Fretless "Buzz" Issue

[Winston TK]

Forgive my ignorance here, but I am just starting to get more seriously into fretless playing (after several somewhat aborted attempts over the past 25 years).

I rented a fretless bass for some recording sessions over the next few days. It's actually a pretty decent bass. But, there are certain points on the fingerboard where the notes really BUZZ like crazy. What is the cause of this? I feel stupid asking such a question, but I'm curious to hear some info from those in the know.

The buzzing is really pronounced on the A, D and G strings near and above the 11th fret position. Could this be an action issue? It doesn't seem abnormally low to me at any point. The problem really shines when I use finger vibrato. The notes sound quite clear in the lower positions, though.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and moderators, please feel free to move this post if it should really appear in the "Technique" section. Thank you.

 

[Sonorous]

Forgive my ignorance here, but I am just starting to get more seriously into fretless playing (after several somewhat aborted attempts over the past 25 years).

I rented a fretless bass for some recording sessions over the next few days. It's actually a pretty decent bass. But, there are certain points on the fingerboard where the notes really BUZZ like crazy. What is the cause of this? I feel stupid asking such a question, but I'm curious to hear some info from those in the know.

The buzzing is really pronounced on the A, D and G strings near and above the 11th fret position. Could this be an action issue? It doesn't seem abnormally low to me at any point. The problem really shines when I use finger vibrato. The notes sound quite clear in the lower positions, though.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and moderators, please feel free to move this post if it should really appear in the "Technique" section. Thank you.

Its probably your truss rod. Try using an allen wrench to turn it counter clock-wise to loosen it and put more relief in the neck.

EDIT: Don't turn the truss rod too much at once, give it some time in between 1/2-1 turns so you don't overstress the wood.

 

[gfried84]

Just like fretted necks fretless neck get high spots over time. I just repaired a fretless that had the same type of problem. The FingerBoard just needs to be trued to get rid of the highspots. Since it is a rental maybe you should try to raise the action and see if you can make some of the buzzing less apparent.