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What is this weird sound?!
- Thread starter RissKippery
- Start date
A squirrel have hidden a stash of peanuts under the pickguard
This is becoming the most likely and reasonable explanation.
I have a bass that was doing something similar and I eventually found a wire that was making contact with the pick guard inside the cavity.
I think this is the issue. Just not with my tools right. Will get the guard off asap.
Sounds like a sympathetic vibration in something then (like the wire mentioned). If all the notes happen to be harmonic that cause this, I'd say that's very likely. If you can't find a wire causing it, and I believe you already mentioned checking the hardware, I'd check the neck screws and bridge mount screws I guess???
It's a wolf tone that jumped from the upright forum over to here!
To my ancient ears, that sounds like fret buss induced by the subtle neck change made when he twists the body?
Lose neck screws? I know, I am the one with the screw lose!
And pickups too high is not a bad guess. Pup pulling the strings into a fret at just he right/wrong time?
( or the magnetized string doing similar? But that's another post... )
To my ancient ears, that sounds like fret buss induced by the subtle neck change made when he twists the body?
Lose neck screws? I know, I am the one with the screw lose!
And pickups too high is not a bad guess. Pup pulling the strings into a fret at just he right/wrong time?
( or the magnetized string doing similar? But that's another post... )
LOL that's the first thing I thought, then I saw your post.
Is your 7th fret high? The pitch goes up a fifth, so that's my guess if the pickup height is good as has been stated.
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I love that it changes as you move the bass like that! Hendrix used a VERY LOUD AMP make his guitar do literally that exact overtone effect at times!
Your bass has been possessed by the ghost of Jimi!
But on a more "get this damn squirrel outta my bass!" sorta level, I really would think it's the truss rod in the neck. But I mean, you'd probably hear it in the neck if so. Don't forget that the truss rod goes through the neck, so it could be making noise even closer to the heal of the neck, which might make you think it's actually coming from under the pick guard.
If it's ONLY that string, but some other notes on that same string, then maybe the string is bad. The warwick I bought had a string that sounded like the truss rod was broken and resonating inside the neck. Turns out it was just a bad string.. like the string was vibrating inside it's own wrapping. Never heard a string make that exact sound before, like a snare drum snare sounds on a drum, that kinda thing.
What else....bridge saddle screws both touching the body (or plate) ok? Not like one is almost touching under the A string, and that's letting it move over and vibrate against teh next saddle weirdly, or against the body as you move the bass around?
Hmm... trying to imagine.... I've never heard a sound like that before, for sure, and I've heard a lot of broken instruments in my life.
Sounds stupid but take a look at the neck itself, the sides of the neck where the fingerboard is glued on - make sure it's not separating from the neck... a truss rod can (if set really tight, or badly affected by weather changes), possibly break that open... although generally only with abuse or if something else is going wrong in the neck to cause that.
And yea check the tuners by grabbing and holding tightly one at a time while you play that same note and try to make the effect happen. Maybe one tuner is loose. Also check the washers on teh top/front of the tuners (the string side of the tuner where it's screwed against the front of the headstock), to make sure the washers are vibrating, although normally that sounds like a shaking piece of metal, not a new digitech bass feedback/harmony pedal LoL.
Your bass has been possessed by the ghost of Jimi!
But on a more "get this damn squirrel outta my bass!" sorta level, I really would think it's the truss rod in the neck. But I mean, you'd probably hear it in the neck if so. Don't forget that the truss rod goes through the neck, so it could be making noise even closer to the heal of the neck, which might make you think it's actually coming from under the pick guard.
If it's ONLY that string, but some other notes on that same string, then maybe the string is bad. The warwick I bought had a string that sounded like the truss rod was broken and resonating inside the neck. Turns out it was just a bad string.. like the string was vibrating inside it's own wrapping. Never heard a string make that exact sound before, like a snare drum snare sounds on a drum, that kinda thing.
What else....bridge saddle screws both touching the body (or plate) ok? Not like one is almost touching under the A string, and that's letting it move over and vibrate against teh next saddle weirdly, or against the body as you move the bass around?
Hmm... trying to imagine.... I've never heard a sound like that before, for sure, and I've heard a lot of broken instruments in my life.
Sounds stupid but take a look at the neck itself, the sides of the neck where the fingerboard is glued on - make sure it's not separating from the neck... a truss rod can (if set really tight, or badly affected by weather changes), possibly break that open... although generally only with abuse or if something else is going wrong in the neck to cause that.
And yea check the tuners by grabbing and holding tightly one at a time while you play that same note and try to make the effect happen. Maybe one tuner is loose. Also check the washers on teh top/front of the tuners (the string side of the tuner where it's screwed against the front of the headstock), to make sure the washers are vibrating, although normally that sounds like a shaking piece of metal, not a new digitech bass feedback/harmony pedal LoL.
Gyroscopic effect of the string vibrating in an elliptical pattern makes the string want to stay in the same place as you move the body, which makes the string hit the fretboard &/or pickup. To test this theory, move the bass faster and the "noise" should get worse. Move the bass slowly and the noise might not occur at all.
