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A couple of basses...

I

I-Bassie

May 30, 2010
9
0
#1
Hello fellow bass enthusiasts,
So, autumn is now in full swing in the eastern canadian provinces, and my basses are starting to lose relief causing unwanted fret buzz and note loss. Usually I take them in to a repair tech for a tune up, but I want to learn how to care for my instruments. The first is a 2000 EBMM stingray 5, this one always acts up with seasonal changes, but is highly adjustable.
I gave the truss rod a 1/4 turn, waited, then did it again the next evening ( and tuned it ) The buzz went away mostly, without causing too much relief or bow in the neck.
My second bass, a newly manufactured American standard Jazz 5 deluxe, has never seen a fall or winter, so it started freaking out. Major flat neck. My e# was gone. I gave the neck a 1/4 turn last night, and this morning, a huge bow in the neck and the action is raised way too far, and the buzz is still apparent.
Sorry for the long winded description, but I need help.
Any thoughts on what I can do before I pay someone to set it up for me?
Thank you
 
#4
Where is the buzz?

Try this. Hold the E string down at the first and last (or seventeenth, just let us know which) and slide a business card (feeler gauges are much more precise) between the eighth fret and the string. Using a capo at the first fret is a lot of help with this operation. How many business cards will fit? One? Two? None? It would also help to know what the string height is at the twelfth fret on the E and G strings. An inexpensive rule in mm or 64ths of an inch is great to use for this. Again, from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string.

Post the information and someone will help you.

On a theory note, E#= F.
 
#6
Oops,
The buzz, on my Jazz bass, was on the Eb not the F, my bad. I will try what you recommended, and thank you.
However, for the asking someone to show me part, that is very hard, as most people will snake out of doing it as they do not want someone else doing it, even for themselves...
I'll carry on...
Stand by
 
#7
I-Bassie said:
Oops,
The buzz, on my Jazz bass, was on the Eb not the F, my bad. I will try what you recommended, and thank you.
However, for the asking someone to show me part, that is very hard, as most people will snake out of doing it as they do not want someone else doing it, even for themselves...
I'll carry on...
Stand by
Click to expand...

Eb on the B string?

Sounds like a sensitive neck; I'd backclamp it, return the trussrod to where it was, and back it off even more incrementally.
 

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