fretting problems

wuggles · #1 12-18-2008, 06:05 AM

Ok, I have not been playing the bass long at all. Actualy its been about a week. But I am having a horrid time with freting right now. I can adjust and move my fingers up and down the neck and hit the correct spots on each string for each note, but when I try to mute or release off the string I am getting this terrible buzz/ clanky noise. I read some other threads about this and tried some suggestions to fix it but it is still buzzing as loud as ever. I want to get a teacher to look at if for me, but I wont be able to for at least another two to 3 weeks. Should I wait? any suggestions? I want to make sure my fretting is great before i start to get into more complex things.

Dmanlamius · #2 12-18-2008, 06:23 AM

Hiya, Wuggles...

Ok, this could be a number of things.

You say it's ok when you actually fret? So it isn't finger strength causing in the problem (the most common problem for beginners).

If it's doing it when you take your finger OFF the string, I would say it has something to do with the set-up of the bass. Is it an old bass? Second hand? Are you playing it through an amp? How far are the strings from your fretboard? A few millimeters? Centimetres? Inches?

Look down the neck of your bass. Is it bent at all? Even a slight bend in the neck can cause buzz...

wuggles · #3 12-18-2008, 06:37 AM

thanks for the reply Dmanlamius. I just took a look at the bass, The neck doesn't seem to be bent, and the guy at the shop said it's been maintained well. He said its a fairly old bass and I did get it used. It's in very good condition though(from my perspective, but I still don't know a lot about basses). The strings seem to be higher away from the frets the the lower you go on the neck. 1st fret is probably a milimeter or so and the 12th is likemaybe a centimeter or so. The amp has never been used before, so I hope that's not the issue.

greenboy · #4 12-18-2008, 06:41 AM

There's been a couple threads about this recently in the Technique section just above this one.

DudeistMonk · #5 12-18-2008, 08:24 AM

Quote:

thanks for the reply Dmanlamius. I just took a look at the bass, The neck doesn't seem to be bent, and the guy at the shop said it's been maintained well. He said its a fairly old bass and I did get it used. It's in very good condition though(from my perspective, but I still don't know a lot about basses). The strings seem to be higher away from the frets the the lower you go on the neck. 1st fret is probably a milimeter or so and the 12th is likemaybe a centimeter or so. The amp has never been used before, so I hope that's not the issue.

Sounds like the bass is okay...

When you are fretting, are you playing as close to the fret as possible or in the middle of the two frets?

Do you get buzz when you play open notes? How about if you play real soft? Are there specific notes/strings that seem to buzz or all of them?

onlyclave · #6 12-18-2008, 08:25 AM

Don't blame the instrument. It sounds like you aren't putting your finger as close to the fretwire as you can. Move your fretting finger up as close to the fret as possible and that will increase the amount of force you can apply.

edit: Oops, the Monk beat me to it.