Bass ‘choking’ in the upper register

[Bass Wielder]

4 hours ago, DGBass said:

I've seen a similar problem before with some Fender/Squire/MIM basses. Fitting a small shim at the front of the neck pocket to more or less raise the angle that the neck leaves the body has helped and on occasion eliminated buzz at the dusty end of the fingerboard. I used thin soft plastic or platiciesd card and secured the shim in place by drilling two holes in the shim where the neck screws come through the wood. Fitting a shim is easier than sanding necks or pockets but still not ideal. I would echo whats been said here already about getting the basics sorted like neck relief, intonation( this will also get string tension in the right place), and string height at the nut before anything else is considered.  Most mass produced basses these days do need some sort of setup or adjustment to get them playing perfectly. As far as shims go, even very thin material can have a marked effect. Something like credit card thick material is probably overkill. 

 

Great! Thanks

[Bass Wielder]

So……..:

I think I’ve got the relief set properly, the intonation good but the saddle grub screws are maxed out (at least on the edge), but still slight buzzing in the upper region (15 fret onwards).

I suspect the Hipshot sits lower than the original bridge so I’m now hoping to try slightly longer grub screws on the middle strings (at least on the A & E strings).

The KickAss bass bridge uses 4-40 x 3/8" oval point socket set screws.
So I’m looking for at  least  1/2”  length.

**Any ideas where to get quickly and for a decent price welcome….???

Cheers

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, Bass Wielder said:

upper

There's that word again. Nut or bridge end?

[Bass Wielder]

46 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

There's that word again. Nut or bridge end?

To quote myself….…”upper region (15 fret onwards)”

Read the sentences in entirety not in bits….🙈

[Geek99]

Ski jump? 

[Downunderwonder]

If not 'ski jump' deformation the easy fix would be a shim under the bridge.

[Bass Wielder]

Don’t think it’s ski jump….

I’ll update after trying longer grub screw option

[Bass Wielder]

Finally got a chance to update!

So….i got some longer grub screws and with a combination of healthy suggestions from the helpful BC guys (you all), and the longer screws, I have a happy bass pal and a great playing bass!

It does seem that the original barrel saddles sit a bit higher than the Hipshot saddles but the issue was also with the neck.

I left the shim out, tightened the truss rod, then by feel/measurements checked the standard things like: nut height, relief, intonation, string spacing.

Seems to be hold as the owner was gigging with much satisfaction.

Cheers guys

Topic closed!! (For now)