How to Reduce Fret Buzz

Depends on what is really causing the buzz. Lots of factors, could just be a loose fret that needs setting or filing down or something. Read up a lot before starting to mess with the truss rod.

 

No expert here but if buzzing is happening on all frets above 7th surely the saddles are too low

doing a setup over the internet is quite difficult either way

 

If you're getting buzz on all strings as you go up the neck, you may want to try tightening the truss Rod a touch. Hold the bass in your lap and fret the E string at the first fret with your index finger and around the 15th fret with your right thumb. Check the gap between the string and the top of the sixth and seventh fret, if you see more than just a touch of gap, you could probably stand to take some relief out. Too much relief can cause higher notes to buzz. If the neck is pretty straight, but still buzzes on random frets you may have a high fret or two that could stand to be leveled out. It's called a fret level and crown job and even some brand new production basses need it from time to time.

If you have a fairly straight neck, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get your string height down to about 3/32" at the 12th fret on your e string with minimal or no buzzing.

Sometimes, bolt on necks will experience neck lift or "ski ramp" that causes notes above the 15th fret to buzz like crazy no matter what you do. It doesn't sound like that's your situation though. If you have that, a fret level is sometimes enough to fix it, but in extreme cases, a Luthier will have to plane the fingerboard to get it reasonably flat again. Post back with your findings please.

 

This. In order to fix it you need to first find what is causing it and fix the right thing. FWIW, I will do string height, intonation, and truss rod tweaking myself, but when it comes to frets I let a pro handle it.

 

I will echo the post above and add this setup video. Years ago a learned a ton by watching this.

 

What I meant was have you gone fret to fret with a straight edge to see if any are out of line? It can happen, but it can also be bridge saddles, nut slot buzz, relief issues (meaning truss rod), etc. We don't have much info to go on here. all I'm saying. Don't assume tweaking the truss rod will be the solution if that's not what's causing the buzz. Problem isolation before resolution.

 

http://www.jerzydrozdbasses.com/akcndfr54jdhrei567/Ultimate_Guide_ver100.pdf

 

You should get feeler gauges before you start messin with the truss. I ended up shimming, having my frets leveled, and also adjusting the relief on a bass that played "fine" out of the box. While that sounds like a lot, it is worth it when people I know who have extremely nice expensive instruments pick up my bass and are like "well darn it practically plays itself". It is also an American Standard Jazz.

 

Glad you worked it out!

If you're getting buzz across all frets above the 14th, the saddles are still a touch too low; if there is only buzz on certain frets then should probably take it in for a fret dressing.

 

I couldnt imagine not playing above the 12th fret at times.

 

Buying a fretless solved the issue for me.

(...Just my $.13 worth... you're welcome)

 

Ok, so now, let's talk about that annoying fingerboard buzz!

 

That video is awesome, I watched it the 1st time a week or 2 ago. I have 2 basses that could use a set up
I'm gonna use his great tips and see if I can get these in playing shape.

 

Learning to do your own setups is just so important. Not that I'm very good at it, have to review all the info I can get my hands on every time.