was the least of my dislikes back then.

Just recently got a new USA Geddy Lee Jazz trading in some unused old amps. Pretty nice bass all around, however it has some high frequency noise or something. However when I touch the chromed metal control plate it stops. Before going in and investigating, (which seems easy enough on the Jazz)
Is there anything I should look for that might be obvious? To me it seems like a grounding issue. I did not recall the noise when I tried it out in the shop.