Double Bass buzzing tuning gear

[tww001]

My bass got bumped into the other night at a bar, and now the leaf of the D-string tuning gear is buzzing. I had to shim a business card in next to the leaf to stop the buzzing. I'm hoping this will be an easy (and inexpensive!) fix. Has anyone else had this happen and know how easy it will be to take care of? Thanks.

 

[RickenBoogie]

What bass, and what kind of tuners? Sounds like it should be a simple fix.

 

[tww001]

It's a carved, Romanian-made flat-back with hat-peg tuners. I attached a photo, with the business card shim-job that I did.

 

[greitzer]

Earlier this year, I had a buzzing that was happening with the tuning gear, I believe it was on my D string tuner. After taking a while to isolate exactly where it was coming from, my luthier used a little Superglue. Worked fine, buzz gone. Took him about 15 seconds (once he had spent the ten minutes or so isolating the exact location).

 

[tww001]

Well, since I've already isolated the buzz, do you think I should try and fix it myself (with super glue or something), or should I let my luthier do it? It seems like it would be a simple thing to do, but I want to make sure it's done right.

 

[John Wentzien]

Maybe a new rivet?

 

[greitzer]

tww -- as small a job as it may seem, I would still suggest taking it to your luthier. It is possible that your buzz isn't exactly the same as mine was, and Superglue might not be called for. Your luthier would know. If I'm in that situation again, even if the buzz seems to be the exact same thing as before, I'd still take it to my luthier rather than doing the gluing myself. Just to make sure . . . good luck.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

Well, since I've already isolated the buzz, do you think I should try and fix it myself (with super glue or something), or should I let my luthier do it? It seems like it would be a simple thing to do, but I want to make sure it's done right.

As long as you use common sense and don't over do it, I don't see a problem doing it yourself. I've used it myself on school basses when they needed a quick fix before a performance. However, keep in mind that the superglue may not be a permanent fix and you still may end up needing to see your luthier at a later date.

 

[tww001]

Thanks for all the advice. I am going to wait and see my luthier about it, even though I probably won't get to for two weeks. For now the business card shim seems to be stopping the buzzing, and I don't want to mess with something like super glue that can't be undone if I do something bad.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

If the opening is wide enough for you to put a business card into it, waiting to see your luthier is the right choice. Super glue can be removed from metal parts, but normal super glue isn't too good at filling gaps.

 

[RCWilliams]

it looks to me like the leaf pryed the slot in the bottom of the stem open a bit. these are frequently press fit, and if you have a pair of vise grips large enough to mash it back together it is not inconceivable you can get it close enough to work with glue, surest fix is silver solder or braising

 

[tww001]

I really appreciate everyone's insight. I'm going to leave the work to a professional (Mike Shank). RC, you're right about the leaf prying open the stem, but I don't have access to the proper tools. I bought my bass from Mike, and haven't seen him in a few months so it would be nice to see him even if I could fix the problem on my own (not to mention I just found a scratch on the back of my bass from using a different case than my normal Moravian)