Bass problem

imokyrok

My daughters bass has developed a problem. She says the sound is fuzzy at and above the ninth fret. Retuning doesn't help. I think maybe the strings need replacing - perhaps they've stretched due to the nearby radiator. She thinks its a problem with the neck at the ninth fret and that she'll need a new bass but it looks fine to me. I'll probably end up having to trek into waltons with it but thought I'd ask for advice here first. I really could do without the expense of a new instrument.

Parsley

I'd say the truss rod needs a bit of tightening and then the string saddles should be raised at the bridge. This explains it all: http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html just ignore stuff about the ramp.

Giblet

Replace the strings, this is a common problem with fret buzz as the string becomes stretched. If it is an intonation problem or the neck is bowed, it's still best to have a fresh set of strings anyway.

Dord

imokyrok wrote: »

My daughters bass has developed a problem. She says the sound is fuzzy at and above the ninth fret. Retuning doesn't help. I think maybe the strings need replacing - perhaps they've stretched due to the nearby radiator. She thinks its a problem with the neck at the ninth fret and that she'll need a new bass but it looks fine to me. I'll probably end up having to trek into waltons with it but thought I'd ask for advice here first. I really could do without the expense of a new instrument.

Please don't go into Waltons! Seriously... they don't know their arse from their elbow. They'll just make it worse.


"perhaps they've stretched due to the nearby radiator."

Oh my. Now this is probably the cause of your problem. The bass is made out of wood, and there are a lot of factors at play against each other to keep the neck straight. The strings are pulling forward and naturally the wood would want to do so too, but inside the neck is an adjustable metal rod which pulls the opposite way. If adjusted correctly all is good!

But, with seasonal changes you may need to adjust it a tad. This is because of changes in temperature, the neck and strings and everything expands and contracts. If the bass is beside the radiator then this will cause the neck to move and so the "balance" won't be right, which will result in fret buzzing or the strings being high off the fretboard. It's best to keep the bass in a cool dry place away from radiators and such.

If you follow the walkthru in the link that Parsley posted above it should help you fix the problem. Don't make any big adjustments though, just a little bit. Then wait overnight or a day or so for it to settle and check again.

imokyrok

Thanks a million both of you.