G String Buzzing

[LeperMesiah]

So I recently bought a second hand Musicman Sub Original USA made. Took it to get set up and have a fret dress. Got it back and looked and sounded good, frets levelled etc, action was a little too high so I lowered it at the bridge. Played for a few days and then started to notice buzzing on the G string, mainly when fretted on 9 - 12th frets. So I tried adjusting things further, researched YouTube videos etc. Ended up trying to reset the whole thing and set truss rod and bridge height again. Got it to a place where had nice low action and sounds great, on all the strings except G. Buzzing occurs when fretted on 1st - 12th fret on G string. I have set up heights so all strings are the same (even tried slightly higher on G compared to others) and G still buzzes. I find it odd that all the other strings are fine apart from G even though they are all same height all along fret board (or G even being higher).
I have tried a different G string and checked rattling coming from things like tuning pegs etc. Have tried loads of relief and little to no relief. Any advise would be really appreciated thanks. Or even just a good description to setting it up properly, I'm close to useless with this sort of stuff. Cheers guys, help a bass brother out.

[rmcki]

Check your nut, it's possible the buzzing is happening because of exessive wear on the nut, lowering the spring height when fretted. It won't matter what string height you set, once the G string is played between 1 and 12 the angle between the fretted note and the nut can buzz if the nut is cut too low for the string.

Edited April 30, 2019 by rmcki

[Unknown_User]

1 hour ago, rmcki said:

Check your nut, it's possible the buzzing is happening because of exessive wear on the nut, lowering the spring height when fretted. It won't matter what string height you set, once the G string is played between 1 and 12 the angle between the fretted note and the nut can buzz if the nut is cut too low for the string.

G strings can definitely cause excessive wear on your nu....

No I can't do it.  I can't help but best of luck @LeperMesiah

[yorks5stringer]

As you've already looked on Youtube, there's plenty of tutorials showing how to fill the nut slot with superglue and baking powder in order to raise (if that's the issue)it. You'll then need to re-cut the slot mind or just replace the whole nut.

[Reggaebass]

Just an idea, but If it was me, I would put a small packer in the G string nut slot just to try it , this would let you know if it’s the string slot that’s causing the problem or something else 🙂

[Manton Customs]

Seeing as the frets have been recently levelled which will increase clearance from the string to the first fret it’s unlikely there will be any buzzing coming from a worn nut. Those symptoms do not sound like a nut issue either.

My advice would be to take it back to your luthier and explain the issues. Chances are he will sort it for you free of charge.

[Twincam]

I had a USA sub. Came in a neglected condition to say the least. I Leveled the frets and interestingly had to go over the g side once more. And I think if I remember it did take a good week long of fettling to get it right. 

Possibly the answer was the rosewood board was very dry and after oiling it had moved somewhat. It's a common occurrence on dry boards that are oiled around the time of a fret level. Interesting that both our USA subs had g side issues.

Another thing I've seen is buzzing caused by musicman saddles. The strings pull the saddles to one side more on some models the usa sub being one. That rattle can almost be mistake for buzzing. So playing about with the saddle might be worth a look. 

Also on my sub indeed a tuning head also rattled, finally tracked down as it was the actual knob part very slightly loose from the stem. Some gentle plier work and quality glue fixed it. 

If I remember right my usa sub achieved a approx action of 2.2 - 2mm e to g measured at the 15th fret, with a neck relief of approx .010 measured at 7th fret in normal relief manner. That's the very best I felt it could achieve without overly delicate playing. So pretty much a good standard setup. In comparison a vintage pre ernie ball ray and a new(ish) standard ray i did achieved only slightly better setup results after fret/setup work, approx 2.2 - 1.8 e to g and .009 neck relief. Not sure why the other models were marginally better as the USA sub is quality.