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Double Bass bridge and nut slots causing and loud buzz?

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papachains88

Feb 11, 2013
10
0
#1
I took some very good advice about strings which I'm very happy about. The problem that I'm having is that my silver slaps are a much smaller gauge than my previous weed wackers which is what my bass is setup for. So being a newbie to this and liable to make newbie mistakes I was hoping for some advice. There is a little room for play in the nut and bridge slots, is this the main reason why I'm getting such an atrocious buzz out if my e, a, and d strings? My g is fine, but its the other 3. I've adjusted the bridge slowly higher and lower to try and get rid of the buzz but no such luck. What can I do?

Greatly appreciated,
Benny
 
#2
Try making small shims out of pieces of matchbook cover and placing them in the nut slots under the strings. If this makes the buzz go away, your nut slots were cut too low. You can make a more permanent fix by placing a drop of superglue in each nut slot. It's a common guitar repair, but not exactly a legit repair in the doublebass world.

If cheating the nut slots higher doesn't fix the problem, it could be a technique issue or your fingerboard could have inadequate camber. A luthier can fix that for a few hundred bucks, but go to a bass luthier or a good violin shop, not Joe Bob's Geetar Fix-It.
 
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#3
reviving an old thread because I need to address a similar issue. I was told to use ebony powder and superglue in the nut slot to fill it in, then re-slot it. I'm doing more and more repairs on my bass on my own, but this one seems intimidating. Any hints or tips? It's my A string slot that has bottomed out and is giving me sitar-buzz against the fingerboard.
I'll continue digging the archives.
 
#6
to go back to VegasGP's OP, ebony dust and superglue works well but you need to mask up (with tape or other) to avoid the superglue going everywhere. Assuming you can get or make your own ebony dust, tamp it down in the existing nut slot and then apply superglue. Leave it to set, then carefully remove the masking and file to suit.
 
#8
VegasGutPlucker said:
Shim of what? toilet paper? business card? super thin wood? this would mean I would have to lower the other three strings, yes?
Click to expand...

Yes. Glue a thin slice of ebony on the bottom of the nut, re-cut the slots and re-shape the nut as necessary. CA glue is the hokiest of momentary fixes and shouldn't even be discussed here.
 
#11
VegasGutPlucker said:
Where can I get an ebony or rosewood shim? I don't have saws or anything but a sanding belt and I live in vegas. Not a whole lot of Luthiery going on here.
I thought about calling exoticwood.biz, I've always had good luck with him and maybe he can find a scrap for me cheap.
Click to expand...

As TYB notes, luthiery/repair shops have all kinds of bits lying around to be used in different ways. I bet if you dropped by your local guitar builder's or violin repairman's shop with a cold six pack you'd find what you needed! ;)
 

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