How much fret buzz do you have/tolerate ?

[shawshank72]

I used to be in the mindset that any buzz was not tolerated at all.
So usually my personal setup was as low as i could go till there was none still.
But as of lately ive been seeing the light as they say and decided you know what? If im in a live situation or band practice i cant hear it, and as long as its not bottoming out the note played i dont care.
And ive benefited from the lower action and more comfortable playing.
But i do play alot without the bass plugged in at home and it still drives me nuts.
Figure i will bust out the acoustic more often.

 

[superheavyfunk]

I tolerate little to none. It just bugs me... I recently purchased an ibanez bass and strung it with tapes and can't seem to kill the buzz, so I guess I'm gonna have to learn to deal with it. That, or return the bass, which is probably more of a pain than its worth.

What's the "light" you speak of? Is there some kind of benefit to having string buzz that in not aware of?

 

[shawshank72]

I tolerate little to none. It just bugs me... I recently purchased an ibanez bass and strung it with tapes and can't seem to kill the buzz, so I guess I'm gonna have to learn to deal with it. That, or return the bass, which is probably more of a pain than its worth.

What's the "light" you speak of? Is there some kind of benefit to having string buzz that in not aware of?

Other people just convinced me that buzz isnt a bad thing.

 

[avskyelighet]

it depends. cause if the fretbuzz is light, and by this i mean a little grind but no choking at all i can totally bear with it, and even like it. i need low action since my hands are small, so my goal is to set the lowest "middle point" possible between low action and play-allowing fretbuzz... that and playing near the bridge if i need to attack harder.
however, if the fret is clearly choking as it is lower than the next one, i go nuts... it has to be one of the things i hate the most:




when i saw that it was almost orgasmic.

 

[Floyd Eye]

None. If it buzzes unplugged, it isn't set up right. For me anyway.

 

[Kapellas]

I set up my basses so when I play lightly there is no buzz but when I dig in there is a bit of grind. I dont mind the buzz so much because of how playable my basses are with a little buzz. Some famous bassists (Flea comes to mind) Really let the things buzz like a bee. I don't get that. More of a best of both worlds type deal.

 

[bigmoosepi]

as much as I can get without it killing sustain.

 

[joebar]

my action is low but i can still get a little clank of i hit hard enough-sometimes live it is nice to be able to get some clank if for some reason you are too muddy or whatever.
just the steve harris in me coming out i guess...
but i like it clean for the most part

 

[Chromer]

The Cure, Fascination Street?... About that much.

 

[squirefan]

I'm in the camp with action as low as possible, but can still achieve an overtone kind of buzz (for effect) on a sustained note by slightly rolling my finger away from the fret.

 

[georgestrings]

My best setup is no buzz until I really dig in, then just a little - which doesn't translate hardly at all to my amp... That way, I have great playability, yet don't lose anything tone-wise...


- georgestrings

 

[Pilgrim]

I tweak it until no fret buzz. If that means slightly higher action, that's fine.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Tolerate some but not so much that it deletes sustain.

These folks seem to tolerate it as well:
Chris Squire:

This list is full of those tolerating buzz and sounding most excellent.

Personal setup? Play very light = no buzz, play normal = some buzz(soloed), play hard = rig goes into soft distortion/sustain so buzz becomes of no meaning(esp if you pick parallel to the fretboard instead of hitting strings down into it). At home ALL of my speaker/amp/ headphone setups are FULL RANGE so I hear EVERYTHING. It teaches you to play precisely for sure.

 

[monti2889]

I tolerate enough "buzz", to be controllable by my attack...if I use a lighter attack=no buzz...if i dig in=buzz (but the note is still defined).

 

[dedpool1052]

it buzzes when i barely start to dig in. i have it set to somewhere around 1mm on the low E. it doesnt fret-out, but it's a sustained buzz. sustained buzz = grind.

 

[darkstorm]

As long as the notes are fretting out fret buzz can be a wonderful tweak to the voice imo. Fret buzz should never be judged by playing unplugged imo.

 

[bassbully]

With flats and low action there is little buzz but what there is can't be heard when I go thru the amp.

 

[invalidprotocol]

I try to set up my bass as low as possible without buzz and clank when played fingerstyle unless I dig hard. With that setup if I use a pick with moderate or greater attack it will buzz but it is part of the tone at that point. Sustain is impacted but if I want long sustaining notes I'm back in fingerstyle or striking with a bit more control.

 

[GK Growl]

The Cure, Fascination Street?... About that much.

To me, this is a perfect example of useful, musical buzz and grind and that is about how much I like my bass to have when playing with a pick.

 

[jzhobo77]

I get a lot of Fret Buzz right off the top fret the F,A#,D# and G# position it's annoying to me. I like a nice smooth fat bottom and I love the growl I get from my P bass pickups when I crank it up. But the buzzing annoys me.