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open string is producing harmonic

B

bchamorro

Nov 13, 2007
437
6
Miami, Florida
#1
My Stingray 5's D string is producing a harmonic when playing open. It is not touching any frets or anything. It is a brand new bass with stock strings. I think this just came up because the day before I don't think I was hearing this. I still haven't plugged in my bass to any amp yet (still waiting for my amp).

Could it be a faulty D string? Could it be the nut?
 
#2
Try it while muting the G string. It might be causing the G string to vibrate and add the 7th fret (D) harmonic. If that's what it is there's nothing wrong with your bass, it's called sympathetic vibration.
 
#12
Someone please correct me if my understanding is wrong, but the reason you are hearing the harmonic (which is always produced) is the fundamental is being sucked up by the bass itself resonating at that frequency. This is why a clamp, or pressing down on the string behind the nut as you indicated "doesn't do" the harmonic; which is actually still being produced but now the fundamental is ringing out. Your "dead spot" happens to be an open string.
 
#13
BobWestbrook said:
Someone please correct me if my understanding is wrong, but the reason you are hearing the harmonic (which is always produced) is the fundamental is being sucked up by the bass itself resonating at that frequency. This is why a clamp, or pressing down on the string behind the nut as you indicated "doesn't do" the harmonic; which is actually still being produced but now the fundamental is ringing out. Your "dead spot" happens to be an open string.
Click to expand...

I don't understand.

So it is the string that is faulty or what? I am going to have to return the bass?
 
#17
bchamorro said:
when I press the string down behind the nut it doesn't do the harmonic
Click to expand...

In that case, all you've got is the extra portion of the D string past the headstock picking up sympathetic vibrations. It's not being amplified, though--there's no pickup in the headstock!--so it has absolutely no impact on the sound.

If it really bugs, you, try tugging on the D string to stretch it out a bit. This should tighten the portion past the nut over the headstock so it's tuned to a slightly different frequency. Then re-tune the string.

Mike
 
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#18
BobWestbrook said:
Someone please correct me if my understanding is wrong, but the reason you are hearing the harmonic (which is always produced) is the fundamental is being sucked up by the bass itself resonating at that frequency. This is why a clamp, or pressing down on the string behind the nut as you indicated "doesn't do" the harmonic; which is actually still being produced but now the fundamental is ringing out. Your "dead spot" happens to be an open string.
Click to expand...

This is was my thought. Which would be a shame. I would think you would still get this even pressing behind the nut though.

Is it possible you don't have enough angle over the nut, and this lack of down force there is causing some wonky behavior with the open string?
 
#19
The Fatfinger would do the same fix as pressing down the string behind the nut, by preventing the neck from resonating at the D frequency. I don't think it's being caused by sympathetic vibrations.

If it's a new bass and they have a good return policy, I'd take it back.
 
#20
Once the D string gets past the nut, is it going to the BOTTOM of the tuning post that it is wrapped around? I recently had the same exact problem you described, and holding it down past the nut would get rid of the problem just as you described. It turned out that when I was first putting the string on, I accidentally wound it back up to the top of the post on the last wind, so it was going almost straight across the nut to the post with almost no tension on it.
 

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