Horrible Buzzing on The Higher Frets

[b4nny]

I've got myself a decent beginner bass and currently the open string action at the 12th fret is 3.5mm for the E, and 4.5mm for the G. A neck sighting from the bridge to the nut is attached. I've been battling severe fret buzz on the higher registers of the neck, while the lower frets play cleanly. Striking any string with moderate force from the 10th fret to the 19th fret sounds like a hollow slap, followed by tons of rattling for the rest of the sustain! I find this problem to be worst on the E string and only avoidable by playing with an incredibly light touch. TBers, please help me fix this! Is it my truss rod or what?

[dmusic148]

You have way, way, WAY too much neck relief. It should be barely visible.
Tighten up the truss rod(after loosening strings) maybe a half-turn. It probably needs more than that but start there. Don't force it if it doesn't feel like it wants to turn. Re-tune strings. You will then need to raise the bridge saddles a bunch.

[Siegy]

It definitely looks like theres a bit of curve in that neck. Instead of me explaining what to do (because I'm lazy), I'll just tell you to google and TB search truss rod. That should be about all the info you need.

[atheos]

Originally Posted by b4nny

I've got myself a decent beginner bass

There you almost said it... Being "decent beginner bass" doesn't necessarily mean that the frets are fully leveled which causes extra buzz and sometimes even dead notes, mostly on the higher frets. You didn't tell the price, brand or model so I assume we're not talking about any >$1000 instrument here.

Your neck seems to be fairly well angled according to the pic (maybe bent just a tiny bit too up) so I can't think of anything else but to raise the action or level the frets. Leveling may be a bit overkill for a cheap bass but you'll be the judge. It needs to be done if you say so. If you go down that road you get everything you need from www.stewmac.com. You could also show it to a local luthier but that ain't too cheap.

EDIT: You guys are right, it's hard to see from the pic but the truss rod indeed could use some tightening. I still think the frets may have something to do with the buzz as well.

[Solarmist]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

You have way, way, WAY too much neck relief. It should be barely visible.
Tighten up the truss rod(after loosening strings) maybe a half-turn. It probably needs more than that but start there. Don't force it if it doesn't feel like it wants to turn. Re-tune strings.

+1 ... You can see that a mile away! ... and you really shouldn't!

Check your neck relief using your outer strings as a straightedge - capo the 1st & last - check the clearance in center around 8th - bottom of the string to the top of the fret. A credit cards thickness for clearance is good.

After you've done that ... re-check the action height ... then intonation ... you'll be set

[GeoffByrne]

I've checked the relief on my basses, and I find that if you stop down at the 1st fret with your left hand, and the last fret with your right hand, there's only about 1mm clearance between the string & frets in the middle - certainly no more than 2mm.

As said above, you need to take some (most) of the relief out of the neck by *gradually* tightening the truss rod and, once that's done, lifting the saddles gradually until the rattling just stops.

[Sinclair]

The clearance on the 8th fret depends on the neck radius.
Fenders setup guide says something about 0,3mm (+- 0,05) f.e.!
I would take a business card rather than a credit card for comparison. I bought a feeler gauge which didn't cost much, but helps a lot.

[Solarmist]

Originally Posted by GeoffByrne

I've checked the relief on my basses, and I find that if you stop down at the 1st fret with your left hand, and the last fret with your right hand, there's only about 1mm clearance between the string & frets in the middle - certainly no more than 2mm.

As said above, you need to take some (most) of the relief out of the neck by *gradually* tightening the truss rod and, once that's done, lifting the saddles gradually until the rattling just stops.

+1 - Tighten 1/4 turn MAX - then let it "settle" overnight before re-adjustment the next day. Be sure to loosen the strings first - then re-tune after the adjustment

[idoru]

Jeebus - 3.5 & 4.5 mm? I'm appalled! The height at the 12th fret should be very close to that at the last fret. As previously stated, relief should be closer to 0.5 mm - and can definitely be less.

Shoot for 2.5 mm on the E side, 2 mm on the G to get yourself started (measured at the last fret).

I'll agree with the previous poster who suggested a half turn of the truss rod (righty tighty, lefty loosey) first. Leave it overnight to settle, then quarter turns each day after that. When you're really close, take it down to 1/8th of a turn.

Once the relief is dialled in, the quality of your frets will determine how low you'll be able to get the action. I dig in pretty hard, but a lighter player should aim for 2 mm on the E, 1.8 on the G, measured at the last fret.

With a ski-jump like you have there, the higher frets are literally rising up to meet the strings. My Warwick Thumb had settled this way after several string guage changes & some extreme humidity - but in my case, it was only a few frets over the 17th that were bottoming out.

c-