Directional noise picking up on my Orion bass

[jazzyvee]

Yesterday at rehearsal, i noticed some directional noise from my Orion bass when stood about 2 meters from the bass rig and turned from left to right.


Where I was standing is my normal spot and i don't usually hear noise from that bass.


However when I sat on the arm of the chair right up close to the amp and moved the bass from left to right there was no noise.
There didn't seem to be any new stuff in the room that would cause it and i don't recall ever hearing directional noise unless there is a mobile phone really close.
I did check the ferrite bead when I got home but nothing obvious, and I plan to take the cover off again this evening to check if anything is loose.

[keith_h]

What type of noise are you hearing?

With my 5-string Orion I would pick up a local radio station when I stood in a particular area of my music room facing a certain direction. Whether it was topography, the atmosphere or something else I can't say but it was like beam. Depending upon the time of day it was some static based white noise with a few background voices or clear enough where I was able to pick up the call letters. After talking to Mica I was sent a new preamp board and the Orion hasn't behaved like a radio since.

[JimmyJ]

Ah yes ... reminds me of the days before Ron's magical "upgrade" where on many occasions I'd need to sit or stand facing a specific direction.  I could tell when somebody was using a copy machine in the building because I'd hear it coming down my line.  As we all know, some venues are worse than others. 

There was a studio in Hollywood which was one story above ground level and happened to be surrounded by high voltage power lines and transformers - up on poles but just on the other side of the studio walls.  The quietest place I could find was in that building was in the lounge so I played from there with long wires...

Or clubs with neon signs behind the bandstand...

The thing is, I knew my big single-coil pickups were the reason the bass sounded like it did so I was happy to deal with this occasional inconveniences.  I didn't really care if I ended up pointing the headstock at the audience the whole night.  HA!


Jimmy J