Help dead fret!!!?

[olibass123]

Hey,

So my new Fender 50s classic series bass came through today!
I love it!

Only thing is, on the E string on the 10th fret, its completely dead?
I get the most awful fret buzz off it, and cant seem to get rid of it.
I mucked around with the action - which didnt work.

I am planning on changing the strings, but does anyone know why im getting fret buzz JUST off of the 10th fret E string.

Thanks

[Lonnybass]

You probably have a high fret on 11 or 12 that needs to be leveled out. Very common.

[olibass123]

How exactly do I do that? Can I do it myself or does it need to be taken to a shop to be done?
Thanks

[Pilgrim]

Best taken to a shop. You can demonstrate the high fret to yourself by laying a level surface (like the edge of a credit card) across three frets and moving it up and down the fretboard. When you have a high fret in the center, the edge will rock to either side.

Fret leveling also requires re-crowning the fret, which requires some expertise; it's not expensive to have a couple of frets done.

[XylemBassGuitar]

Assuming that the bass is brand new, I would recommend that you take it back to the store/contact the manufacturer for a warranty repair/replacement. A brand new instrument shouldn't have fret issues like that. I wouldn't tackle the problem yourself unless you know exactly what you are doing; you could make it worse and/or void your warranty on the neck.

Congrats on the new bass though!

[Benjamin Strange]

Brand new stuff from big factories almost always need some level of fret work. You most likely have a high or low fret - which you can check with a fret rocker (like a credit card). Another common thing could be that you have a bent string - I've seen instruments come in to the shop, buzzing severely only on one note, and discovered not a high fret, but a kinked string right on that note.

Fixing a single high or low fret isn't a big deal, but take it to a competent tech.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Best taken to a shop. You can demonstrate the high fret to yourself by laying a level surface (like the edge of a credit card) across three frets and moving it up and down the fretboard. When you have a high fret in the center, the edge will rock to either side.

Fret leveling also requires re-crowning the fret, which requires some expertise; it's not expensive to have a couple of frets done.

There's a lowball tech in the bay area, that offers, "no-frills" fretmills, w/o recrowning. He claims that recrowning frets is, "cosmetic".

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by olibass123

How exactly do I do that? Can I do it myself or does it need to be taken to a shop to be done?

I just now finished fixing 2 high frets which were not seated properly so dressing the fret down and recrowning with a fret file wasn't called for.

I suggest you take it to a qualified tech.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by JLS

There's a lowball tech in the bay area, that offers, "no-frills" fretmills, w/o recrowning. He claims that recrowning frets is, "cosmetic".

I've seen those Craigslist ads... simply baffling that anybody could be that clueless. I really, really hope that he's not duping people out of their hard earned money for his "work".

[Craig_S]

Originally Posted by JLS

There's a lowball tech in the bay area, that offers, "no-frills" fretmills, w/o recrowning. He claims that recrowning frets is, "cosmetic".

[Lesfunk]

My suggestion is to take it to a reputable repair shop and let them do a fret level and dress. It won't break the bank and your new bass will play much better.
like mongo said, A high fret can simply be an improperly seated fret. I have had them on expensive basses. It happens. no big deal.
I usually have Ken Nash, www.theguitarmechanic.com who does my work, check all my frets on a new bass and if needed re seat them and glue them in as well as a level and dress.