Unplayable F!

machine gewehr · #1 06-09-2006, 12:27 PM

The F and Gb is so hard to play on the E string.F requires a huge amount of power and when I play it it sound like anything except an F,only BUZZZZZZZZ.
F is my favourite note,its so sad.

No matter what I do I couldn't fix this.Any opinions?

BTW the bass is a Washburn xb-120

Beav · #2 06-09-2006, 12:45 PM

Sound like your nut has been eaten down by your strings. You could try raising the action on your E string. However, your cure is going to be a new nut.

machine gewehr · #3 06-09-2006, 12:54 PM

Thats my second nut,first one was a crappy plastic.Raising the action wouldn't help 'cause the higher the worse/harder it gets.
I thought the nut was too high and needed to be shimmed/filed.Interesting.
Thanks BTW.

BassIan · #4 06-09-2006, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

Thats my second nut,first one was a crappy plastic.Raising the action wouldn't help 'cause the higher the worse/harder it gets.
I thought the nut was too high and needed to be shimmed/filed.Interesting.
Thanks BTW.

I think the nut is too high and beav2k2 got it backwards.

How much action do you have on those frets for your E string? It sounds to me like you do need it filed.

Lorenzini · #5 06-09-2006, 01:03 PM

The nut needs to be filed down a bit. That's all.

Lower the nut, and if you get too much buzz, raise the bridge saddles OR loosen the truss rod which increases relief in the neck.

machine gewehr · #6 06-09-2006, 01:10 PM

I got such low action that every fret buzzes even with med./light touch.

Lorenzini · #7 06-09-2006, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

I got such low action that every fret buzzes even with med./light touch.

Does it feel like the nut is too high? Is it's hard to play, that is the logical assumption.

You should definitely do the following:

Check the nut. Is it too high? Then shave it.

Then check the relief. There are a lot of threads on this forum (use search function) on how to have a good relief on your neck.

Lastly make sure the action is where you want it.

That's a full setup

Diego · #8 06-09-2006, 01:17 PM

I think the nut slot is too high on the E string. You could file it yourself (if you are 100% confident on what you are about to do) or take it to a repair person. It shouldn't take more than 20 min to fix. A bowed neck (no relief) could also be part of your problem.

machine gewehr · #9 06-09-2006, 01:22 PM

I have some info about the setup,done it couple of times but fileing the nut,never done it before but shouldn't be much of a problem.

The nut feels really high so fileing it should solve the problem.Thank you friends you have been very helpful,thanks a lot!Now let the operation begin

Beav · #10 06-09-2006, 01:29 PM

Ack, I totally read that wrong. You nut slot is indeed too high.

machine gewehr · #11 06-09-2006, 02:29 PM

I've done it,I never knew playing an F could be this easy.Maybe its too easy now.

Thak you again all,one more time "brotherhood of TB" made my day!

Lorenzini · #12 06-09-2006, 02:47 PM

Great. It can never be too easy

Better is better right?

machine gewehr · #13 06-09-2006, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzini

Great. It can never be too easy

Better is better right?

Exactly!

pkr2 · #14 06-11-2006, 07:36 AM

If filing the nut corrected the problem that's a first for me.

If a nut is cut too low, the buzzing will be on the open E. The nut is completely out of the equation on the F and G frets.

Not saying that the nut didn't need adjusting. But not to correct the prob that was described.

Not trying to be argumentative but this thread could easily lead someone into making a totally wrong adjustment. One that could ruin a nut.

machine gewehr · #15 06-11-2006, 08:33 AM

Yes you may be right so I should explain it all.
I filed down the nut but that didn't fix it,the open E and F and G also started to buzz like hell,almost unplayble buzzing.I had to adjust the truss-rod and gave it more relief but then I had do file other strings too.This is the best setup I've ever done,I'm impressed by my setup indeed,I thought ıt was impossible to setup the bass like this due to its being a cheapo.It really needed fileing because nut was really high!

Audiophage · #16 06-11-2006, 08:40 AM

Lets see some pictures of the nut and frets in question.

pkr2 · #17 06-11-2006, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

Yes you may be right so I should explain it all.
I filed down the nut but that didn't fix it,the open E and F and G also started to buzz like hell,almost unplayble buzzing.I had to adjust the truss-rod and gave it more relief but then I had do file other strings too.This is the best setup I've ever done,I'm impressed by my setup indeed,I thought ıt was impossible to setup the bass like this due to its being a cheapo.It really needed fileing because nut was really high!

As I said, the nut may very well have needed some adjustment. Most production basses do have the nut too high out of the box. A high nut allows a sloppier setup without buzzing. So does a high bridge.

Check out the display basses in a music store and you'll quickly notice that the biggest majority of them need a setup.

The point, though, is that filing the nut slots wont correct buzzing on a fretted note.

Anyway, I'm glad that you got the prob straightened out. Congrats on your first completely satisfactory setup.

machine gewehr · #18 06-11-2006, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkr2

The point, though, is that filing the nut slots wont correct buzzing on a fretted note.
Anyway, I'm glad that you got the prob straightened out.
Congrats on your first completely satisfactory setup.

I totally got your point but my problem wasn't buzzing on a note,F on the E string needed huge amount of power to be played due to high nut.Oh and thanks,I love to play the F now.

BTW it buzzes everywhere on the fretboard,nothings fixes this

pkr2 · #19 06-11-2006, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

I totally got your point but my problem wasn't buzzing on a note,F on the E string needed huge amount of power to be played due to high nut.Oh and thanks,I love to play the F now.

BTW it buzzes everywhere on the fretboard,nothings fixes this

Actually, just for the sake of conversation, if you have it to the point that it really does buzz on every note, You are very near a perfect setup.

If you will increase the heigth of each string just to the point where the buzzes clear up completely, by slowly raising the saddles one at a time, you'll have the action set as low as possible.

If you sort of like the sound of the "mmwaaa" growl at times, just pluck the string a bit more aggressively and you'll get it. You can still play the notes perfectly clear of buzz by plucking a little less aggressively. Playing with a fairly light touch can open up some sounds that you haven't been getting.

You may find the action too low if you play with a heavier hand. If so, simply raise the saddles untill it plays to suit you.

If you haven't already, the final step in a good setup is to touch up the intonation. It wont affect the action at all and it has to have changed with the nut work that you've done.

Too much information?

machine gewehr · #20 06-11-2006, 10:36 AM

Knowledge is never too much,setup and technique has never been told this simple yet effective,great info! Thank you!

BTW I used to pluck really hard but now I'm working on a lighter touch so for now low action is working very well.