incompetent repair

[lola99]

Last month, I took my 1984 Fury to a music store for a set up. When I picked up my bass, I discovered that the D string was clanging and buzzing. The guy at the store said that this was because of the worn-down nut and he put a bit of paper behind the string to tighten the slot. After that, the bass seemed to work fine, but not entirely right.

Anyway, I figured this was OK, and, being the easily embarrassed idiot that I am, I did not feel comfortable putting the bass through its paces in front of the store people (I'm a middle-aged female with a bass!!!). I figured I'd get used to it as this was a new set up, and took my baby home. Now I am noticing dead spots on the G string that I have never noticed before The bass played better before the set up!!!

My very dumb question: can a bad set up create dead spots? Can a bad set up kill a bass???? I'm afraid to take my baby back to that store, as I'm worried that they'll murder the poor thing next time they work on it. Is there anything I can do on my own, or is it time to find a luthier in town?

[moro]

Originally Posted by lola99

Last month, I took my 1984 Fury to a music store for a set up. When I picked up my bass, I discovered that the D string was clanging and buzzing. The guy at the store said that this was because of the worn-down nut and he put a bit of paper behind the string to tighten the slot. After that, the bass seemed to work fine, but not entirely right.

Do you mean that there's a piece of paper in the nut slot, between the string and the nut? That just seems like a lazy hack than a real repair.

Is the D string buzzing when it's unfretted? Any buzz on fretted notes has nothing to do with the nut.

[lola99]

Moro, yep, there's a piece of paper there, and the string was buzzing unfretted. Now I've got dead spots on the G string. Sounds vaguely obscene, sorry.

[moro]

Originally Posted by lola99

Moro, yep, there's a piece of paper there, and the string was buzzing unfretted

I guess it's possible that's some pro technique I'm not aware of, but it sounds super lame. And it sounds like it didn't solve the problem anyway.

I guess the first thing to do is to see if the buzzing is being caused by the nut or the neck relief / bow. To check the nut height, fret your string at the third fret and look between the string and the first fret. You should be able to see a bit of space in there. Check this for all your strings.

To check your neck, fret your bass at the first and last frets. You should be able to see a little space between the string and the eighth fret.

Now I've got dead spots on the G string. Sounds vaguely obscene, sorry.

Do you mean that the string is buzzing so much that the notes are being choked out? Or are they true dead spots--no buzz, but the note dies very quickly?

[moro]

Oh, when you say that there's buzzing on the open D, is it fret buzz or the string rattling around inside the nut slot?

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by moro

Do you mean that there's a piece of paper in the nut slot, between the string and the nut? That just seems like a lazy hack than a real repair.

Is the D string buzzing when it's unfretted? Any buzz on fretted notes has nothing to do with the nut.

Re: buzz on fretted notes. Not necessarily true!

If a nut slot is cut / worn too deeply, you may get an annoying fret buzz between the fretted note and the nut. That's because the string is essentially resting on frets 1, 2, etc. even when fretting higher up the fingerboard. String / neck vibration transfers to the "dead" portion of the string and *whammo*...buzz city.

I've had this happen on two occasions. Once with a worn Peavey Cirrus graphtech nut and once with an over-enthusiastically cut brass nut. I replaced the graphtech nut and shimmed the brass nut with a small sliver of beer can aluminum. Took care of the problem in both instances.

The quickest way to check the nut is to fret the second fret and look for a small gap between the string and the top of the first fret. Probably won't be much thicker than a piece of paper. You can also judge the gap by gently tapping on each string directly above the first fret. You should hear a very distinctive "plink" as the string hits the fret.

Riis

[lola99]

The D string was rattling around inside the nut. The paper, though lame, did fix that problem. The G string now has true dead spots: no buzz, but the note dies quickly. It's incredibly annoying. The thing is I noticed no dead spots before the "set up."

[Basshole]

Get a refund, a new tech, and a new nut, in that order.

[moro]

Originally Posted by Basshole

Get a refund, a new tech, and a new nut, in that order.

+1 Yeah, I wouldn't trust these people to fix the mess they made.

[ric1312]

Yes, a bad setup can ruin a good bass. And deadspots, buzzing and clanking would be a few of signs that you got a bad setup.

A good set up can make a cheap bass sound way better too. I have a 300 dollar ibanez that I hated until new strings, getting the electronics cleaned and haveing the neck done up right. Still sounds wooden, but a lot better than it did.

And putting a peice of paper behind the nut, omg, lol. Why didn't he just replace it, was he trying to save you money, how long can a peice of paper last.

Could it be they figured you wouldn't know,care because you are female?

Don't be afraid to check out a bass after setup and complain if you need too.

Last time I had a set up a different guy at the same shop did it. This guy is a bass player who can double thump and all that and kills me on bass. compared to him I'm a total noob. so, he adjusted it to his liking not mine. Super low action, a kneck that buzzed because it was too straight ect. In other words set up for a pro with a very light touch who can solo like all hell.

