E String fret buzz

[Feataler]

I'm a beginner bassist, have learnt a few things already, but one thing I can't fix is the fret buzz on the E-string.

I've had the bass setup by a local luthier and I've seen him playing it afterwards, he had no problems at all, so really it's not about the action or anything but just about me sucking at playing bass.

I can play single notes fine on the E string, but I get buzz when I change to another note on the same string, or sometimes just as I stop pressing down on the string. Any tips on how to mute this annoying sound?

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Normally you can kill the buzz by touching (not fretting, just touching) the string either with your left hand (fretting hand) or by letting the heal of your right hand lay on the strings near the bridge. Do a Google on palm mute and floating thumb mute. Ask Google for a video. Photo is worth a thousand words.

Video, palm mute. If you are using a pick this will work. Google may pull up someone doing this on a 6 string guitar. The technique is the same.

Video, floating thumb mute. If you are using your fingers this will work.

Killing the buzz is just something you have to master. Our instrument does buzz. I use flatwound strings and foam rubber under the strings at the bridge. Gives an up-right bass sound I like plus kills 90% of the buzz. Stick a sock under the strings at the bridge; see if that helps the problem. If so do a Google on foam rubber mute for bass guitar.

Good luck.

 

[fearceol]

What Malcolm describes above is excellent advice. However IMO it has more to do with dealing with the unwanted harmonics from unplayed strings. You talk about fret buzz, and what you describe leads me to think ( as you say your bass is set up correctly) that your issue is an actual fretting/fingering one. Try lifting the fingers more swiftly off of the string and playing another note. Also, the fact that you are only (I assume) having problems on the E string, the cause could be that your hand/fingers have not yet got used to reaching up that far yet.

Hopefully these two clips will help :

 

[Mushroo]

Do you notice the buzz when you are playing with your band, or only when you are practicing alone in your house?

Some degree of string noise/buzz is considered normal, and is actually a desired sound for some players. Go on Youtube and search for "isolated bass track" and you will hear that even pro players on hit songs have all kinds of string/fret noise.

Anyway, can you describe the "buzz" a bit better, and the conditions under which it happens? Are you sure it is caused by the string touching the frets? I ask because there are other types of unwanted noise a bass can make, such as: your finger sliding against the wraps of the roundround strings, the sympathetic vibration of strings you are not playing, the electrical buzz of a poorly-shielded instrument, etc.

 

[Feataler]

Thanks for the tips everyone, and the videos.

Normally you can kill the buzz by touching (not fretting, just touching) the string either with your left hand (fretting hand) or by letting the heal of your right hand lay on the strings near the bridge. Do a Google on palm mute and floating thumb mute. Ask Google for a video. Photo is worth a thousand words.

Video, palm mute. If you are using a pick this will work. Google may pull up someone doing this on a 6 string guitar. The technique is the same.

Video, floating thumb mute. If you are using your fingers this will work.

Killing the buzz is just something you have to master. Our instrument does buzz. I use flatwound strings and foam rubber under the strings at the bridge. Gives an up-right bass sound I like plus kills 90% of the buzz. Stick a sock under the strings at the bridge; see if that helps the problem. If so do a Google on foam rubber mute for bass guitar.

Good luck.

Yeah this is pretty much it. I've been trying to improve it this morning. I'll try to describe it better: when I play a note on the E string and go to play another note, as it's still vibrating, it buzzes on the frets. It's easier with the G string because it's a lot thinner (therefore vibrates less).

 

[Mushroo]

Thanks for the tips everyone, and the videos.


Yeah this is pretty much it. I've been trying to improve it this morning. I'll try to describe it better: when I play a note on the E string and go to play another note, as it's still vibrating, it buzzes on the frets. It's easier with the G string because it's a lot thinner (therefore vibrates less).

Every note you play should have a beginning, middle, and end (determined by your right and left hand technique). It sounds like you are shifting your left hand in the middle of the note, rather than after the end of the note? The string should not be "still vibrating" as you prepare to make the shift.