Action and fret buzz

[holllowbody]

Which do you prefer....

Lower action with a some fret buzz or high enough action to where there is no fret buzz???

Background story:

Within the last week I added 2 brand new basses to my collection. Specifically, I got a Stingray 5 HH and a Stingray 4 H. The 5 HH has slightly lower action than the 4 H, but it has some buzz, particularly on the B string around frets #3 and #4. Also worth noting: I had a luthier adjust the neck a bit to slightly lower the action on the 5 HH. The 4 H has no buzz, but the action is noticably higher at a glance. I find that the action of the 5 HH is more pleasant. The 4 H is very playable, but going up the neck around fret #10 and beyond, the action gets higher and it can be a pain at times.

 

[dinghy]

High enough so there is none.

Medium-high action I can deal with, but fret buzz annoys me more than anything.

 

[Gord_oh]

had that problem today.
got new strings for my sx and i noticed the action was extremely high.
i normally like the lower action.
im still playing with it.
i lowered it and havent noticed enough fret buzz to be worried about,
but i still have to play with it.

this post was so not helpful to you...
:/

 

[Foamy]

Lower action with a some fret buzz

 

[pattyløve]

I like to get a touch of fret buzz so that if you play lightly its un-noticable and when you dig in you get that added growl.

 

[DanRJBrasil]

if you have imperfect leveled frets or a not perfect straight neck it will showq with lower action, so check this if you want to have a very low action with very little to no buzz

 

[JazzyLambert]

I like to have an extremely low action and use a light touch. Not many other local bassists can even play my basses. But I suppose I can't play everyting that I like to, on their basses either.




Can't Groove live @14-

 

[atheos]

Low action, heavy buzz and thin picks. I just love the buzz (well I AM a metal head) but I'd adjust my action higher if I played in a non-metal band.

 

[natasmi]

Medium/high, I hate fret buzz. I play my basses unplugged with a pick when learning something new, buzz is not allowed. Then when I plug in it's perfect, I do play hard with a heavy pick though. I do all my own set-up's so any fret buzz is dealt with quickly.

 

[Relic]

if you adjust it just right, you will have lower action with minimal fret buzz. You just have to find the happy medium so to speak.

 

[lonote]

As long as I can't hear it through the amp, I don't care if there is some fret buzz.

 

[JazzyLambert]

Low action, heavy buzz and thin picks. I just love the buzz (well I AM a metal head) but I'd adjust my action higher if I played in a non-metal band.

Interesting... most metal players I know love really high actions.

Cant Groove @14

 

[Rich L]

As long as I can't hear it through the amp, I don't care if there is some fret buzz.

+1