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Double Bass Seam repair ...

bssist

bssist

Jun 23, 2007
456
9
St. Louis, MO USA
#1
My bass recently developed an interesting buzz on the A string (and only the A string). After changing the endpin collar the buzz moved to the E string (and only the E string), most strongly pronounced at the Ab.

I took it in today and my luthier said that it was an open seam. I dropped it off at noon and picked it up at 7. When I got it home I hit the E string and nothing has changed.

Question - how long should it have been clamped and allowed to cure before hitting a note? Could I have blown the repair by not waiting overnight to listen to it?

Thanks for the guidance.
 
#2
bssist said:
My bass recently developed an interesting buzz on the A string (and only the A string). After changing the endpin collar the buzz moved to the E string (and only the E string), most strongly pronounced at the Ab.

I took it in today and my luthier said that it was an open seam. I dropped it off at noon and picked it up at 7. When I got it home I hit the E string and nothing has changed.

Question - how long should it have been clamped and allowed to cure before hitting a note? Could I have blown the repair by not waiting overnight to listen to it?

Thanks for the guidance.
Click to expand...

You need to be having this conversation with your luthier.
 
#3
I just stopped in to grab the bass to take over to him & check messages. I intend to have the conversation with him. I just thought I might get some additional insight from the myriad of experiences found here. I don't think hearing multiple viewpoints, experiences, and theories is a bad thing. I think it leads to a more educated and deeper understanding.

Thanks for your input.
 
#5
Eric Hochberg said:
Tap around the edges. If you hear a clack instead of a thunk, you have an open seam.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, I'll remember it.

I think it is interesting what turned up. The seam repair was fine. If the issue had not shown up I would not have noticed the seam issue until it got worse.

Here is how it played out: I took the bass to the shop (without the bag, which is not usual). I listened in the car before pulling it out and I could hear the buzz. I walked it into the shop and the buzz was instantly gone. We discussed humidity and atmospheric changes, etc. I decided to play it on the street for a few minutes (it is 40 degrees here today) to see if it would change. After a few minutes the buzz developed again. I stepped right inside the front door of the shop and played it and the guy behind the counter looked up and exclaimed, "I hear it!" By the time he walked across the room it was almost gone. Within 60 seconds it was completely gone.

As it turns out there was a sliver of wood wedged in a corner that was reacting to the changing conditions. Once that sliver was found and removed the buzz was gone permanently.
 
#10
Well, as it turns out the sliver was as coincidental as the seam. The buzz had been gone for a few weeks. Recently I released tension to make an adjustment and when I tuned it back up the buzz had returned. After some time experimenting we discovered that the buzz was actually radiating from the free end of the fingerboard and the frequency and intensity were effected not only by atmospheric changes but by the string height. As the strings are adjusted closer to the board the frequency goes lower and the intensity increases.

This is a maple board so I am guessing that it is more reactive than ebony. I am also guessing that this "buzz" is a relative of the " :hyper: growl" that is associated with low action on both db and fretless bg. Can anyone confirm this theory or enlighten me?

Thanks.
 

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