Annoying fret buzz -- No happy solution

[dwagner]

My problem is:


raise action just so buzz disappears:
too hard to play
when even normally fretting, pitch bends too high

lower action:
I like the action (could be a lot lower though)
buzz is unbearable

Is it the truss rod, most likely?

[Turnaround]

Low action requires that everything be spot on. And you have to start with the frets - they need to be truly level. Most basses from the store have enough un-evenness that low action isn't possible without a proper fret levelling. After that you have to pay a lot of attention to the amount of relief, then you can start to look at the height of the saddles. Tolerances here are in the thousandths of an inch.

So there's no simple answer to your question if you want really low action.

[Eminor3rd]

Go get it professionally set up. It'll cost you $30-$60, but it'll play like a dream, and you can do the tweaks to keep it in good shape afterwards.

[dwagner]

Originally Posted by Eminor3rd

Go get it professionally set up. It'll cost you $30-$60, but it'll play like a dream, and you can do the tweaks to keep it in good shape afterwards.

Alright, thanks.
It sucks cause the nearest guitar place is 160ish miles away, so I have no idea how I'm going to do that. There is no way I'm dropping the bass off and waiting.

[96tbird]

Read the guides at the top of the forum and do a step by step setup yourself. At least You will be able to get it as low as possible for the condition your frets are currently in.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by dwagner

My problem is:


raise action just so buzz disappears:
too hard to play
when even normally fretting, pitch bends too high

lower action:
I like the action (could be a lot lower though)
buzz is unbearable

Is it the truss rod, most likely?

Possibly. How much relief are we dealing with at the moment?

Riis

[ZachariahLee]

There are sometimes local area musicians who can do the same work the techs can. Ask around, and you may find your own guitar tech near home.

[jgroh]

Where is it buzzing? First 5 frets, last 5 frets, all over? There are tons of useful articles on how to setup a bass yourself on the net, like: http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass...tupmanual.html

[dwagner]

Originally Posted by jgroh

Where is it buzzing? First 5 frets, last 5 frets, all over? There are tons of useful articles on how to setup a bass yourself on the net, like: http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass...tupmanual.html

Mainly only on the D-string on the 12th fret. Nothing below that, and some above it. Mostly just bad on the 12th, though.

[Tedward]

Even if the neck relief is right low action with out fret buzz can't be accomplished. With just one fret being only .003 " high will cause havoc and frustration. If you have access to a straight edge that will span three frets you can find the high ones. Any high frets will cause the straight edge to rock. You would be surprised how difference a good fret leveling can make.

Research fret leveling and learn to do your own work it can be very rewarding. It's not that hard.

Tedward

[tbplayer59]

I use an Allen wrench. It is short and spans three frets high on the neck. Rest it across three frets and it will rock up and down if the center fret is high. From your description, it sounds like you have a high fret. It's the one that doesn't buzz. Is causing the two our three behind it to buzz.