Quote:
Originally Posted by TreetarDed  The buzzing is pretty much everywhere on the neck, and it seems to buzz more when I hit the strings harder. If I pluck my strings lightly it isn't as apparent. If I raise the height of the E string this starts going away from the lower frets and doesn't start buzzing until like the 12th fret. I'm pretty sure it's audible through the amp. It's just a buzzing, not really a dead sounding note. |
I run my action very low on my basses and can tell you that with low action, you need to play with a lighter touch. If you hit hard or dig in, it's going to be worse.
You have a large diameter string that's vibrating more and if the action is low, that string is going to vibrate and hit the frets. The E string will be the worst offender. Maybe that's what you're hearing. If the note's not dead, my guess is vibration or a possible slightly high fret up high if you say it's worse above the 12 th fret. Improper neck relief will also cause buzzing up high. If you use roundwound's you're going to have a bit more buzzing.
All of my basses buzz a little unplugged cause the action is low and I can live with it. As long as it's not audible through the amp I forget about it. In fact I actually like a small amount of fret buzz. IMO it adds to the growl on the bass when cranked up through my amp.
Your technique will generally dictate where you action needs to be. If you do fingers, pick, or slap and play hard, your action is going to need to be raised to what I call a "medium" action. Which for me means just a bit more neck relief and height a little higher than factory specs.
Have you done a full setup to "factory" specs? I mean using a straight edge, feeler gauge, and capo on the first fret to make sure you have the proper relief? Then setting the action height using a small ruler with 64th markings on it along with the intonation? If not and you have the tools, I can walk you through the steps to get you dialed in to factory specs. It's really not that difficult if you go step by step. If you want to try that just shoot me a PM. Eyeballs usually just give you a rough idea on where the neck is at.
My personal feelings on setup.
If I get a new or used bass, I always set it up to factory specs first thing. If it's a new bass and it won't play clean with factory specs I return it till I find one that does.
On a used bass I have to judge how much it cost me plus the added cost of a full PRO setup including a level and crown on the frets which in my area usually runs about a hundred bucks. If I like the bass enough to dump extra money in it, I'll have it done. If not I sell it off right away.
Keep Low
