buzzy noises

[jasonbraatz]

ok, i've been putzing with my warwick for a while and i still can't get this fret buzz to go away. i have plenty of relief in the neck, and the action is pretty high. yet from the 3rd to about the 15th fret on almost all the strings it buzzes. like - loud enough that it can be heard thru the amp. it sucks


do i need to get a fret job or something? the bass is a warwick thumb, about 3 years old.



jason

[JMX]

Take a very close look at the frets. Do they have deep grooves or are there visible gaps between fretwire and fretboard? Both are sure signs that your Warwick needs a fretjob.
If you don't see any of this, or are in doubt, go to a good service tech and let him check the bass. After 3 years of playing a fretjob really might be necessary.
Ask around to find a really good service tech - it's worth the time.

[Davidoc]

Try raising the action. If raised action is to your dislikeing, you may consider (be careful with this) loosening your truss-rod. It will take time for the wood to adjust to the change. Try a quarter counterclockwise turn.

[Donne Demarest]

Did you lower your adjustable nut?
Warwick fretboard can be mostly flat and
then a tweaked from the nut and bridge.
I have super low action on my Warwick with no
fret buzz.

[jasonbraatz]

the nut is currently WAY high. as are the bridge saddles.


it just doesn't make sense - everything is high, and it still buzzes.






jason

[JMX]

Could it be that you dig in way too hard?

use a lighter touch, your tone will improve and the buzzing might go away.

[jasonbraatz]

i KNOW i dig in hard. but this buzz didn't used to happen and i had my action lower.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Difficult to tell without seeing the bass, but is the action now too high? I had an Ibanez Musician bass (like the one Sting used but fretted)which was really nice, but I leant it to a friend who was going on tour - he put really heavy guage strings on and when he came back the bass had a huge bow caused by the strain - lots of relief!

I found that for me the bass was almost unplayable and it was physically very difficult to hold down the strings between the 3rd to 15th frets, so my left hand would slip and cause noises and buzzing as it lifted off slightly. I had to tighten the truss rod a lot to get it back to where I could play it without this sort of problem.

This was a good lesson for me in setup - I tried to do it gradually and nothing much was happening, so I thought I would sell the bass - by the time I had agreed to sell it was actually playing quite well - it had taken a few days for my changes to take effect! I regretted selling it ever since.