how do you know when your nut is worn?

22w1st3d · #1 10-31-2007, 02:28 AM

hey y'all

i just installed a badass II on my bass but now i cant seem to get the rattle out of my first 5 frets mostly. ive checked the truss rod sticky and ive done what its said but i cant seem to get this dam rattle out!!!

so ive been thinking it was the nut? its an old nut, stock since 82, and it rattles the most on the open A. before i bought this jazz 2 months ago it was in poor storage. there was wear to the frets especially in the first 5. it also had a bit of a rattle before i installed the new bridge, so i put in sum paper as a temp shim.

so any ideas???

JimmyM · #2 10-31-2007, 03:09 AM

How do you know when your nut is worn? There's a punch line just waiting to spring out of that question!

Anyway, it's unusual for a nut to just wear out unless it's graphite, and even then, it takes quite a long time. But it is possible. The way you tell is you should have a little bit of clearance between the string and first fret about the thickness of a regular business card. Some like it slightly lower, hardly anyone likes it higher, but there should be a little clearance. If it's too low, the string can buzz behind the notes you're fretting. Is that what your problem is? If so, it's easily fixed with super glue and a jeweler's file.

pkr2 · #3 10-31-2007, 05:14 AM

If there is fret rattling on any fretted note, the rattle is probably not coming from the nut. A bad nut rattles on open, unfretted notes because the nut is pretty much out of the picture when notes are fretted.

Buzzing (rattling) in the first few frets is nearly always caused by too little relief, that is, not enough curve in the 1st foot or so of the neck.

The normal remedy is to loosen the truss rod nut about 1/8 of a turn and let the bass set for 1/2 hour or so, and check to see if the buzzing has disappeared or lessened.

A little bit of turn on the TR nut can make a big difference, so go slowly so you don't overshoot the adjustment. If you loosen the strings, the nut uaually turns easier, but be sure to retune after the adjustment because the string tension is what causes the 'relief' in the neck.

There is a simple test that will tell you for certain whether you have a relief problem. Simply tune the instrument up one note (use a tuner) and if the buzzing improves or disappears, it's nearly certain that adjusting the relief will correct the prob. Increasing the string tension has exactly the same effect on relief as loosening the truss.

skaliwag66 · #4 10-31-2007, 06:56 AM

Your girlfriend will complain.

seriously, probably you'll get buzzing on open strings if it is worn.

Dave R · #5 10-31-2007, 02:47 PM

Bear in mind that, if its only a little buzzing, and it doesn't come through the pups, and it doesn't hurt your tone, it may just mean that your strings are as low as they should go.

I get a teeny bit of buzz when I'm playing un-amplified, plucking hard, but nothing comes through the amp. So I'm happy as is.

Figjam · #6 10-31-2007, 02:53 PM

i still think you probably dont have enough relief. Loosen truss. If fretted notes rattle, has nothing to do with nut, probably.

tww001 · #7 10-31-2007, 03:24 PM

You mentioned that there was noticeable fret wear...did you get that fixed, or is it still there? That could be part of the problem as well...

Tim

John Wentzien · #8 10-31-2007, 03:41 PM

Fret the string at the 3rd fret. if the string is touching the 1st fret...the nut is too low.

PilbaraBass · #9 10-31-2007, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Fret the string at the 3rd fret. if the string is touching the 1st fret...the nut is too low.

+1...

once the bass is setup properly (relief & action), low nut slots will cause the bass to "back buzz"...that is the strings will buzz against frets on the nut side of where you are fingering...this can be quite annoying (or worse for a piezo instrument)

first...set up the relief properly...
next...set the action to where you like and where you are not getting any buzzing on the bridge side of the fretted note...(if it's too high, check neck angle and fret level)
next...if you're getting "back buzz", then check the nut slot depth (as described by John W.)...if it's too low, the repair is straight forward...

I did a post here about how I used superglue and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to fill the offending slots and then refile them with an inexpensive round needle file.

I did this on the plastic nut of my Yamaha RBX170 with great success.

Rattman · #10 11-01-2007, 04:22 AM

-You may find this hard to believe, however...

Just about 4 days ago I decreased the relief on my 1992 Fender Strat for the first time after I polished out the frets.. anyway, with less relief I was able to lower the floating bridge down some. Sure enough, the low 'E' started buzzing/rattling when it never had before.. all other strings were fine however. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't shake off that annoying problem. (raising back up the bridge made no differance)

So just as I was about to give up and return the relief to the original configuration, I thought of one-last-gasp-try... I lowered the PUPs, one by one until.. you guessed it alright: the buzz disappeared after the neck PUP was lowered about 4mm on the low side. Now that Strat plays better than ever.. post fret-polishing and lower action.