gravity induced string buzz

[qcbassman]

Hi all,
New to the forum and new to bass guitar but having a blast with it! Beginner question maybe. I just had my Squire Jag bass setup and the tech straightened the neck a little and lowered the strings. I played it at the shop afterwards and all was fine. I got home and was sitting leaned back (this is key) while playing and I got awful string buzz at the first fret. Can gravity pulling the neck be that much of an issue? Should I be concerned that there is a problem where the neck is joined to the body? I never had this problem with guitar so I didn't know of this was normal.

Weird... I know. Thanks for the comments/suggestion.

[JLS]

Can gravity pulling the neck be that much of an issue?

Yup.

Should I be concerned that there is a problem where the neck is joined to the body?

Nope.

[tabdog]

A bass neck is usually more susceptible to
bending with a force applied. The neck is
longer, but not thicker or wider.

My guess is that you are pulling down with
the weight of your arm.

I say that because I do this sometimes on
the couch,

Tabdog

[Zooberwerx]

Yes...this is why a bass should be truss-tweaked, intonated, etc. in its natural playing position. That is unless you have some high-tech jig.

Gravity is a cruel mistress.

Riis

[ddnidd1]

When a bass with low action is in a horizontal position, lying flat with the neck supported you can still get string buzz just from the mass of the bass strings.

[Slowgypsy]

So... if you play the bass in a more typical not leaning back position... does the buzz go away? If it does... case solved. If it doesn't, you might need to add just a wee bit of relief.