Why are my springs not doing a job, and is it bad for the bass?

[kraziestkhris]

My Squier Fender P-Bass has springs on it, but they are just sitting there doing nothing (except making the occasional buzzing sound because they have room to rattle. Is it bad for my bass or no?

[JLS]

Originally Posted by kraziestkhris

My Squier Fender P-Bass has springs on it, but they are just sitting there doing nothing (except making the occasional buzzing sound because they have room to rattle. Is it bad for my bass or no?

No, not bad. Why would it be?

You can remove them, stretch them out, and replace them.

[kraziestkhris]

Well what are they exactly for?

[spaz21387]

to keep tension on the bridge saddles and keep them from moving much.

[michael_atw]

The saddles are too far out if they're not "doing their job" and making noise.

[makkE]

Originally Posted by michael_atw

The saddles are too far out if they're not "doing their job" and making noise.

Not necessarily, all depends on the preferred setup.
I have a bass with tiny pieces of cardboard between string and spring to keep them from rattling, and it's intonated properly.

@kraziestkhris:

Minor thing, but you might want to loosen your e-string and cautiously remove or peel back a little bit of the silk wrap, so your saddle makes contact with the blank string.

[96tbird]

Have you learned how to intonate your bass? I have never seen all saddles up at the end like that on an properly strung and intonated bass, ever. Or is that bridge just really short? You will have to remove some silk to get bare string on the properly adjusted saddles. The springs are to help hold the saddles in place when set: so the string vibrations don't make the intonation screws turn. If they rattle, take them off and stretch them out a bit. Learn intonation; it may be good, but it looks weird to me.

Makke, the preferred setup is intonated, wherever the saddles may lie when set. Has nada to do with preference; it's intonated or it isn't, period; unless your preference is to be out of tune.

[makkE]

I was excluding intonation from "preferred setup" of course. Just saying that string type and action/relief can in some cases lead to rattling springs, even if intonation is correct.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by 96tbird

Have you learned how to intonate your bass? I have never seen all saddles up at the end like that on an properly strung and intonated bass, ever.

This

[mcnach]

Intonation is suspect if the saddles are that far to the front...
I'd learn to adjust intonation (lots of info, including video, if you google) and I am pretty sure the saddles will go back a lot, and the springs will be compressed, eliminating the rattling.

[SDMFJay]

Are you sure your bridge is set up for perfect intonation? looks like it was factory mounted and not set up at all imo.

[Rune Bivrin]

Or maybe the intonation is off...

[michael_atw]

My guess is, it might not be intonated well but let's remember...it's a Squier. Who knows, it might be intonated just fine at that point

[bassteban]

Battery.
Also: ALL BASIC SETUP QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE

[Rune Bivrin]

When I think about iit, I wonder if maybe a shim might be in order.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by Rune Bivrin

When I think about iit, I wonder if maybe a shim might be in order.

While in this context that is funny, a shim can change the neck angle(IME 2-3 cards' thickness at the heel end of the neck pocket increased the angle of my Fender Jazz 5, adding just enough open-string scale length to my low B, making it possible to intonate. The B saddle had previously been all the way back & was till slightly sharp at the 12th fret); in the highly-unlikely event that the saddles are as close to properly adjusted as possible, he may need to decrease the neck angle- which can be acheived by shimming the nut-ward()end of the neck pocket.
Again- IMO this would be HIGHLY unlikely.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by kraziestkhris

Well what are they exactly for?

You've got to be joking.

[96tbird]

Originally Posted by michael_atw

My guess is, it might not be intonated well but let's remember...it's a Squier. Who knows, it might be intonated just fine at that point

Meme. Get real. The op deserves more than to read useless junk like that.

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by michael_atw

My guess is, it might not be intonated well but let's remember...it's a Squier. Who knows, it might be intonated just fine at that point

A Squier is just fine, please this is not the right thread for that nonsense which can worry/confuse the op unnecessarily.

[Pilgrim]

Just a wild guess, but....check the intonation.

(And ignore the Squier-bashing...it's irrelevant and untrue.)

It's not hurting anything. Rattles can be corrected by stretching the springs. Or likely, by fixing the intonation.