New bass string problem maybe

[Ostie]

I have an acoustic baritone guitar that was making weird overtones from above the nut, so I had to dampen the strings there. Problem solved.

 

[Killing Floor]

Take a look at the machines. Is one of the keys looks in the stem? Shouldn't be but that doesn't mean it can't be.

 

[PotsdamBass8]

Ugh the dreaded mystery vibration. I hate it because it can be so hard to diagnose.
Can you confirm if it for sure comes through the amp? You said it happens acoustically, eight? Try turning the amp up high to make sure you can hear it coming through the amp. If it does, that pretty much eliminates anything on the bass that's not on the string path. It can be easy to think it's coming through the amp if you don't have the volume up high.

If it's only on the open strings, press down on the string behind the nut and see if that fixes it. If so, it's either a nut that's not cut right or a string that's wrapped poorly. I would probably try rewraping the string anyways just to see if it changes the sound. Sometimes the string is twisted and it causes weird overtones, and believe it or not, sometimes you just get a bad string. I went through a crazy time trying to find the cause of string buzz on one string on a bass after it had gone to my tech, we spent an hour troubleshooting it together before we determined it had to be a bad string since there were no high frets. Lo and behold, I get a replacement, and the buzz is gone.

Good luck, and if you do like the bass, and sweetwater is weird about you changing strings, you could save the old strings and put them back on after you try a new set if you want to send it back. Just be very careful not to break the strings or scratch the bass changing them.

 

[sawzalot]

I was thinking pickups too close to the strings until you said you can hear it acoustically. As suggested by PotsdamBass, press down on the strings behind the nut. If that makes it go away, check the windings on the tuning pegs and make sure they're neat, with the string wrapped neatly so it exits the tuning peg as close to the wood as possible on its way to the nut. If this isn't done you can get string rattle at the nut. Check also to make sure the pickup screws are tight and that the pickups themselves aren't vibrating. Push on stuff, tighten up screws (gently), etc. You might have to loosen the strings to snug up the screws on the tuners. Check also that the intonation screws on the bridge saddles are tight against the back of the bridge. If none of that works, swap out the strings and see if that fixes it--or do that first maybe.

 

[Phil Bonk]

I had a slimilar problem laat year, when I put a new set of DRs on a new pbass. It was actually the strings. The winding had somehow come lose from the core, makimg an awful vibration both acoustically and through the pickup.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

An unidentified rattle on an instrument can be the nuts on the tuning keys come loose. I know this doesn't fit all your symptoms, but it's worth mentioning.

They don't have nuts. Its a fender. They have beauty rings.

 

[NortyFiner]

I had a slimilar problem laat year, when I put a new set of DRs on a new pbass. It was actually the strings. The winding had somehow come lose from the core, makimg an awful vibration both acoustically and through the pickup.

This. I had something similar happen once. Changed the strings one day and as I was doing the setup the A started making weird noises and dropped way out of tune and wouldn't come back. Seemed like the core broke inside the winding. Weird. More new strings and setup fixed it.

 

[Andy Daventry]

They don't have nuts. Its a fender. They have beauty rings.

So they do. That's what you get for posting in the middle of the night.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I had a slimilar problem laat year, when I put a new set of DRs on a new pbass. It was actually the strings. The winding had somehow come lose from the core, makimg an awful vibration both acoustically and through the pickup.

I've had that issue with DRs as well on occasion. After they get some play time it goes away.

 

[Slaphound]

I messed around with the truss rod a little and took some relief out of the neck. I pushed down on the strings behind the nut. I loosened all the strings and re-wound them, pushing down the wraps as much as possible. The sound has evolved a little. It's a little quieter. I still hear something but not like yesterday. I have a new set of strings hanging around and I may change the strings to see what helps. I'll post back if anything changes or if I hear from Sweetwater with a solution. I'll let y'all know.

 

[Ggaa]

I've had bridge springs and straploks buzz/rattle acoustically but didn't come through the amp.

 

[Gabe Langfur]

Make sure the screws holding the neck to the body are not loose. My Jazz bass had a small, badly installed shim at one point that made for some strange overtones. Removing that shim and doing a better setup fixed the problem.

 

[Grapevine921]

I recommend you revisit the bridge. These basses have the vintage style threaded saddle bridge, which in my experience has a tendency to fall over time.

 

[Gabe Langfur]

My J also had that threaded bridge. It was easy to have the strings sitting in the wrong spot, which made for sound problems.

 

[bassstrangler]

Search for witness points on here and set them.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

No reason you can't snug up all of the screws. Just don't force anything so you don't leave tool marks, and make sure you have the right size screwdriver tips.

My initial reaction is too check the neck straightness, its probably moving(bowing),I'd probably tighten the truss rod (just a quarter turn) a little, its might be sitting loose inside the neck, maybe not doing doing its job! just a minor tightening, nothing to void a warranty! you'll probably have to do that any way if you change strings!

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Are the pickups close to the strings? That can cause some weird overtones and other strange effects. I have no idea what strings come stock on a fender, but a new set of my preferred brand is usually the first thing I do on a new bass.

^That. Incorrect pickup height makes all manner of weirdo stuff happen. Also, if you want to change your strings but are afraid of the 30-day thing, just do it and keep the stockers to put back on it if you choose not to keep it. As long as you stay pretty close in string gauge I don't see anything dishonest about it.

 

[Dave McCall]

I once had a G&L L-2000 that had super weird overtones that you could hear acoustically and through the amp at specific pitches. I could NOT figure it out. It drove me nuts. I was certain the truss rod was vibrating. It wasn't.

It turns out the SPRINGS under the pickups were resonating. The pickups rest on springs to push them up against the screws that can vary the pickup height.

If you can push your pickups down into the cavity and they pop right back up, you probably have springs under your pickups, too, and that could be causing the resonance you're hearing.

What I did to fix mine was unscrew the pickups, cut some slivers of dense packing foam, and stuff those into the springs before remounting the pickups (you don't have to unsolder or disconnect anything). The springs get a tiny bit stiffer that way, which is fine, but it basically mutes the resonance of the springs, which completely fixed the problem.

 

[2playbass]

It sounds like something loose is vibrating when the string is plucked.

I had an A-string with a broken core once, on a fairly new set of strings. It emitted a buzzing sound, similar to fret buzz, but not as loud. It would also go away if held the bridge or held the string past the nut. It drove me crazy trying to figure out the cause, and just decided to put an old string on to see what happened. The buzz was gone after swapping the string. You couldn't tell anything was wrong by looking at the string.

 

[4stringfarley]

I've had a similar issue. Weird overtone on open strings with somewhat of a rattling noise. Found out anytime I let the note ring out and kinda muffled the string by the tuning peg behind the nut it would stop. Restrung it and when the strings were off I tightened down every screw. Didn't solve anything. Turns out the nut was filed at a bit of a weird angle so not getting proper contact on the string. Solved it by lighting filing the nut with a same gauge roundwound string.