I bought a new bass (pbass). I waited months for it. It finally arrived. I can't set the action as low as i would like with out some fret buzzing, but I set it up to fender's suggested spec, and it plays well. The big issue is the truss rod rattles. I can hear clearly. When I play a high G on the G string is when i hear it the most. It sounds like an echo, or a doubling of the note. The luthier is in South Korea, so sending it back there wouldnt be cheap. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
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Truss rod rattle. Help
- Thread starter Twice19
- Start date
Hi. Please double check the following:
1. all string breaking angles at nut and bridge. it is called "witness point".
2. all the screws for being tight.
3. rattling/loose parts in bridge and tuning keys.
4. Tighten/loosen TR a bit and retry.
Also you may ask your luthier if there is no tightening rods in the neck construction. Sometimes they became loose and start to rattle (as it was in my case).
If all above are correct and you hear/feel it - then you might want to inject some wood glue into the TR channel. Drill a tiny hole back through the neck heel all the way to truss rod. Use syringe for glue. You don't actually need to drill through dot marks as in some instructional videos on youtube.
1. all string breaking angles at nut and bridge. it is called "witness point".
2. all the screws for being tight.
3. rattling/loose parts in bridge and tuning keys.
4. Tighten/loosen TR a bit and retry.
Also you may ask your luthier if there is no tightening rods in the neck construction. Sometimes they became loose and start to rattle (as it was in my case).
If all above are correct and you hear/feel it - then you might want to inject some wood glue into the TR channel. Drill a tiny hole back through the neck heel all the way to truss rod. Use syringe for glue. You don't actually need to drill through dot marks as in some instructional videos on youtube.
Have you tried lowering the pickup on the treble side? I ask because magnetic issues can cause an effect "like an echo or a doubling..." if the string is too close to the pickup. Most of my experience with this problem has been with big strings, like B or E, not a skinny G. Still, worth checking.
Theoretically yes. But if a piece of detritus from manufacture gets in under the rod, it can cause the rod to not lay flat in its slot and vibrate excessively. It is possible to dislodge any junk by fully loosening the rod and smacking the neck smartly with your hand while holding it upright, and manualy flexing the neck into back bow, but not a guaranteed fix. It worked on one bass of mine and though I can’t prove it, that’s what I suspect had happened.
