Fender Jazz A-string clank

[AcridSaint]

Sorry, this is really long. TLDR: After changing my strings, my A-string clanks no matter what I do.



Hey folks, I have a very nice American Deluxe jazz bass that I've been playing on and off for a few months.

It had a set of unknown-to-me roundwounds when I received it which sounded just fine, but I wanted to tone down the brightness a bit and also wanted to try tapewounds, so I decided to throw some on the jazz.

During my lesson last week, my teacher was demonstrating to me on the Fender unplugged and I noticed a really audible "clank" on the A-string. It turns out that it's banging on the first fret. I had cut the A-string a bit short on accident, so I thought maybe it was sitting up too high in the nut, because if I put pressure on the string above the nut, the clank goes away.

So, being the smart guy that I am, I threw some flats on there with no fix. I mic'd the original A-string thinking they were a different size, but it comes out to .085 just like my two sets of D'Addarios.

After the second set of flats, I tried adjusting the saddle higher and could not get the clank out, so I adjusted back down to intonation and then swapped the old A-string back in.

Guess what? The old one clanks now too! So, before I take this into a shop for a new setup, anyone have any ideas? If I fret at the first fret or put pressure on the string near the tuner, it doesn't bang around, only on the open string.

 

[FretlessMainly]

It's not "clank" (which comes from fret contact), it's the design of the Fender headstock. The D and G strings have the string tree or retainer to create sufficient break angle from the nut to the tuning posts. The A string does not, and the E string travel from nut to post is too short for this phenomenon to occur.

Solution: Do not cut your A string when installing it (or cut very little) so you get as many wraps as you can around the post, thus forcing the A string to the bottom of the post to create more break angle.

 

[Bobster]

I totally agree with FretlessMainly.

Another option you may or may not care for, is to add another/different string retainer that does apply downward pressure on the A string. Some folks add another retainer of the same type between the D and A.

I've seen this dealt with by both methods and I think it boils down to aesthetics.

You can manage your A string, or have a retainer do it for you.

Best of luck,

Bob

 

[AcridSaint]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies. I've got some new flats on order, so I'll try this out when they come in. I ordered new nylon wounds as soon as I had the problem, because I assumed I had cut the string too short and ruined it.

Strange that the old string wasn't doing this before the change. I guess the previous owner had it on "just right"

 

[Bobster]

Make sure all your strings come off the tuner below the wraps, not above. That's the most important part of this.

Bob

 

[AcridSaint]

I'll double check them, but that's how I've always strung them because I was told this would help prevent the bass from coming out of tune.

I'm only 9 months into playing bass and I don't use the Fender so much, so sorry for any amateur questions.

 

[jamminology101]

Yeah, fenders are notorious for doing this because the headstock isn't angled back for proper tension on all the strings like most manufactures but keep in mind this is essentially the same design as the original electric p bass Leo unvailed more than 60 plus years ago so hindsight is always 20/20...ryt???? Anyways, like ol boy said don't cut the string n wrap that baby around the peg as many times as u can making sure every wrap stays on the bottom of the prior wrap so u end up having the anchored end all the way bottomed out giving u max distance between the height of the string from anchor point to nut. Another thing is fender is now issuing a lot of their new basses with a stealth a string retainer which u can buy and pit ryt on it. If it still clanks, I have left the string uncut and wrapped it under then over the retainer that is used for the D and G strings and then funneled it in the A tuning peg and it works guaranteed...looks a little funky but works like a charm....cheers

 

[AcridSaint]

Thanks for the additional suggestion.