Fret board rattle

[papadesophie]

I've just bought myself a new Musicman SUB which I love, but it's the first ever bass I've bought from new, and pretty much the only bass i've played that's new. I've always set my action pretty high to avoid inevitable fret board rattle, but the SUB came with a buttery smooth, low action, at the expense of quite a lot of rattle from the 5th fret upwards on E and A strings. There was very little relief in the neck, so I slackened off the truss rod a little, and whilst the rattle's a bit better it's still there. So my question is: What do you guys do? Do you live with the rattles for an easy action, or jack things up at the bridge?
I've never shied away from taking my guitars to bits to adjust things, but I don't particularly want to f*&k this baby up!
Also, anyone know what guage strings EB string the subs up with at the factory?
Finally, who makes those strings i've seen with the pretty powder blue silk wraps?

[202dy]

Basic premise: If it doesn't buzz through the amp, it doesn't buzz.

If your bass buzzes through the amp then the next step is to get some statistics.

1. Measure the relief.
2. Measure the string height at the twelfth fret.
3. Post the numbers here and someone will help.

As far as living with rattles, it depends on the individual and the style of music they play. A jazz or country player will require a clean tone. A rocker may like a little bit of string grind. A punk may not care at all. How comfortable are you with the set up on this guitar? That is the only opinion that really matters.

[papadesophie]

OK:

1: Relief is about 1mm
2: Action at 12th fret - 2.5mm (on e string)

rattle does come through a little in the amplified sound. Rattle is significantly worse when I play with a pick. Even soft picking is worse than really digging in with my fingers.

I guess I'm not all that worried, but not knowing too many other bass players, I have no reference point for what others live with in terms of fret noise. This is also my first mm bass, and that growly, pingy, rattly sound seems a characteristic of the s.ray sound to be.. I have flats on my P Bass btw, and a high action (about 3 - 3.5mm) and loads of relief (about 2mm) and no rattle at all anywhere (but i guess that has a lot to do with the flats?)

anyone know about those pretty pale blue wraps?

Thanks for the help.

[JimmyM]

I have a certain rattle tolerance that I can live with. Like if I use my fingers and most notes are clear but I get just a touch of rattle as the string vibrates occasionally, I'm happy. When I use a pick it rattles more, but it doesn't bother me. I'd rather have low action than worry about it.

And the reason your other bass doesn't rattle is because of the extremely high action. Flats will rattle as much as any other string.

As for the strings, I can't help you, but I've bought cheap basses before and replaced the strings and never looked back because they're usually some cheap pieces of crap. This act alone may cure a lot of your rattle problems.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by papadesophie

OK:

1: Relief is about 1mm
2: Action at 12th fret - 2.5mm (on e string)

rattle does come through a little in the amplified sound. Rattle is significantly worse when I play with a pick. Even soft picking is worse than really digging in with my fingers.

I guess I'm not all that worried, but not knowing too many other bass players, I have no reference point for what others live with in terms of fret noise. This is also my first mm bass, and that growly, pingy, rattly sound seems a characteristic of the s.ray sound to be.. I have flats on my P Bass btw, and a high action (about 3 - 3.5mm) and loads of relief (about 2mm) and no rattle at all anywhere (but i guess that has a lot to do with the flats?)

anyone know about those pretty pale blue wraps?

Thanks for the help.

1 mm = .039". That is a ton of relief. The benchmark is around .012" give or take a few thousandths. Some will perform well with less, some will require a lot more. The string height is just about right.

Since it is rattling through the amp there are a couple of things to consider. Sometimes a neck with too much relief can exibhit the symptoms of uneven frets. The neck angle may be so severe as to require this much relief. The string height at the last fret should be roughly the same as at the twelfth fret, as measured from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. If the action is very low at the last fret it would indicate that the neck angle could be reduced thereby allowing for less relief in the neck. Another thing to consider is technique. If one plays hard, high action is usually required for a clean sound as is evidenced by the action on your P bass. Since the EB is a brand new instrument, take it back to the dealer for an evaluation.

BTW, there is little or no difference in fret buzz due to action settings between flatwound and roundwound strings.

[papadesophie]

Originally Posted by 202dy

1 mm = .039". That is a ton of relief. The benchmark is around .012" give or take a few thousandths. Some will perform well with less, some will require a lot more. The string height is just about right.

Since it is rattling through the amp there are a couple of things to consider. Sometimes a neck with too much relief can exibhit the symptoms of uneven frets. The neck angle may be so severe as to require this much relief. The string height at the last fret should be roughly the same as at the twelfth fret, as measured from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. If the action is very low at the last fret it would indicate that the neck angle could be reduced thereby allowing for less relief in the neck. Another thing to consider is technique. If one plays hard, high action is usually required for a clean sound as is evidenced by the action on your P bass. Since the EB is a brand new instrument, take it back to the dealer for an evaluation.

BTW, there is little or no difference in fret buzz due to action settings between flatwound and roundwound strings.

Sage advice buddy. I've set my P Bass up according to your recommendations and it plays so sweetly now. I've also tweaked the relief on the sub back too, and I think that it's just a playing technique issue that I need to come to terms with. I love the sound that the MM makes so i'll have to learn to play better! If I concentrate on my pick attack then I can stop the buzz, so it's back to school for me for a while.

Thanks for all the tips.

[markdavid]

I don't know if you have put a new set of strings on the bass but sometimes when you have new strings that can make the rattle worse. You may have to raise the action slightly or if you cannot do without the low action you could consider halfrounds or flats , after all the eq on this bass is pretty powerfull , you can always dial in more treble on the onboard eq