My strings buzz a lot

[IrishSpring]

M brand spanking new to the bass and have a squier p-bass. When I fret the strings buzz a lot and the only way to minimize it is to press extremely hard on the fret strings which can be quite painful on the hands. Should I have to be pressing this hard while fretting to keep away most buzzing? Btw I'm playing unamped

[michaelkoss]

First of all, you should always play amped so you know what you will really sound like. You get a lot more buzz in your ear than through the amp.

I had the same problem on a guitar. I took it to my local Guitar Center and had their luthier do a setup on it. The problems didn't go away completely, but helped a lot. It only cost $35 and the guy there was really awesome.

[StingrayDerek]

Are you pressing in the middle of two frets? You get a better sound if you play almost right on the fret.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by IrishSpring

M brand spanking new to the bass and have a squier p-bass. When I fret the strings buzz a lot and the only way to minimize it is to press extremely hard on the fret strings which can be quite painful on the hands. Should I have to be pressing this hard while fretting to keep away most buzzing? Btw I'm playing unamped

When your string buzz you do not need a fuzz!

Joking aside, go through the bass and do a proper setup. If it buzz there after you should consider higher action or if the action is fine you might need to check your frets for uniform height.

[IrishSpring]

I've been fretting extremely close to the fret

[MalcolmAmos]

The beast does buzz, muting that buzz is just part of playing bass. All kind of ways to take care of the problem, depending on how you play, fingers, thumb or pick.

I'm a thumb guy and use a palm mute. That and a set up by your music store will help. I also have a piece of foam rubber under the strings at the bridge. That and the palm mute seems to do the trick. The foam rubber gives an upright double bass sound that I like.

Another reason for an instructor. Knee to knee he/she would have eliminated that problem in short order.

Foam Rubber Mutes.

[xxpigxx]

Originally Posted by IrishSpring

M brand spanking new to the bass and have a squier p-bass. When I fret the strings buzz a lot and the only way to minimize it is to press extremely hard on the fret strings which can be quite painful on the hands. Should I have to be pressing this hard while fretting to keep away most buzzing? Btw I'm playing unamped

Had the same problem with my Squire. Had the local music store adjust the action higher. No problems since.