Truss rod rattling?

fretlessman71 · #1 12-23-2008, 01:26 PM

I'm pretty sure that's what I'm hearing.

I have an aftermarket no-name neck on one of my basses, and no matter how I have the bass set up, there's a rattle that doesn't seem to come from the tuning pegs or the strings or anything. It's not frets, and all screws have been tightened. I play the bass for people who put their ear to the headstock area, and they say the rattle seems to be coming from near the nut, but inside.

Is this the sign of a useless truss rod? Is it even worth trying to fix, or should I just bite the bullet and get another neck?

Craig_S · #2 12-23-2008, 01:35 PM

Have you tried loosening the rod completely then tightening it again? I had a buzzing truss rod, on an old bass, and that's all it took.

fretlessman71 · #3 12-23-2008, 01:44 PM

It's worth a shot. Did you re-tighten it right away, or did you let it sit and settle first?

stflbn · #4 12-23-2008, 01:48 PM

I've also had a bad string sound this same way a couple years ago.

In fact, I've got a B-string on one of my basses right now that's doing the same thing. Different bass... different string brand... different string... but if I move that string to a different bass the same rattling sound follows the string to the different bass.