metallic fret buzz keeps coming back

[macaroni tony]

Hey all,

I really, really hope you can help me out with this. So here's the issue. Some time back, my D string started having this weird metallic fret buzz between frets 5 and 9. I had my teacher give me a set up and adjust the string height, and the problem was gone. Problem is, it came back about a week later. So I adjusted the height again, it was gone, but it still came back 2 days later.

Not only that, but lately all of my strings have more of a metallic "clang" to them, and they're chewing up my fingers more than before.

Some factors that may or may not affect the issue:

- bass is a Schecter Stiletto Custom 5. 35" scale

- strings are roundwound, but I don't know what brand, or whether they are chrome or nickel

- I put some vinyl stickers that look like abalone inlays on the fretboard before the buzzing initially started.

- at one point, I cleaned the strings with alcohol (Just regular rubbing alcohol, not denatured) before I heard that the alcohol I used had too much water content

- weather has been a little up and down lately. But not that much; it's southern california

Lately I've been thinking, is this what old strings sound like? I don't know, I've never had old strings before. I bought it used, so I don't know how old they are. That's my newest theory.

Does any of this make sense to you guys? What does the world of TB think is going on?

[CBgaragebassist]

Flatwounds. Do it.

[macaroni tony]

I'd love to have flats for some applications, but for most of our songs, man, they just ain't gonna work

[rbolanos]

problem might no be in the strings , but rather in the fretboard relief.
its best you take it to a pro set up
good luck

[CBgaragebassist]

Originally Posted by rbolanos

problem might no be in the strings , but rather in the fretboard relief.
its best you take it to a pro set up
good luck

+1 I wasn't being entirely serious about the flats, this is prolly the best option

[Meatrus]

It sounds like either the neck is moving much more than it should be, or the saddle screws are not holding. My personal guess is the truss rod needs adjusting more (needs more relief)than the setup guy has been doing it. Meaning when you bring it back from the shop the slight change in temp etc may have caused it to shift a tiny bit over the edge. So needs a small adjustment. Here's some other things it could be.

Where is the bass stored? It should be (as I'm sure you know) somewhere which doesn't fluctuate to heavily in temp/humidity. And out of direct sunlight. Its also possible (brace yourself)...that the neck has a problem with it causing it to shift about a lot. The symptoms would be like this if that was true, but its not all that common.

Some careful inspection should be able to tell you what's going on. Check the neck after the next setup (it would be a good idea to learn setup too), do this by fretting on the first fret, and last. You should see a slight gap between the string and fret above the 7th/8th fret, keep an eye on this gap to see if it increases over the days.

To check the bridge, again set them up, then measure how high they are if you take a look at your saddles one day and they are lower than the day before, the screws may be slipping.

There are dozens of threads in the hardware and setup area on here which will help you along with setup.

Good luck, I'm sure its nothing too major.

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by CBgaragebassist

+1 I wasn't being entirely serious about the flats, this is prolly the best option

yeah I know your flats suggestion was tongue-in-cheek, but honestly I had been giving that some thought

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by Meatrus

It sounds like either the neck is moving much more than it should be, or the saddle screws are not holding. My personal guess is the truss rod needs adjusting more (needs more relief)than the setup guy has been doing it. Meaning when you bring it back from the shop the slight change in temp etc may have caused it to shift a tiny bit over the edge. So needs a small adjustment. Here's some other things it could be.

both of these make sense; if the setup guy isn't giving it enough relief, I'm confident enough to handle that myself. I never thought about the saddle screws not holding; that makes sense, too. I hope it's not that, b.c. I don't have any money to get them replaced before my gig. And I surely don't want to touch it myself, at least not yet.

Originally Posted by Meatrus

Where is the bass stored? It should be (as I'm sure you know) somewhere which doesn't fluctuate to heavily in temp/humidity. And out of direct sunlight. Its also possible (brace yourself)...that the neck has a problem with it causing it to shift about a lot. The symptoms would be like this if that was true, but its not all that common.

I Keep the bass against a wall (on a stand, of course) that is between the entertainment system and a lamp. The window is not too far away, though it never gets all that hot or cold and there's a tree that blocks a lot of sunlight. I hope it's not the neck; hopefully, someone would have told me by now.

Originally Posted by Meatrus

Some careful inspection should be able to tell you what's going on. Check the neck after the next setup (it would be a good idea to learn setup too)...

I have been reading a lot of the forums on setup, and after it's set up I do check the neck, saddle, etc. But I never thought to check it again shortly thereafter. I do want to learn setup myself, and am reading up a lot on it, but I don't have a "beater bass" and am a little gun shy....I've never been a man who is all too handy

thanks a million for all of this. Any and all additional advise is welcomed.

[Meatrus]

Glad to help, and hope you get it sorted soon. I have had a bad neck before but it went the other way, and kept putting relief into itself rather than out! I wasn't thinking straight when I mentioned it , as I'm not even sure they can go the other way (straightening) like yours. So I'm sure there is no need to worry.

2 days or so sounds like perfect time for the neck to acclimatize to your area, rather than the shops. So I'm pretty positive a little bit of home setupery will sort it. Just loosen the truss rod a quarter turn or so and see what happens (after reading some guides). There isnt too much to fear in setup really, just dont overdo anything.

[macaroni tony]

thanks a lot, Meatrus. I think I can handle a little truss rod turn, so I'll do that.....I hope lol

[Spin Doctor]

Try 1/8 of a turn on the relief first and do it in small stages. To check the relief, put a capo on at the first fret and hold each string down at the last fret. At the 9th fret, slide a business card between the fret and the string, and it should just slide in between.

That's a general rule of thumb. Where your relief ends up is a pretty individual thing, like the strings you like, action height, etc. I still tweak my basses from time to time, but most people who play them say they have the best setup they've ever felt.

Do some searches, put together a setup tool kit for yourself and learn how to do it. It amazes me how many bassist can't adjust their own instruments. It's not hard and eventually you learn how all the different adjustments affect each other. Don't forget to set the intonation once you get the relief and action set.

[macaroni tony]

so just so you guys know how smart I am....over the weekend I was messing around with the action, intonation and what not and then I decided to do what probably should have been just about the first thing I did. I looked between the fretboard and the strings to see if any of the stickers were loose. Sure enough, right where I did a less-than-stellar job of putting them on (basically rushing to get it over with) two of them were sticking up on one edge. Where was it sticking up....yeah, right under the D string. So I took those off and surprise, surprise, metallic buzzing gone.

But, to my credit, none of the setup guys, nor anyone here thought of the stickers maybe being an issue, either. So I don't feel quite as dumb as I could have

[Meatrus]

Cool, glad to hear you got it sorted. Nobody thought of that as we probably gave you too much credit! Stating the obvious and just joking, of course.