Problem with new jazz bass

[some1]

Hi guys, I've recently purchased a MIA jazz bass online and it just arrived. There is a problem with the A string that I can't quite figure out (I'm a relatively new bass player). I don't know how to explain, but for some reason that string's sound has much more "thud" than the other ones. When you play a fretted note, this is obvious. Also, when you play the empty string, there's a noticeable fret buzz after 1 seconds, which is also missing from the other strings. The action of the string seems to be not that different from the other ones. Do you have an idea what exactly the problem might be? Thanks.

[Testing_123]

Some starting things to check:

• Break angle of strings as they come off the nut and head towards the tuning pegs. The break angle for D and G strings should be fine, thanks to the string tree/retainer. Is the angle of the A string roughly equivalent to the angle of D and G strings? (In general, more break angle is good -- you want the string to angle down off of the nut.)
  
• Did you install new strings? Sometimes new instruments come with duddy strings. If you want to stick with the stock strings for now, you could uninstall and reinstall each string (one by one) -- may remove any twisting/kinking at neck end or bridge end that could be interfering with even string vibration.
  
• Are the nut slots cut cleanly?

Other TB'ers may chime in soon. Patient, methodical troubleshooting, ruling out issues one-by-one, will get you where you need to go.

Good luck.

[joeyl]

bad A string? Twisted string? Nut cut too low on the A string?