I could see he got really pissed when I said it wasn't right and it buzzed too much. he said there was nothing he could do, "the neck is straight,"

I said I just can't live with a bass that buzzez like this, it didn't do it when I bought it or after my last set up. So, this guy starts lowering my pickups. I say wait, then my tone will dissapear, buzz doesn't have anything to do with the pickups.

This was favorite bass my bongo, so no way I'm leaving with my baby in a state that annoys me when I play it.

Finally he went off in a huff, and the other guy fixed it for me in about two seconds.

Point being, theres many different ways to set up an instrument as per type of player. So, when you get a set up done make sure you check it out right afterwards. hit all the notes up and down the kneck to make sure you can live with it.

[savinggrace]

Wow. This reminds me of the time a guitar tech shimmied my neck with a.... guitar pick. (Instead of using wood for a natural gradation, or sanding the neck itself.) The bolt on neck had uneven pressure all around the pick, instead of balanced coverage/ pressure. This caused the end of my neck to not be level with the body- it stuck up past the body some.

[moro]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

Re: buzz on fretted notes. Not necessarily true!

If a nut slot is cut / worn too deeply, you may get an annoying fret buzz between the fretted note and the nut. That's because the string is essentially resting on frets 1, 2, etc. even when fretting higher up the fingerboard. String / neck vibration transfers to the "dead" portion of the string and *whammo*...buzz city.

Ah, interesting. I guess I'd never seen a nut cut so low that that would be an issue. Could you actually hear the buzz through the amp?

[cb56]

any chance they shanged the strings to a lighter gauge when they did the setup? Maybe changing back to the ones you use would eliminate the buzz? just guessing here.

[phephron]

Putting a piece of paper behind the string is a quick fix, and should not be a long term thing. The string needs to move in the nut, and that paper is going to act as a drag. If the string is rattling around, either you need a new nut, or your string gauge is signfiicantly different. In any case, any shop that would give you your bass back without picking those things up that you noted should not be used.
And, a good technician will tell you at the time you get it back if there are any problems that are going on with the guitar.

I agree with the other folks - get a different shop, you may need a new nut, and good luck on getting any money back.

Paul

[deaf pea]

Originally Posted by ric1312

Yes, a bad setup can ruin a good bass. And deadspots, buzzing and clanking would be a few of signs that you got a bad setup...theres many different ways to set up an instrument as per type of player. So, when you get a set up done make sure you check it out right afterwards. hit all the notes up and down the kneck to make sure you can live with it.

And that bit about putting a piece of paper in the nut is pure BS . . . that's a "first-aid" type of fix, only good enough to last you 'til you can get the bass to a luthier, who CAN make it right. IMNSHO, the guy at the music store is a HACK . . . NOT any kind of luthier. He doesn't have ANY right to charge money for what he did to you bass. He truly F***ed up YOUR instument and, in reality, should pay for the work to put it right, as well as refund what you paid him!
But, unfortunately, that won't happen . . . these kind of guys don't usually back up their work with ANY kind of a guarantee.

Good luck, and do like Basshole said "Get a refund, a new tech, and a new nut, in that order"

[lola99]

Thank you for the advice. My baby definitely needs a luthier who knows what he's doing. What on earth did the idiot at the music store do? What COULD he have done to mess up the nut and create dead spots where there were none??? The strings btw are the same gauge.

Damn, damn, damn, damn!

[spudmaster34]

try taking off and puting back on the strings, sometimes it helps. And for everyone blasting the repair person: yes, puting a piece of paper in the nut is extremely lame. However, nut work is expensive, if lola99 was quoted a price, then told that it would actually be significantly higher than previously thought because it needed a new nut, she would probably have refused to pay and taken it to someone else. I wouldn't have done what he did, but I understand why he did it.

[lola99]

To Spudmaster, I was not quoted a price. However, I was told that I would be an idiot to do anything other than put that piece of paper in the slot. Oh well. I'm more worried about the dead spots. That piece of paper actually works.

[SBassman]

The key word - for me - in the original post was - Store.

I have Never seen a store with a competent tech. Lots of guitar hacking going on, but no competent tech-ing - not in my area anyway.

1. You want to find a luthier or real guitar tech. The paper thing was completely lame.

2. You want to learn to do the basics yourself.
The notes at the Gary Willis website are a good place to start.

[pkr2]

I seriously doubt that any damage has been done to your bass. As to just how badly you may have gotten ripped off depends on how much you were charged for the setup. Was there any understanding of what the setup was to consist of.

Are you sure that they even have a shop at the store? Most stores don't, and anytime you are charged shop charges for work done at the sales counter, you are definitely getting burned. I would ask to speak to the repair person directly. If that person turned out to be a clerk or store owner, I would never let them touch my bass.

A lack of relief in the neck could easily be interpreted as a faulty nut. Loosening the truss rod nut a quarter turn might correct the problem. It's strange that it would just start all of a sudden. A notch getting close to being worn out usually gives a little warningThe nut can be salvaged in just a few minutes with some super glue and baking soda if it does have a worn notch.The dead spots are another thing. It's hard to create a dead spot even if you tried. Dead spots aren't generally considered to be affected by setup changes, other than getting a bad new string. First thing I would do would be to try another string. Good luck.