Why Does My Fretted Bass Sound Like A Fretless??

[Ruck]

So bought a Fazley Hot Rod P bass from Bax.  The quality is what you expect from a bass priced that low.  I strung it up with La Bella flatwounds and it sounds lovely, however...

 

If I fret anyway along the D string it sounds like a fretless!  You know, that kinda Mwaaaaaaah decay.  And I have nooooooo idea why! Doesnt make a difference if I adjust the truss rod or action.

 

Ive tried two fender style bridges now and the same thing happens. If anything I kind of want to get the rest of strings to do the same! It sounds great.  Any idea whats going on?

 

Oh I should mention I had the same La Bella strings on another precision bass and it didnt do this.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Ruck

[lownote]

My only thought is that mwah is a result of multipoint contact between string and fingerboard. That is, the fingerboard is pretty much flat and the string height above it is minimal.  Ergo, the D string space up and down the 'board must be flatter and closer to the string than its neighbours. Cheap bass may though not always mean skimping on the fret dressing. Maybe you have multiple high spots on the frets?  Although that would more likely lead to problems in an area across the board, not up and down one string.   Pull the other frets out and have done I say.

[Paolo85]

Are they Labella LTF? They are known to occasionally have a "sitar" effect. In this case Labella could send you a replacement string to try I think

Edited March 27, 2023 by Paolo85

[Baloney Balderdash]

6 hours ago, lownote said:

My only thought is that mwah is a result of multipoint contact between string and fingerboard. That is, the fingerboard is pretty much flat and the string height above it is minimal.  Ergo, the D string space up and down the 'board must be flatter and closer to the string than its neighbours. Cheap bass may though not always mean skimping on the fret dressing. Maybe you have multiple high spots on the frets?  Although that would more likely lead to problems in an area across the board, not up and down one string.   Pull the other frets out and have done I say.

Yeah, but that doesn't add up to the actual OP (original post).

 

 

To OP (original poster):

 

To me, since you describe how string action and neck relief makes no difference, it sounds like the D string for some reason might be rattling or resonating behind the nut or behind the saddle on the bridge, making sure to set witness point and having a sufficient break angle both at nut and saddle/bridge should rid you of this issue, if that is in fact what is happening.

 

In that case you could also try to tie a broad hair band tight around the headstock, just behind the nut.

 

That's my best bet at what might be causing the issue you are experiencing.

  

Could of course also be due to a defective string, as suggested by the poster above.

 

 

Edit!!: Could also possibly be caused by the string getting twisted when you strung it on your bass, in that case uninstalling and then reinstalling it might help.

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Ruck]

Ok thanks all, ill swap the strings back over to another bass to see what happens

[Beedster]

This could be relevant 

 

 

[PaulThePlug]

Love the look of the Fazley Hot Rod P, rear route single vol...

If none of the above, nut, twisted string, no need to remove, just slacken off and see if the string rests happier on the saddle with half a turn of the ball end thru the bridge, re-check witness point at saddle...

An odd chorusing etc can be pickups being too high.

Good luck and post pics...

Edited March 27, 2023 by PaulThePlug

[Maude]

I don't know the answer to your problem but WOW! £81 from Bax at the mo for the Hot Rod P. What a price and what a looker. 😎👍

Edited March 27, 2023 by Maude

[iconic]

And reverse pups. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by iconic