Restring Rattle

[mr-mungo]

I have just restrung my P bass, and there seems to be a rattle on the open E string, and a metallic buzz on the open A string. these noises seem to come from the headstock. They go away if I hold the string down on the 'wrong' side of the nut. I have restrung with the same gauge strings, but a different make.

Anyone got any ideas why I have this problem, and how to resolve?

Thanks, MB

[Phalex]

Make sure the strings are as low on the tuning pegs as you can get them.

[P-BASSLOVER]

Always make sure to get at least three windings on all your string posts.
On the A string on Fender style basses use four windings.

[mattbass101]

i just had this exact same problem!

turns out the E string itself was defective!
badly wound
it was making a rattle i'd never heard before, only on the E string, try a different string

[AlembicPlayer]

first examine the string tree, make sure it's down tight
next while playing grab hold of each tuner ear to see if they are loose and vibrating...very common with fender type tuners

[randbguy]

+1 on Pbasslover's comments, and if the string is rattling itself as mattbass101 describes, you can twist the string, by loostening the string and pull on the ball so it clears the bridge, and twist it a few times. If the string itself is rattling the winding is a little loose somewhere and twisting usually fixes that. One more thing you can do.

[Bassamatic]

I recently changed strings and the new ones were lower tension, changing the string relief and causing some buzz. Since I like the setup low, I had to adjust the truss rod.

Also - as mentioned above, it is important to have the strings wind from the top if the tuner peg down, so that they pull down against the nut as much as possible.

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by mr-mungo

I have just restrung my P bass, and there seems to be a rattle on the open E string, and a metallic buzz on the open A string. these noises seem to come from the headstock. They go away if I hold the string down on the 'wrong' side of the nut. I have restrung with the same gauge strings, but a different make.

Anyone got any ideas why I have this problem, and how to resolve?

Thanks, MB

The nut slots are likely borderline too wide for the new strings (unless the angle of the string over the nut is too shallow of course).

Larger gauge strings will help. In the old days I also used to fix this by putting a very small shim in the nut slot, usually a piece of thin paper under the string. This is lame (raises the string a little bit and is just lame in general) but it's an ok temporary fix.

Otherwise, you may need to replace the nut if it's really bad with your desired strings and cut the slots thinner in it....

LS

[mr-mungo]

It's fine now, the string was too high in the nut... I wound from the bottom, not the top after restringing Thankyou