Double Bass Dreaded buzz/rattle is back

[g-dude]

So got my fingerboard fixed last year to all but get rid of the buzzing when I played a G on the D string.

And now it’s back. Starts between F# and G, and continues to just beyond G#.

The way I see it, I have a few options:

1) Back to the luthier I go, have him work on it. Pros: he knows what he’s doing. Cons: it’s over an hour drive each way - I’m not even going to list the cost as a con, because the time is the bigger hassle.

2) Increase my string height. Pros: maybe that’ll solve the problem and save me a trip. Cons: my action will be higher and that’s not necessarily what I want. Or is it? I dunno - I feel like I’d like higher action where I pluck, but not where I stop the notes.

3) Switch to guts or synthetic strings. Pros: maybe that’ll make the problem less noticeable? Cons: guts are expensive and I don’t want to deal with a temperamental string, so I guess that puts me in the world of synthetics.


Are there any other options here I’m missing?

Sort of frustrating, and I don’t want to have an annual tradition of having wood removed from my fingerboard.

 

[GretschWretch]

What you describe I would associate more with a sympathetic resonance than a fingerboard needing dressing. Have you sighted a straightedge along the 'board to check for humps or dips?

 

[eh_train]

And now it’s back. Starts between F# and G, and continues to just beyond G#.

If it’s a problem on just one string, involving only a whole tone plus a bit, it’s most likely a hump or a knot in the board. Your luthier sounds like the best option.

3) Switch to guts or synthetic strings. Pros: maybe that’ll make the problem less noticeable?

Switching to guts would be one of my last choices for reducing string noise. They can be pretty finicky.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Your neck is probably bowing backwards in the dry weather and low tension strings may not help. Make the trip. I have several customers who drive much further.

 

[RSBBass]

Seasonal change is a likely culprit, I would take it back to a pro.

 

[g-dude]

What you describe I would associate more with a sympathetic resonance than a fingerboard needing dressing. Have you sighted a straightedge along the 'board to check for humps or dips?

Last year I had the same thing, went through the same thought process…and it was fixed by addressing the fingerboard.

If it’s a problem on just one string, involving only a whole tone plus a bit, it’s most likely a hump or a knot in the board. Your luthier sounds like the best option.



Switching to guts would be one of my last choices for reducing string noise. They can be pretty finicky.

Your neck is probably bowing backwards in the dry weather and low tension strings may not help. Make the trip. I have several customers who drive much further.

Seasonal change is a likely culprit, I would take it back to a pro.

Sigh…I sort of knew this would be the proper consensus, but I figured I’d try.

At least last year, my boss lived near where the luthier was so we could meet up for a coffee - he also was the type where he was fine with me kicking off early to go on a bike ride. Unfortunately he left the company and my new boss, while a nice guy, would never knowingly let me do it without taking time off.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Well…yeah. If you’re salaried you’re stealing company time.

Before you resort to drastic measures, lay a yardstick along the seam between neck and fingerboard and confirm that everything is straight and true.

 

[Papageno]

If the problem is due to some irregurarity (eg bump) on the fingerboard, it should remain on the same spot of the fingerboard if you detune your string by a half or whole step.
If the problem is due to some sympathetic resonance trigered by the G, it should move to a new spot (where G is) when you detune your string.

 

[g-dude]

Well…yeah. If you’re salaried you’re stealing company time.

Not really - I’m not paid for my time, I’m paid for my connections, experience, and knowledge. I mean, if it was only about “time”, then they steal my time every time I’m doing work at 10:00pm, or have to travel and attend events on Sunday. My job doesn’t have specific units of output I do - be it reports, finished products, widgets, etc. It’s great in some ways, and sucks in others…I basically do something that can’t be quantified. My boss was actually in the same boat, but he was paid 2.5-3x as much for it.


Back to the topic at hand, I literally had this same issue last year, tried string weights, etc. and it didn’t fix it. Went to the luthier and the problem was gone.

When I say I had the same issue last year, I mean it was same string, same region…and I do say region because at the end of the day, it’s spanning between a half step and whole step of distance where it does it.