SteveTredgett Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Right time to pick brains!!! I have a Hondo bass ( I know its not a Fender but it was cheep and I am just learning please forgive me) I am getting a lot of buzz out of the strings and find it hard to get them to tune. Also they are very tight at frets 1 and 2 to the point that I cant push them down, I thought this may been down to the strength in my fingers but I have managed to play a bass in a shop with no problem, I have read many on-line set up guides as I think this has a lot to do with the string hight at the bridge but it's a bit beyond me as I am new to this. Local shop can do the work for me but would like to learn myself, any help or advise would be great and if any one is around the east herts area would be great to meet up for a tinker. Thank in advance Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Don't be ashamed of your Hondo bud. I have an old Hondo II Jazz in my armoury which can hold it's own very nicely indeed. Can you post some in focus pics of your bass, especially neck and action. It sound like you have two oposing problems which shouldn't be on the same bass, ie buzzing frets = too low action / hard to press the strings down = too high an action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Welcome to basschat Steve! Sounds like you need a set up. Unfortunately there are a number of reasons for string buzz, it depends on where the buzz is coming from for a start. It could be the string height is just too low, or the truss rod in the neck needs more tension, or that one or two frets are sitting higher than the others... First thing to check is the [b]neck bow[/b]. put one finger of your left hand (assuming you're right handed) on a string at the 1st fret, and put your right hand little finger on the last fret, then reach as far as you can with your RH index finger between the two (you'll probably get to about the 12th fret) and push down on the string... IF there is no movement at all (i.e. the string is already touching the 12th fret without being pushed) your truss rod has too much tension - this will be the most likely cause of string buzz - it needs to be let off slightly to allow a very slight bow. IF there is a little movement (about the thickness of a thick plectrum or a business card 0.5mm - 2mm) your truss rod is probably OK for now. IF there is more of a gap (i.e. 3 or 4 mm) then the truss rod needs to be tightened - this won't help the string buzz but probably needs doing. If your truss rod is OK check the [b]action height[/b] (the distance between the string and the fretboard without touching the string) The quality of the bass and set-up will dictate how small this gap can be without fret buzz. I play quite hard, with a high action and at the 12th fret I usually go for a 3mm gap. The higher the action, the greater the tension of the strings is. You can lower/increase the action at the bridge (usually a small allen key) - you will probably need to re-set the intonation (usually the phillips screw at the back of the bridge) google this or search on here if you do! The [b]string height at the nut[/b] (usually white plastic the strings pass through on their way to the tuning pegs) is also a factor, this is usually set quite high on budget basses and makes it hard to push the string down at the first few frets. If its set too low you'll get string buzz on open strings too. The height should be just above the height of the first fret (the same height the string is above the second fret when you play the first fret - i.e. just clearing it). This might be a job for the shop as you need special files and if you get it wrong and take off too much the only thing you can do is replace the nut! If all of these are OK then it could be one or two rogue frets sticking up. This means you'll need them filed and polished level - i would go to a guitar tech for this, although there are people on here who could tell you how - it's quite specialist. It might be an idea to get it set up properly by a good guitar tech/luthier in the first place and talk to him/her about what needed doing. Then you can tweak the bass to your liking if you fancy a meddle - just remember to move in small increments and keep a not of what you adjusted and by how much so you can go back if it makes matters worse. For peace of mind I always take a new bass to my local guitar tech and get him to give it the once over before I fine tune it to my playing style. i hope at least some of this helps. Bren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1320756274' post='1430856'] Don't be ashamed of your Hondo bud. I have an old Hondo II Jazz in my armoury which can hold it's own very nicely indeed. [/quote] Yeah this too. nothing wrong with a Hondo - I have played many in my time and once they are set up right they can be just as good as basses 5x the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for getting back to me, here are some pics not sure if they will tell you much????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1320757615' post='1430872'] ...The height should be just above the height of the first fret (the same height the string is above the second fret when you play the first fret - i.e. just clearing it). This might be a job for the shop as you need special files and [b]if you get it wrong and take off too much the only thing you can do is replace the nut![/b] ...[/quote] Not quite.. but I get what you are saying. Steve : great pics. Can you give us one or two more looking right down the neck so we can see how much bow is on it. Your bridge is already set quite high but as you know your strings are hitting the upper frets. It looks like you might need to slacken off the trussrod and (hopefully) lower your bridge saddles. Don't worry we'll get you through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]This[/url] should help explain what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Yeah I know its not a spot on guide - trying to be brief and not go into too much detail. Thats a great guide on the link though Ou7shined. Nice one. Great pics Steve. i agree with ou7shined the neck looks to have a back bow from these pics but if you could post the one looking down the neck we'll know more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 WOW Thanks for all the info! Pics of the neck [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/stevet_05/bass004.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/stevet_05/bass003.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/stevet_05/bass002.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/stevet_05/bass001.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/stevet_05/bass005.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Hmmm, using my virtual straight-edge (a line in photoshop ) it looks to me like your neck may have some issues. Try slackening off the trussrod (as per the guide I gave you earlier*) - give it a full half turn and leave it for a day. Was the bass playable before it went like this (I'm thinking central-heating may be warping the neck) or have you just bought it and it just came this way? *loosen off the A & D strings to perform the t/r loosening but then return them to pitch after you're finished. Btw, I wish everyone asking for help could provide clear pics like you've done - nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks will give it a go ( ) I got it like this, ebay!!!! thanks for the comments re pics I guess they should be good www.stevetredgett.co.uk !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 [quote name='SteveTredgett' timestamp='1320783178' post='1431449'] Thanks will give it a go ( )[/quote] Good luck. Keep us posted... all might not be lost. [quote name='SteveTredgett' timestamp='1320783178' post='1431449'] I got it like this, ebay!!!![/quote] Yep I feared this might be the case... someone using the bay to pass on their problems to someone else. [quote name='SteveTredgett' timestamp='1320783178' post='1431449'] thanks for the comments re pics I guess they should be good www.stevetredgett.co.uk !!! [/quote] Haha I can spot quality a mile off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 ok given the trust rod a tweek will see how she is tomorrow, thank for all the help know I was in the right place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Ok so trust rod adjusted and bass left to settle for 24 hours, re-tuned today and now only got a a bit of buzz on the D string, all strings at first fret still v tight but better. Think I maybe getting there???? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Cool, try another 1/4 turn until you get no buzz from the strings, then start lowering your bridge saddles one at a time until the buzz starts to return... then it's a judgement call (based on how comfy it feels to play) whether to nip back the saddles a 1/4 turn to stop the buzz or have another 1/4 turn on you t/r (if it has any turns left) and repeat the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTredgett Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 Thanks, done this today if that works on the the bridge!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Well done sorting that out Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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