Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

For help with setups and other technical issues.
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lboorse2
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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by lboorse2 » Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:43 pm

Run that pickup wire all the way up to where it needs to go on the switch. Slit the outer cover down back near the post screwed into the wood. Attach that bare wire there. Snip off any excess.

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MKR
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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by MKR » Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:23 pm

lboorse2 wrote:Run that pickup wire all the way up to where it needs to go on the switch. Slit the outer cover down back near the post screwed into the wood. Attach that bare wire there. Snip off any excess.
wait i'm not sure i totally understand.
Are you saying to solder the pickup ground to the screw (the one in the wood) and then run an exacto knife along the encasement that keeps the ground wire and the hot wire so as to 'free' the hot wire?

Should i then tape up the half open wire cover which is covering the ground?

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by lboorse2 » Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:37 am

That's what I'm suggesting. Maybe others have a better option. The goal is to keep that uncovered ground wire protected as close to that ground screw as possible.
Last edited by lboorse2 on Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:34 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by MKR » Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:28 am

ok. i will give that a try tonight or tomorrow. Just wanted to make sure i fully understood the suggestion.

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by MKR » Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:12 pm

UPDATE!!

so i followed the advise given to me and connected the switch to the ground by way of the volume pot. I connected the humbucker ground to the ground screw. although i could not run that wire directly and i HAD TO use another piece twisted together to connect it to the ground point. I don't know if this is a sign of a cheap pickup, but like i said the wire coming from the humbucker housed both the hot and a bare ground wire. There was NO way to separate the two and still keep the ground covered in any way. after i checked the continuity with a multimeter and everything was looking good.

There was one other thing i did which i think also played a big role. i put back on the stock pickguard. I noticed that the half assed shielding on the aftermarket guard did not fully cover the openings for the pots. Close to half the opening for the volume pot was not shielded. This was better covered on the stock guard, so i put it on.

result: much better level of noise. At this point it's totally acceptable compared to what i had before. I am happy to play this guitar again which is cool because i really love the jazzmaster pickup on its own as well as how it sounds alongside the humbucker.

I'm not totally done with this just yet though. I think shielding was a factor and i plan on fully shielding thew pickguard and the cavity. Especially since the guitar looks cooler with the aftermarket tort pickguard.

anyhoo big thanks to everyone who helped out in this thread. I owe you guys a pint each. andy and lboorse can get two.

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by RadicalAns » Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:04 pm

I've been battling the same issues w/ my BTJM. I decided I'd pop the pickguard tonight and see if I couldn't fix it. Just like MKR, I first wired the switch ground to the vol pot. Next I completely re-did the wiring on the humbucker, wiring the shield to the lug on the body. to do this I also had to do a new twisted solder joint, but I made sure to cover the whole thing in shrink tubing. After all that I noticed a dramatic reduction in hum. Next step is to get some copper tape and better shield the cavity. Hopefully that will make it sound even better.

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:34 pm

Aha, OK.

I'd suggest you run the ground (is it braided shielding or just a bare section of wire?) from the humbucker to the grounding lug on the three-way switch, ensuring it doesn't short out on any of the active lugs.

This should only leave a small length of the ground wire exposed, opposed to having to strip back almost all of the insulation or requiring a jumper wire to get it back down to the screw terminal.
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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by Azentzvox » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:38 pm

Just read through this. So helpful! My wiring from the factory was the same way. No ground on the switch and with lazy sloppy twisted wires. How the heck did fender get away with such a horrible design

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Re: Blacktop Jazzmaster noise/hum help!

Post by ChrisDesign » Wed Jul 01, 2020 12:25 am

Here are the steps you need to take.

1. Properly shield the guitar to permanently dispel static. Conductive paint and copper foil under the scratchplate kits are cheap on eBay. Badly ground plastic can cause static buzz. A properly shielded cavity helps with general hum of interference. Here is a kit I’ve successfully used: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201072766819

2. You need a new quality pot. There are lots of options out there, and many are from the same Chinese factory (yes, good parts come from China as well as bad). This is a good product: https://m.thomann.de/gb/goeldo_wde6_tog ... 1593591121

3. You’re going to have to learn to solder or pay a tech to check all your connections for you. They cost around £40 a job, so buying a soldering kit Andy doing it yourself is cheaper and Great skill to have. Here is a YouTube guide: https://youtu.be/7OiZrWiJUx8

4. While you’re at it, clean your pots. Pros do this before every tour to keep the pots in good working shape. I do it whenever I have the scratchplate off. Either way, it’s great maintenance. This is a great product, but any contact cleaner works: Servisol Super 10 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000KEB6WW/ ... .EbGNQ9879


BONUS 1: properly setting your guitar up makes it awesome. I’ve used the sketchy guide with great success, so thoroughly recommend it: https://hazeguitars.com/sketchysetups/

BONUS 2: I recommend adding a treble bleed to your volume pot. This requires soldering, but as you need to do that anyway, this mod gives you the volume responsiveness found on the Performer and Ultra Jazzmasters. They’re also super cheap: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324179893118
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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