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  #1  
Old 04-18-2004, 05:28 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Unwarping bass gives buzz

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This is the sad story of my life
I was so delighted when the strings came into contact with the frets as I held down the E string on both the first and twevleth frets.
but this truss rod adjustment gave rise to buzzing.
Could the buzz be caused by the frets?
I've read about filing down the frets to get homogeniality across the fretboard but I haven't a clue how to go about doing that.

in the end I had to warp the neck back to get rid of the buzz.

does anyone here face the same problem and then resort to my modus operandi?
is it easy to file the frets,or will it be better to pay an expert to do it?or just live with the high action caused by the warp?

Last edited by stoneroses : 04-18-2004 at 05:31 AM.
  #2  
Old 04-18-2004, 05:47 AM
The emperor has no clothes!
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Burbank CA USA
Hi stoneroses, if I'm understanding you correctly, "warp" means that there is some curvature along the neck, right? So you were trying to straighten the neck by tightening the truss rod? After tightening the rod, when you sight down the neck from the headstock, is it "perfectly straight" or is there still some curvature?

Here's a couple of things you might want to consider.

First, fret filing is probably not the solution, and it should only be done as a last resort and when there's a specific need.

Second, string buzzing is "normal" with a perfectly straight neck, even if you adjust the action up high by tweaking the bridge saddles. What's not normal would be if it buzzes on the fourth fret and not at the sixth, or vice versa, or if it buzzes on the lower half of the fingerboard and not on the upper (or vice versa).

Third, string buzzing may not be a bad thing. String noises are an essential part of many of the recordings we all know and love. How are you listening to the buzzing, through an amp or just acoustically? Are you looking for a "perfectly clean" sound?

And finally, you said "live with the high action caused by the warp". You do realize, that every time you adjust the neck by tweaking the truss rod, you have to readjust the action and intonation at the bridge? The neck should be straight or "slightly" curved, and all the other action adjustments are done at the bridge (usually, although in some basses like Alembic's there is also some adjustment at the nut).

What kind of bass is it? What kind of bridge does it have?
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  #3  
Old 04-18-2004, 06:19 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
This is my bass
http://www.cort.com/endorse/stevens/index.html
The fortress bridge doesn't look like any bridge i've adjusted b4,which is why I left it alone.
Any idea how the height of the bridge can be adjusted?
  #4  
Old 04-18-2004, 07:00 AM
The emperor has no clothes!
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Burbank CA USA
Sorry no, never seen a Fortress bridge, and couldn't find anything on Google. Usually there's at least one little set screw on each of the saddles, that allows you to raise or lower it.
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  #5  
Old 04-18-2004, 08:13 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: St. Neots, UK
Like nonseqtr sez, the neck is SUPPOSED to have some curvature, or "relief." This might help:

http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass...tupmanual.html

It's for Gary's signature bass, but the concepts still apply.
  #6  
Old 04-18-2004, 09:23 AM
The emperor has no clothes!
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Burbank CA USA
Wow, great link. Thanks lump!
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