Low-action fans: how much fret buzz can you stand?

[pacojas]

my action is so low that my harmonics buzz!

[Zoomie]

I don't like buzz at all. Clank drives me absolutely bonkers as well. If I hear it coming out of the amp, there will be trouble.

Most of my actions are set medium. I really like to dig in at times. On those basses that I have set low, they drive me crazy in any context gigging as I feel I have to constantly be on guard against clank. I spend too much time worried about perfect technique and playing politely versus living in the pocket.

Just say no guys !

PS - in all fairness, I do agree that there are certain genres of music and songs where clank and buzz are a must-haves and the music suffers without it.

[CrashAlpha]

Lots of interesting feedback - interesting that the no-buzz-at-all players are in the minority, but I am sure this has much more to do with genre than anything else. I note that when I play with a normal touch - maybe on the light side - I get a pure note. If I play a little harder, then as the note decays and the strings oscillations get wider, the buzzing starts. And if I dig in, I can get a clanking or buzzing at will.

This behaviour is all above the 7th fret and on my Rick 4003. You are supposed to set these necks up with a minimum of relief - and this seems like the natural behaviour for a low-action briedge setup. It's VERRRRY sexy.

I don't get to talk to many bassists IRL, so this has been really interesting - thanks, all. Time to put the truss rod cover back on the Rick and move on to setting up my Aerodyne...

[bassbully]

I use flats so low is no issue.

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by bassbully

I use flats so low is no issue.

It's been a while since I've used flats. Maybe my fingers have become too calloussed to notice, but I am amazed at how easy it is to play my favorite strings, Elixir Nanowebs. I even use heavy guage 050 075 085 105 on my Rick, and I really don't find them "heavy" at all. But, I like to have lots of bite and high harmonics.

If there was a flatwound string that did this, I'd give them a try on one of my basses, for sure.

[hrodbert696]

I love it. My eyes got opened to it when I saw a video interview with Billy Sheehan where he talks about his setup. He said he deliberately set his action low to get some buzz and get the Chris Squire vibe, and that was when I realized that it was part of the tone of some of my heroes and I decided to embrace it. Now I really like the edginess it gives to my tone.

[Mark4]

I like a little buzz when I play aggressively, but no buzz when I play with a light touch.

[LowEndGroover]

Originally Posted by Mark4

I like a little buzz when I play aggressively, but no buzz when I play with a light touch.

+1

[petrus61]

While we're on this subject, there should be an outright ban on Youtube demos where the player cranks the tone knob. All buzz, all the time.

[phillybass101]

I slap so I like it as low as possible. some buzz I actually use to add grind to my sound but the note has to still ring true before the buzz happens if ya know what I mean.

[dStar]

I like a little buzz when playing. I like low action too!

[CrashAlpha]

After reading all these great viewpoints, I lowered my bridge a bit on my aerodyne today, thinking I had it set for no buzz with a light/medium touch, nice buzz when I dug in... then went to practice.

The bass was weird tonight, I usually like bright attack - but it was out of control. Note decay was wrong, too - I had a hard time getting bottom end body from A to G strings; E string was fine, the string that was lowered the least. I went to the amp and changed the EQ settings and took out the high end boost on the graphic EQ.

I think the weirdness was worst when using a pick, which tells me that when I am playing with the band I am more aggressive with the pick than when I practice. It was more controllable with my fingers, and of course great when I slapped. I can do all three... But I just love the flair of playing with a pick. (No matter what style I'm playing, in my heart I'm a four chord power rocker, what do you expect?)

However, at the end of the night the guitarist remarked he loved the tone of the bass, not knowing I had changed anything.

I use a Boss ME 20B multi-effects pedal, and I think the solution is for me to review my EQ settings in my presets.

Wondering if anyone else has had to go through this?

[darkstorm]

The primary thing is to not have any notes fretting out anywhere on the fretboard. This can require fret level for best fretboard play. I typically adjust to just starting to fret out and raise it a little above that. The maybe timy tweak for best sound. Musical fretbuzz imporves the sound imo. Players like Chriss Squire where among the first popular bass players to use this improved tone qaulity imo.

[henry2513]

zero.

[gary m]

I use flats and drop the action as low as I can without fretting out. No problems.

[PWRL]

I became a low action fan a few years ago and used to be very picky about fretbuzz, but in the last few years, I've come around to the other end of it. While my Jaguar is strung with well-matured light gauge Chromes and set in its ways, my Warwick is a different issue. Back when I used to play Rickenbackers, I couldn't tolerate any fretbuzz, but now that my Streamer is set up good and low with a set of TI Jazz Flats I had around, I've come to appreciate the way a little overall buzz melds with the woody sound I get out the bass, especially with the pickup height raised up a little bit more than usual.
I think one of the things that changed my mind was watching a particular John Entwistle 5:15 bass solo and realizing how much fretbuzz was a part of that sound. Suddenly, it wasn't a dirty word anymore.

[Catbuster]

As long as its not fretting out its okay

[Rip Topaz]

I use flats, so as low as I can go without choking the notes. Other people have trouble playing my main bass because the action is so low.

It requires a light touch but gets really grindy when I dig in.

[Medford Bassman]

Wasn't it entwhistle who said when asked how low he likes his action he said, "so low the strings are on the back of the neck"

[Bassamatic]

I think that he said that he liked his action "below the fingerboard", but either one works! Same for me.