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Lakland A string buzz

Eskimo Spy

Eskimo Spy

Supporting Member
May 27, 2010
724
7
Fort Worth, TX
#1
I've got a US Lakland Bob Glaub which I just restrung with TI jazzflats. I;ve been playing Chromes (105's) and the jazzflats are pretty light comparatively (100's), so a setup was in order. I set the relief to .008", the string and pickup height to factory specs, then set the intonation. Everything was going well...

Then I noticed a small buzz on the open A, and on the 15th fret. I tried adjusting the string height without success. I did notice, however, that placing my finger on the string right at the nut seemed to eliminate the open string buzz. Of course, I can't try that and play the 15th fret. Anyway, when I play the other open strings, I also noticed that they don't vibrate behind the nut the way the A string does, the A string seems to have a lot of vibration.

Any ideas? Thanks.
 
#2
Probably a too small angle at the nut. I never cut the A string on my basses with a 4-in-line headstock for this reason, getting around 7 turns around the post get the string lower, so it makes a greater break angle at the nut, and remove unwanted buzz/vibrations.
 
#4
On a 5-String, you could tighten up on the tree above the Nut to sharpen the angle and thus cause the string to raise off the board some. Unfortunately, on a 4-String, only the D and G strings provide that type of adjustment.

I agree with the number of wraps on the tuner forcing the string at the bottom of the tuner and closest to the head stock as possible.

If you already cut the strings, try placing a a small/thin spacer under the A-String and the Nut to act as a shim. Maybe a few pieces of paper that are trimmed up to the width of the nut. This sounds strange I know. But, it is possible that the Nut was filed down too far on the A-String slot...

You may need ot back off the truss rod a 1/4 turn which would allow the strings to flex the board a bit more forward. Of course, with each adjustment, you will need to re-tune all strings.

When adjusting the saddle height, I always release tension first as not to gouge the bridge - especially is raising the saddles. There's more force at that point that you would first think.

Good luck!
 
#6
Okay, I've restrung the bass with the TI jazzflats, it looks to be the cut of the bone nut, it was cut with a heavier string in mind, and so the string vibrates in the channel. I'll take it and get a setup done, since I can't stop playing the TI's now, they sound great and feel even better.
 
#7
I've had this problem with several basses with the A string - tried EVERYTHING until I discovered a super simple solution that works for me - I wrap a shoestring around the strings just behind the nut - I weave the string under the E, on top of the A and then under the D&G, so A is being pulled down - then I wrap the whole thing a couple of times as tight as I can and then tie the thing off - adds tension to the strings

people think I do my solution for looks, but they don't know the purpose behind it - I understand that there's a lot of people out there that don't want a shoestring on their bass - lol - I'm ok with it

I was wondering why most basses don't come with a string retainer for the E&A
 
#8
You might try putting a small piece of paper in the A string slot -- temporary fix, but it has worked for me on other gasses, notably an NS Design WAV EUB. I've used TIs on my 55-94 and had to raise the G and D strings at the bridge to make 'em work, but the A rest of the strings had no problem. I'm using Sadowsky flats now and like them even better than TIs.
 

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